In the home humidity levels/control
 

I did a search on TOTV but did not find much about humidity levels in the home.

When I google humidity in the home, most recommendations are for below 60% in the home.

When I set our air conditioning thermostat for 76 degrees and the humidity level for 60 degrees the cooling continues below the
76 degree set point. The unit is obviously running to drive down the humidity level to 60.

Our previous system did not have a humidity setting and thus operated on room temperature only. We never really measured the humidity and all seemed fine.

Now with our new system and smart thermostat, the house can become uncomfortably cool/cold as the actual temp gets down to 75 and below while the unit is attempting to reduce the humidity.

Using the air conditioning to drive down the humidity just gets the actual room temp too low for comfort.

I will try setting the system to run on thermostat only and ignore the humidity setting.....it should then operate as our previous unit.

Comments/advice regarding incorporating the humidity level in the settings are welcome.

Agree, the automatic system will probably cool your home 3 degrees cooler than set trying to get to the humidity setting. I think you have to add a separate humidifier for the summer month.

If you are living in the house, I think it is best to turn off the humidity control. With the humidity control function on, the temperature will drop to about 3 degrees lower than the temperature setting when the humidity gets too high. This is fine for snowbirds because it saves energy when the house is empty, and you turn up the temperature setting. You can buy a temperature and humidity monitor at Home Depot for about 10 dollars. My house is set at 77 degrees, and the humidity stays at about 46 percent. Very comfortable for me, and I never use the humidity control function. Yes, if you want to lower the humidity year round, you need to buy a dehumidifier.

Most homes in The Villages do not have a multi-speed compressor and variable speed air handler. Without these features, it is hard to have precise control over the humidity. With a single speed compressor and one speed air handler, any humidity control is limited to driving the temperature below the set point in hopes of reaching the desired humidity. It is what it is.

We do have variable speed compressor and variable speed furnace and air handler.
We do not have a dehumidifier. Which I will look into.

I don't know anyone in The Villages who has a whole house dehumidifier, but that is really the only type worth buying. I don't think a portable dehumidifier will do much good at controlling the humidity in the house, and most of them require you to empty the water periodically, which is a pain. Basically, a dehumidifier will cool the air to remove moisture, and then reheat the air to the desired temperature.

Installing a Whole-House Dehumidifier the Right Way | PV Heating & Air

Model 1870

My house is set at 78 degrees, and the humidity stays at about 46 percent. Night and day, very comfortable.

I ordered a portable dehumidifier.

78 & 50 here

I reread your original post. One way to achieve good humidity control is long system runtimes. A system with a variable speed compressor and variable speed air handler, as you indicated you have, will achieve this by running for long periods of time with the compressor at a low speed and the air handler at a low speed. If your system is cycling on and off frequently then it may not be operating correctly (i.e. not running at a low speed most of the time) or it is oversized for your house. On typical summer days, your compressor should be running at a low speed continuously and pop into higher speeds perhaps for a few hours in the afternoon. Have you spoken with your HVAC contractor? Does your house feel more humid than with your previous system?

In a previous house, my system had a two-speed compressor and 10-speed airhandler and it would accurately maintain the relative humidity I set it at (40%) most of the time without resorting to cooling below the temperature set point. There are, of course, limits. For example, on cool days, precisely maintaining a specific humidity will be a challenge.

I'm watching a house for a neighbor and the facts are the Thermostat is set to 75 Degrees the Temperature in his house is 92 Degrees and the Humidistat is set to 60.

He said other people who have watched his home have had the same concern as me but he said as long as the Humidistat is at 60 then things are Kool.

I feel terrible about leaving his home like that but I followed his direction to a T.

Could it be correct? I could use a hand here. It's Bleeding Hot In That House!

Yes that is correct. It concerned me also. I called Munns and they said thermo at 76 and humidity set at 60. When you're away you worry about humidity creating mold. If the humidity gets higher then the AC kicks in. The 2 homes that I watch are set this way and the house temp is 86. One stays cooler because it's better insulated
Steve

We had a problem with humidity due to a problem with the fan never shutting off probably due to a power surge. The system would run in the AC cycle and when desired Temp was met, the fan would continue to run picking up moisture from the condenser and pumping it back into the house raising the humidity. This could also happen if users set the fan to run continuously.

We do have a humidity indicator ($10 Type) to monitor the master bedroom, bathroom, closet, and shower area which is essentially our more humid area. I have a portable Dehumidifier set up to keep the humidity in this area at no more than 50% when we are gone for extended summer periods. It is set up by removing the collector bucket and attaching a short hose run into the walk in shower drain.

Thank's Steve. I felt like when I reported the numbers to the owner that I had a firm hold on exactly what he wanted. It is set the way I described and it is the way he wants it.

It's all about the $$ MONEY $$. If it was me I would feel better at 82 Degrees, No Humidistat and call it a day.

The bottom line is you helped me to feel that I didn't misunderstand and that I won't be letting this Perfect Neighbor down. Thank's Again :ho:.

the humidity is not 'picked up' humidity from the condenser, it is raised because of leaks in the a.c. Ducts. There are always leaks, often in excess of 10%.

I think you may mean that the supply fan in the garage is picking up moisture from the evaporator coil in the air handling unit, also located in the garage. The condenser coil is located outside of the house. In the cooling season, the condenser coil does not get wet, and even if it did, the condenser fan would not carry any moisture into the house. It just blows air outside.

This sounds very strange to me. Even if you are controlling the humidity at the thermostat, that doesn't mean that the humidity is consistent throughout the rest of the house. I would think that 92 degrees could cause damp areas that could damage furniture or other things in the house or cause mold. Especially if you have windows that leak humid air into the house. I would suggest checking the humidity near the windows and doors.

Humidity distribution is quite fast within a room. Area's with poor airflow are a different story (Behind dressers, etc.)

http://www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/BS2007/p572_final.pdf

I sure like all those equations. But, my concern is that, if the house temperature is 92 degrees, the air conditioning is probably almost never running. So, unless the fan is blowing air through the house, the dry air will not get distributed at all. And, yes the air in stagnant areas could become very humid. I would never want my house to have a constant air temperature of 92 degrees, regardless of the humidity level. You may get away with 80 or 82 degrees.

It's fine. The two homes I mentioned have been doing this for the last 5 yrs, as directed by Munn's, without any issues whatsoever.
Steve

Does your neighbor have a special vacation setting whereby the system ignores the temperature setpoint and only turns on when the relative humidity setpoint is exceeded? If so, this sounds a bit strange. I would expect (want) the system to run when either the temperature setpoint or the relative humidity setpoint is exceeded. Setting the temperature setpoint in the low 80s and the relative humidity setpoint around 50-60% would be reasonable.

Why? Relative humidity is exponentially related to temperature and is also limited on how high it can go with hot temperatures. If the temperature in the house gets hot enough, you may never exceed the relative humidity set point. For example, if the temperature in the house was to reach 95F then the relative humidity will probably never exceed 60%. In this situation, the system will never come on but there could be a fairly high absolute moisture level (the dew point) in the house.

Good Post.

His Vacation Setting is Set it to Cool 75 Degrees on the Thermostat and on the Humidistat there is a dash mark - that the knob is turned to and it is at the mark between 50 & 70 but just a - it does not have a number. I would describe it as 60. (Just Being Accurate) Clear step by step directions are on an Index Card that is from the Original Owner from 32 years ago. It is a Manufactured Home in Perfect, Showroom, Day One Condition. The Serial Number on the Home is #2 :1rotfl: I did put new batteries in his Thermostat Today. Fresh Red Duracell's. I'm mainly there to watch for Skylite Leaks and animal invasions. So far so good.

I tell you in the last week or so my annual membership fee to belong to TOTV'S has paid off. The help I've gotten is priceless. Thank's a lot! :bigbow: To you all.

Probably zero insulation in that old dog.......the home, not the owner.

HUD code '76. It's insulated, common misconception.
https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/MHCCFRPARTIV.PDF

Steve