Humidity

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Old 10-08-2019, 05:25 PM
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Default Humidity

What have you done to control humidity in your home?
How effective is it?
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Old 10-08-2019, 06:36 PM
PrudentLifer PrudentLifer is offline
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Default Humidity

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Originally Posted by rjm1cc View Post
What have you done to control humidity in your home?

How effective is it?


Ok, nobody's chimed in yet, so here's mine. Humidity control does not exist unless your HVAC w/electric strip heaters is modified so as to control to a dehumification setpoint by way of a dehumidistat. Effective dehumidification can only be achieved if the humidity is removed by way of the evaporator in conjunction with simultaneous heat so as to not over cool the house yet keep the unit in cooling removing moisture in the process.
In the absence of a control modification if your air handler has a multi speed blower motor, setting it on its lowest speed will draw more moisture from the air thereby decreasing the relative humidity.



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Last edited by PrudentLifer; 10-08-2019 at 06:53 PM.
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Old 10-08-2019, 06:45 PM
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This may not answer your question but I see a few ways it can be interpreted.

I set the thermostat for 82 when I am not there. Then I set a Wi-Fi humidity alarm (of course) to 62%. If I get an alarm I'll lower the temp. It has never happened.

No matter what I set the temp to while it is occupied the humidity is 52 - 61%. I have the standard builder's grade carrier hvac that most people do.
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Old 10-08-2019, 06:51 PM
PrudentLifer PrudentLifer is offline
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The lower the temperature the greater the relative humidity and vice versa.


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Old 10-08-2019, 06:53 PM
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We keep our temp at 75 and humidistat at 55 and have never had a humidity problem.
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Old 10-08-2019, 07:21 PM
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I use a window AC unit in the house with a drain container underneath at our cottage in Maine.If the humidity is 70% inside it will pull it down to a very comfortable 40% in about 20 minutes...so basically using a 8000btu window unit as a dehumidifier.
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Old 10-08-2019, 08:29 PM
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We have a whole house dehumidifier and a variable speed system. Set the humidity at 45% and temperature at 78F. This is very comfortable and with the system usually running at 35% saves electricity even though it is almost always running.
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Old 10-09-2019, 03:25 AM
retiredguy123 retiredguy123 is online now
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The standard HVAC system has a humidity setting that will work to cool your house to about 3 degrees below the temperature setting when the humidity is too high. This may allow you to save energy by using a higher temperature setting when you are not living in the house. But, it is not a good idea to use it when you are living in the house, because sometimes the house will be too hot or too cold. As stated in another post, a real dehumidifier will include a heater to "reheat" the air after the humidity has been removed by overcooling. This would allow you to control both the temperature and the humidity.
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Old 10-09-2019, 03:44 AM
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As an aside.
It is also best to keep A/C running in your car, even when using heating.
Air con system carries on removing moisture, and prevents dampness inside car..
Probably teaching grandma to suck eggs, but I only learnt about this a few years ago.
I always turned mine off in winter!
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Old 10-09-2019, 07:12 AM
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not knowing how old the car is, the newer models one just sets the temp and the system determines whether to heat or cool....no turning on or off of anything required.....except defrosters.
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Old 10-09-2019, 08:17 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by billethkid View Post
not knowing how old the car is, the newer models one just sets the temp and the system determines whether to heat or cool....no turning on or off of anything required.....except defrosters.
Yes my car has the facility to run the temp. and air control system itself, but I can also turn anything on/up/down/off, by changing any setting, and until I was told to leave it on in winter, I always turned A/C off.

It can't make tea or coffee though!!
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Old 10-09-2019, 08:27 AM
PrudentLifer PrudentLifer is offline
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Default Humidity

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Originally Posted by retiredguy123 View Post
The standard HVAC system has a humidity setting that will work to cool your house to about 3 degrees below the temperature setting when the humidity is too high. This may allow you to save energy by using a higher temperature setting when you are not living in the house. But, it is not a good idea to use it when you are living in the house, because sometimes the house will be too hot or too cold. As stated in another post, a real dehumidifier will include a heater to "reheat" the air after the humidity has been removed by overcooling. This would allow you to control both the temperature and the humidity.


Actually, the "reheat" is energized simultaneously with cooling so as to maintain a constant discharge air temperature that will not over or under cool the space yet remove moisture in the process until the desired humidity set point is met.


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Old 10-10-2019, 05:31 AM
FenneyGuy FenneyGuy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rjm1cc View Post
What have you done to control humidity in your home?
How effective is it?
I bought a portable dehumidifier and the humidity in our house dropped from 60% to 45%. The AC no longer overworks to control the humidity and our house is very comfortable.
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Old 10-10-2019, 05:38 AM
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Originally Posted by FenneyGuy View Post
I bought a portable dehumidifier and the humidity in our house dropped from 60% to 45%. The AC no longer overworks to control the humidity and our house is very comfortable.
That is impressive for a portable unit.

What brand and size dehumidifier?

Where do you have it located in the house relative to the thermostat?
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Old 10-10-2019, 06:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by billethkid View Post
That is impressive for a portable unit.

What brand and size dehumidifier?

Where do you have it located in the house relative to the thermostat?
Here it is:

Frigidaire FFAD7033R1, 70 Pint, White Dehumidifier

The thermostat is located at the entrance to our master; the dehumidifier is located next to our kitchen island, about 14 feet away. I drain it twice a day.
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