[Villageswimmer]

We had a thermostat/de humidistat installed by Sun Kool. They set the "away mode" to 85F temperature and 60 humidity. Does this sound right?

[RickeyD]

A true dehumistat will not over cool your space. To be truly functional the dehumidistat must enable & disable both the cooling and heating cycles so as to properly maintain the desired humidity setpoint. If a dehumidistat is only cycling the cooling on and off the resulting humidity level is simply the byproduct of condensation removal and will most definitely over cool the space rather dramatically under certain conditions.

[Villageswimmer]

Originally Posted by George Bieniaszek

I also agree that if you are a snowbird or leave your house empty for a number of months, you really should consider having a humidistat installed.

We had Munn's install it and it cost us approx. $100. I figure that we saved the $100 in the first three summer months that we were not in our villa in AC costs. My brother in law also purchased a newer unit that was an all-in-one unit, humidistat/thermostat and installed by Munn's as well. A little more sophisticated than mine and it cost approx. $300.

When you leave in summer, what do you set temp and humidity at?

[tuccillo]

My previous home had a Carrier Infinity System - arguably the most sophisticated (and complex, not always a good thing) system out there. The integrated humidistat could control the variable speed air handler to ramp down the air flow and also put the compressor in half-speed mode for better humidity control. Even with ramping down the air flow for humidity control it would still, on occasion, hit the overcooling limit of 3 degrees.

Our Carrier system in The Villages has a built in humidistat but does not have a variable speed air handler and single speed compressor. I am a bit disappointed that The Villages "cheaped out" on that - for a small incremental cost they could have speced the better air handler. Our system, by default, will overcool by 3 degrees.

Originally Posted by RickeyD

A true dehumistat will not over cool your space. To be truly functional the dehumidistat must enable & disable both the cooling and heating cycles so as to properly maintain the desired humidity setpoint. If a dehumidistat is only cycling the cooling on and off the resulting humidity level is simply the byproduct of condensation removal and will most definitely over cool the space rather dramatically under certain conditions.

[Villageswimmer]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

My previous home had a Carrier Infinity System - arguably the most sophisticated (and complex, not always a good thing) system out there. The integrated humidistat could control the variable speed air handler to ramp down the air flow and also put the compressor in half-speed mode for better humidity control. Even with ramping down the air flow for humidity control it would still, on occasion, hit the overcooling limit of 3 degrees.

Our Carrier system in The Villages has a built in humidistat but does not have a variable speed air handler and single speed compressor. I am a bit disappointed that The Villages "cheaped out" on that - for a small incremental cost they could have speced the better air handler. Ours system, by default, will overcool by 3 degrees.

I'm not as concerned about over cooling by 3 degrees as I am about setting the humidity too high. What is yours set at in "away mode"? Thanks. Maybe I'm overthinking this.

[tuccillo]

I am probably the last person you should ask as I am here all year round ;-). I would probably go with what your HVAC company is suggesting.

Originally Posted by naneiben

I'm not as concerned about over cooling by 3 degrees as I am about setting the humidity too high. What is yours set at in "away mode"? Thanks. Maybe I'm overthinking this.

[Villageswimmer]

Originally Posted by billsnider

Oaky, I got a humidistat. What humidity level should I set it at?

Thanks

Bill Snider

I have the same question. Got two different answers on both temp and humidity from Sun Kool. Even called Honeywell and got someone in India who couldn't answer the question. Lots of smoke and mirrors in HVAC it seems.

Is there an expert out there? sun Kool set it at 85 temp and 60 humidity. Does that sound good? Just don't want to come home to a moldy house. I regret not just sticking with a regular thermostat.