[bobfl]

Golfnut,

This is a little hard to explain so I'll try again. The thermostat and the Humidistat are wired in series. This means both switches must be closed to turn the air on. Kind of like the old Christmas tree light strings, one bad bulb and the whole string goes dead. Anyway, the thermostat by being set to 70 degrees will almost always be trying to turn the air on but since the signal must go through the humidistat it can't unless the humidistat sees over 60%. The bottom line is, the thermostat really is not in control at all, only the humidistat is. Therefore the temperature in the house may well go to 80 or 85 or more on hot days but air will only run if humidity climbs above 60%.

If however Humidistat and Thermostat are wired in parallel, then either on can turn the air on independent of each other. If that is the case they usually set temp to 80 degrees and humidistat to 60%. In this case max house temp will be 80 degrees and max humidity will be 60%

Hope this helps, even I'm getting confused!

Bob

[golfnut]

Bob, what happens if the temperature in the house is 68 and the humidity in the house is 90 percent?

[barb1191]

Originally Posted by barefoot at last

Does anyone know where we can buy a humidistat in TV?

Purchased one at Home Depot ONLINE for $26.97
Description Unit Price Qty Ship to Total

Honeywell HE8908 Humidistat Humidifier Control
Model H8908B1002
Store SKU 623194
Internet/Catalog SKU 100476731

Tax $2.27
Shipping Method UPS Standard Ground: $7.91
contact customer service at: 1-800-430-3376

[Barefoot]

Barb, thanks so much, Home Depot Online it is. That is exactly the information I wanted .. appreciate it!

[Sidney Lanier]

I just read what I wrote earlier in this thread and think I must have been losing it. Even I don't understand why I wrote what I did; maybe I was confusing this thread with another one.

Now, my question about humidistats: In practical terms, how is a humidistat installed? Is it on the wall close to the thermostat, or does it go on the a/c ductwork? How is it wired, and where does it get its power? (I gather it's a low voltage unit like the thermostat, yes?) Wiring in series as suggested earlier makes sense; how is this done?

Thanks for all info!

[barb1191]

Originally Posted by Sidney Lanier

Now, my question about humidistats: In practical terms, how is a humidistat installed? Is it on the wall close to the thermostat, or does it go on the a/c ductwork? How is it wired, and where does it get its power? (I gather it's a low voltage unit like the thermostat, yes?) Wiring in series as suggested earlier makes sense; how is this done?

Thanks for all info!

hope this helps......barb1191
http://www.diyornot.com/sample/DiySt...&ndx3=0&Rcd=96

[Russ_Boston]

Barb, I think that is for a humidifier not a humidistat that operates the central AC unit.

[Barefoot]

I finally gave up trying to buy a humidistat. Munns is coming today to service the air conditioner and I've asked them to install one ... cost $130. They will install it on the wall next to the thermostat. I've heard it saves a whole bunch of money on air conditioning and prevents mould.

As Bobfl explained,

Originally Posted by bobfl

The thermostat and the Humidistat are wired in series. The bottom line is, the thermostat really is not in control at all, only the humidistat is. Therefore the temperature in the house may well go to 85 or more on hot days but air will only run if humidity climbs above 60%.

[Russ_Boston]

Barefoot - Sounds like a good deal to me. I guess you'll be back in Canada by the time i get there on the 26th? If so - safe travels and we'll meet some day!

[Sidney Lanier]

Hi Barb, yes, the link you sent is for installing a HUMIDIFIER (which I actually once did, and it worked by automatically coming on whenever the furnace fan came on), not a HUMIDISTAT. The first is to add moisture to furnace-heated air (which tends to be dry); the second is what we need in TV, where it will kick on the a/c when there is TOO MUCH humidity in the interior air.

I too am handy and would prefer to do my own installation, but I wanted to get some idea how they are actually set up before deciding one way or the other. Barefoot, can you tell me how Munn's sets it up and what the installer explains about how it works and how you are to set it? Many thanks! And now I see why I had written what I did in my first post on this thread about what to leave unplugged (most everything, we were told). Have a safe trip back to Canada, and we'll see you and Rick in the fall.

[barb1191]

Russ & Sidney....Oops!!!

Sorry for the "goof." What do I know? :dontknow: It's all "Greek" to me.

Appreciate your correction ....barb1191 :redface:

[Bubbalarry]

Originally Posted by golfnut

Bob, what happens if the temperature in the house is 68 and the humidity in the house is 90 percent?

First of all if humidistat is set properly to on and you have preset the high to 78 for AC and low to 67 for heat the humidity in the house will never get high at all because the unit is turning on for humidity not for temp.

The only time it comes on without the humidistat starting it is if the temp rises to 78 in the house or the temp drops to 67.

Now with the humidistat controlling AC & Heat it prevents the unit from coming on say 16 times in a given 24 hour period. Now it comes on perhaps half that time. So the savings comes from that both in $$$ saved and longevity of the system.

I hope this helps all who wish to get one. Believe me if your a seasonal resident why wouldn't you get one. If your not at the house during the summer why pay for A/C to run and run and...........so on.

We just had Munns put one in and the total costs came to $ 175.00 installed and they were the cheapest. According to them if you wait till the temp gets warmer outside the price is going up.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Russ_Boston

Barefoot - Sounds like a good deal to me. I guess you'll be back in Canada by the time i get there on the 26th? If so - safe travels and we'll meet some day!

Russ, sadly we are leaving on the 21st, so we won't meet this trip. But soon, I hope.

Munns installed our humidistat today .. cost $130 (plus we had the air conditioner serviced which was additional). The thermostat and humidistat are wired in series. They are side by side on the living wall. The Munns expert said to set the humidistat at 60% and the thermostat at 80 degrees with the fan on auto.

Re Columbia Par Car (golf cart), the Columbia people said it has been designed to be left plugged in. Otherwise the battery will lose 50% of its life (because we will be gone six months). Fireboy installed a surge protector in the Hydro panel and a surge strip for the battery charger.

It is a sad, sad thing preparing to leave The Villages. ::

[Bubbalarry]

Originally Posted by barefoot at last

Russ, sadly we are leaving on the 21st, so we won't meet this trip. But soon, I hope.

Munns installed our humidistat today .. cost $130 (plus we had the air conditioner serviced which was additional). The thermostat and humidistat are wired in series. They are side by side on the living wall. The Munns expert said to set the humidistat at 60% and the thermostat at 80 degrees with the fan on auto.

Re Columbia Par Car (golf cart), the Columbia people said it has been designed to be left plugged in. Otherwise the battery will lose 50% of its life (because we will be gone six months). Fireboy installed a surge protector in the Hydro panel and a surge strip for the battery charger.

It is a sad, sad thing preparing to leave The Villages. ::

Please tell me who was your service man, because I was told to turn it only to on not at 60% and how could they charge you only $ 130.00 when everyone in my neighborhood in Hadley village paid what I posted.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Bubbalarry

Please tell me who was your service man, because I was told to turn it only to on not at 60% and how could they charge you only $ 130.00 when everyone in my neighborhood in Hadley village paid what I posted.

Re price of Dehumidistat .. I'm assuming your air conditioning unit is new and it doesn't require servicing yet! Our air conditioner is four years old and we were paying for a service call anyway to have an annual a/c check. Service calls cost $96 per hour.
$130 is the discounted price to have a dehumidistat installed at the same time the guy is already being paid to be at your house doing a service call.

We were told: When leaving for an extended period, place thermostat in Cool Mode, Fan to Auto, and set the temperature to 78 degrees. Then turn the Dehumidistat to 60%.