Anybudy useing an air conditioner dehumidifier or just a dehumidifier. Im just wondering if they work or not. How do you empty the water? Does it drain outside or is there a bucket that needs to be emptied?
I used one in a basement worked great. There was a floor drain so i just ran a hose over to it. If ther is not a drain to run a hose to you'll need to empty a bucket when it gets full which may be quite often.
Mine is near the ceiling in the basement, and has a place where you screw in a garden hose. the other end goes lovingly into either the sump hole or through a hole which leads outside the house. (make sure you have the hose going downward It definitely works, but it's not the best solution, imo. I'd rather get the air flowing more, and out of the house, through a duct or a goose.
[This message has been edited by TheDigitalAlchemist (edited 07-08-2014).]
What is your current humidity level? Do you have mold/mildew issues?
Yes, dehumidifers work. If you use it in a cooler environment, you will want to make sure the unit is rated to work in low temps. Some have gravity drains, some have buckets, some have pumps.
Basically, they are portable a/c units that dump the warm air back into the room. If you are trying to cool the room also, get an a/c unit.
If you are looking for an air exchange, they make units to do that, but I would recommend just installing an inline exhaust fan (not a cheap bathroom unit) and have it on a timer.
Dehum works well if you meet some conditions: Close area. If a door etc is open then Dehum is just eating power. Can do the job but open the door just let more wet air into the area. Area Above x°. Area is cool/cold then can freeze up the Evap coil. Frozen coil then just eats power and does little/no work. Area size vs Dehum size. Small area needs less Dehumidifier.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
They eat a LOT of power, at least the older one I have in my shop does. I only turn it on when it's really humid out but I can always tell when the electric bill comes.
If you use it in a cooler environment, you will want to make sure the unit is rated to work in low temps.
I discovered that when I borrowed a friend's dehumidifier to dry out my basement after my hot water tank let go. The dehumidifier coils would get completely covered in ice. The only way I could get the thing to work was to have a cube heater blowing on the coils the whole time. It worked well once I set all this up, but yeah, I'm sure my power bill skyrocketed while I was doing this 24/7 for a week or so.
The one we had you could set to turn on every other hour if you wanted, that should give one a chance to thaw, but we didnt have any ice issues even on full time.
How cold is too cold? The basement I had ours in was unheated and unfinished in an old old house, the forced air furnace was down there however it did not blow out air down there. We didnt use it in winter since the air is dry in the winter.
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 07-08-2014).]
... we didnt have any ice issues even on full time.
How cold is too cold?
It's not as if my basement was really cold, as it wasn't. It might've been... oh, I dunno... maybe 50º F. However, just as with a carb icing up, I suppose it's a combination of temperature and humidity which contributes to ice being formed on the dehumidifier coils. It was unfortunately a huge problem for me at the time.
They work. Had a moisture problem in the winter, the whole wall was wet, the rest of the room damp. I looked around for the source and said, "Oh!". The young man 19, bride 18, who could blame them? I did not share a common language with the renters so, I mimicked heavy breathing and passion and pointed to the 2 of them. The parents busted out laughing. I put a dehumidifier in their room, ran it long enough to demonstrate how it works, and all was well.
What is your current humidity level? Do you have mold/mildew issues?
Yes, dehumidifers work. If you use it in a cooler environment, you will want to make sure the unit is rated to work in low temps. Some have gravity drains, some have buckets, some have pumps.
Basically, they are portable a/c units that dump the warm air back into the room. If you are trying to cool the room also, get an a/c unit.
If you are looking for an air exchange, they make units to do that, but I would recommend just installing an inline exhaust fan (not a cheap bathroom unit) and have it on a timer.
Im in southern California, with moderate humidity levels (medium). No mold. Im just considering updateing my AC with a Dehumidifier AC. Heat doesnt bother me, the humidity does.
Im in southern California, with moderate humidity levels (medium). No mold. Im just considering updateing my AC with a Dehumidifier AC. Heat doesnt bother me, the humidity does.
From what I understand, when upgrading your AC, make sure it is sized to the home and environment. You may actually want your AC to run longer to scrub the air. If you have an AC that cools too fast, it won't remove as much moisture from the air. At least that is what I have heard listening to home improvement people.
__________________ Air conditioners "condition" the air. Sixty percent of the energy they consume is spent wringing the moisture out of the air. On hot humid days, help the air conditioner by turning on your dehumidifier. This permits the air conditioner to devote more energy to lowering the temperature in the house. If possible, get a super efficient Energy Star-rated dehumidifier. You will get a lot more bang for your dehumidifying dollar. http://masterhandyman.com/c...cfm?pubdate=20060819
[This message has been edited by jaskispyder (edited 07-09-2014).]
I have a fieldstone foundation (old house) which gets pretty humid in the summer months. Rather than a dehumidifier, I've recently installed a heat-pump water heater. It acts as an air conditioner and dehumidifier, while giving hot water.
It eliminated my need to run a dehumidifier, and also eliminated my need to run my oil furnace just to have domestic hot water in the summer, which both saves money and reduces the temperature in my basement. I normally would use about a tank of oil from April 1 through Nov 30 just for domestic hot water.
As far as the electric bill goes, it's so far not a significant increase. I think we noted about a $10 a month increase, and now with the hot weather, running the A/C, about $30 beyond winter usage.
It's been very good at pulling moisture out of the air in the basement, and I have to empty the 5 gallon bucket about once a week. (Gotta rig something up to get rid of the water automatically, lol)
Along these lines, dont buy any of those portable air conditioners for a room. Local news tested a bunch of them, even high end ones. They tested them in a test room under identical conditions. They used the models advertised for the square footage. The best they got was one to lower a temp by 5* after running on high for 3 hours. The units information said it would cool that size room by 15*+ in 30 minutes.
In Okla, my house didnt have AC. We had a big box in the window with filters on 3 sides and a water pump that pumped water to the top and let it run down the filters, and a fan to suck the outside air thru those wet filters into the room. On point then, it technically was a humidifier. It was good at dropping the indoor temp. At least back then, they were common for houses that didnt have AC.
Along these lines, dont buy any of those portable air conditioners for a room. Local news tested a bunch of them, even high end ones. They tested them in a test room under identical conditions. They used the models advertised for the square footage. The best they got was one to lower a temp by 5* after running on high for 3 hours. The units information said it would cool that size room by 15*+ in 30 minutes.
Portable.... or Window units. I think you mean the portable, which look like dehumidifiers. Yeah, they don't work that well.
From what I understand, when upgrading your AC, make sure it is sized to the home and environment. You may actually want your AC to run longer to scrub the air. If you have an AC that cools too fast, it won't remove as much moisture from the air. At least that is what I have heard listening to home improvement people.
That is correct. An oversized AC will cool the temp down fast, but may not remove enough humidity - leaving the room cool and clammy.
Speaking on air conditioners, in the house I grew up in my dad just replaced the window unit with a new EnergyStar rated 15k BTU LG unit in the living room/dining room (approx. 250-300 sq. ft. combined) at the begninning of summer. The house is all brick, built in the early 70's with only window upgrades done in the mid 90's, (no other upgrades performed) has windows on 3 sides and gets direct sunlight from about noon to dusk. Even on max A/C barely gets more than 5* off the room temp in the afternoon, but it does keep the humidity down. So, that's something to think about, is the overall conditions the unit is going to be running in. Just because a unit is rated for 400 sq ft doesn't mean it's going to cool that if the room(s) in question recieves direct sunlight for extended periods of time.
To properly size an AC unit, you really need to do a heat loss/gain calculation. That takes time and experience, so nobody does it much anymore. They use assume "standard construction" is all similar enough that the only thing that matters is square footage. As you've noticed, that's not always the case.
When I was designing custom HVAC systems, we always did a heat loss/gain assessment, down to the type of insulation, windows, and even the type of appliances in the kitchen. (Kitchens have much higher heat loads than the rest of the house, as you might expect). But that level of design isn't cheap. It's much easier to have a post-it note that says "1800 sq. ft. = 3 ton" and so on.
Don't even get me started on what passes for duct work "design" these days. One big plenum with flex duct running all over the house. My systems used hard duct work that was sized to give equal airflow out of each register. We went back and measured the airflow after installation to be sure. I'm tempted to build my next house just so I can make sure it's designed the way I want it and not "industry standard."
Portable.... or Window units. I think you mean the portable, which look like dehumidifiers. Yeah, they don't work that well.
Yes Im talking about the portable ones you can move around room to room. Im not talking about window mounted air conditioners. Some have ducts attached you can run out a window opening.
To properly size an AC unit, you really need to do a heat loss/gain calculation. That takes time and experience, so nobody does it much anymore. They use assume "standard construction" is all similar enough that the only thing that matters is square footage. As you've noticed, that's not always the case.
When I was designing custom HVAC systems, we always did a heat loss/gain assessment, down to the type of insulation, windows, and even the type of appliances in the kitchen. (Kitchens have much higher heat loads than the rest of the house, as you might expect). But that level of design isn't cheap. It's much easier to have a post-it note that says "1800 sq. ft. = 3 ton" and so on.
Don't even get me started on what passes for duct work "design" these days. One big plenum with flex duct running all over the house. My systems used hard duct work that was sized to give equal airflow out of each register. We went back and measured the airflow after installation to be sure. I'm tempted to build my next house just so I can make sure it's designed the way I want it and not "industry standard."
Yup, that is exactly what needs to be done... properly sized heating/cooling.
With that being said, my home's duct work is a mess. I fixed what I could (without stripping the walls to the studs and replacing beams). I also installed my own furnace/AC unit and balanced the registers and flow. I don't have return air ducts.... as I said, it is a mess. Hard to believe it passed a home inspection (not a new home). My home's environment is well balanced and comfortable, for the most part (it would be cost prohibitive to do more). My heating/cooling bills are very low as compared to other homes in the city. So, at least that helps. Anyway, that is all off topic at this point.
The only way I could get the thing to work was to have a cube heater blowing on the coils the whole time. It worked well once I set all this up, but yeah, I'm sure my power bill skyrocketed while I was doing this 24/7 for a week or so.
