Hard to say, because running one will basically use the same amount of electricity as a small window A/C unit.
Did I Damage my Dehumidifier?
- Thread starter Mr_Luke
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Hard to say, because running one will basically use the same amount of electricity as a small window A/C unit.
You mean dehumidifiers, right? You have to understand that a dehumidifier cools the humidity (water vapor) in the air in its coils, then uses warm air through heating to melt it into the water you dispose of or gets hosed to your drain. A dehumidifier will raise the temperature around it because of the warm air it uses for melting the ice. This is different from a central A/C or an A/C you put in the window, even though these are also dehumidifiers, because they both push the warm air outside.
Females tend to feel cold faster than us guys. If you want to feel cooler, use a fan, or take a cold shower.
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I haven’t raised the temp on our thermostat but that should work to make you more comfortable. The unit I have keeps the basement humidity levels in check but I’m not sure how much, if any they would impact the other 2 floors’ humidity levels. I‘ll probably step up to whole home units like an Ultra-aire at some point. If you aren’t trying to dehumidify thousands of square feet, a freestanding one would likely help.
A lot of these products come out of one factory with multiple brand labels being attached.
As for humidity and temperatures, lower humidity will feel cooler. For example, walking into a hotel room where the A/C was set to 65 degrees and you might feel cold. Walk outside in 65 degree weather and it feels comfortable.
Having lived in the tropics, I set my A/C to the mid 70 range. That was fine for me and it reduce my electricity bills. The key was to have air movement and I did that with ceiling fans.
So my experience tells me that it’s a combination of reduced humidity plus air movement. The temperature setting is personal.
As for humidity and temperatures, lower humidity will feel cooler. For example, walking into a hotel room where the A/C was set to 65 degrees and you might feel cold. Walk outside in 65 degree weather and it feels comfortable.
Having lived in the tropics, I set my A/C to the mid 70 range. That was fine for me and it reduce my electricity bills. The key was to have air movement and I did that with ceiling fans.
So my experience tells me that it’s a combination of reduced humidity plus air movement. The temperature setting is personal.
If you are running AC and need a dehumidifier then the AC must be cycling too much because it's too big for the air space. Or the water is not being removed somehow. The dehumidifier will add heat too.
My house floods on occasion and the crawl space gets full of water. Takes about 6-9 months to dry out. I will run a dehumidifier when that happens.
My house floods on occasion and the crawl space gets full of water. Takes about 6-9 months to dry out. I will run a dehumidifier when that happens.
Set the RH as low at it will go and see what happens.
The only time our dehumidifier runs is in the spring and sometimes fall when I have the windows open. Once the AC is on and the windows closed it hardly ever runs.
I got tired of emptying the bucket and moved it over by the drain and hooked up a hose.
I got tired of emptying the bucket and moved it over by the drain and hooked up a hose.
A dehumidifier is just an AC unit that doesn't sit in the window venting heat to outside. if it is in living space save the money and spend it on a window ac unit to get cool dry air. For AC de-humidification smaller is better for longer ON duty cycle.
I never thought about getting a window AC unit.
I may do that. I could let the heat pump rest until cold weather returns.
I bought a dehumidifier on amazon, a 40 pint a day and up to 2000 sq ft.
I think I'll like it. I had one a few years ago and never replaced it when it died, but once in a while I was real glad to have it.
The dampness is driving me nuts here. The heat pump fan wouldn't stop running even after I turned the heat pump off so I had to turn it off at the circuit breaker box. It has done this before a few times in certain weather. I'll leave it off all night and see what happens tomorrow. That darn thing just kept pumping up the damp air from the basement crawl space. With a good dehumidifier, it will dry the air in a hurry.
I may do that. I could let the heat pump rest until cold weather returns.
I bought a dehumidifier on amazon, a 40 pint a day and up to 2000 sq ft.
I think I'll like it. I had one a few years ago and never replaced it when it died, but once in a while I was real glad to have it.
The dampness is driving me nuts here. The heat pump fan wouldn't stop running even after I turned the heat pump off so I had to turn it off at the circuit breaker box. It has done this before a few times in certain weather. I'll leave it off all night and see what happens tomorrow. That darn thing just kept pumping up the damp air from the basement crawl space. With a good dehumidifier, it will dry the air in a hurry.
A window AC unit would work good right now in summer but the dehumidifier will come in handy at other times of the year, like rainy days in the fall and winter. I don't feel too great when the RH gets up too much over 70%. It's drier outside than it is in the house, at times.
Dehumidifiers from box stores are rated at 80*@ 95%RH. Crawlspace dehumidifiers like Honeywell, Aprilaire have a certification from AHAM rated at 80*@60%. Any dehumidifier when the room temperature or RH drops capacity is reduced and at 50* capacities drop to zero. Most dehumidifier s have a 5 minute time delay after a power failure or when it's pluged in.
Do you know what the RH is in your living area? Also running the fan can help move the air around. On my Trane HVAC I can set the fan to CIRCULATE and it will run at least 20 minutes per hour. (Circulate is different than ON which runs the fan all the time.).
I set my whole house AC system at 73-74. Humidity is usually 40-50%. While running the water accumulated is a fast drip.
I have a dehumidifier Frigidaire with auto shutoff, 70 pint model. $250 I think I paid a couple years ago.
I hardly use it.
Maybe if we have been gone on vacation and the humidity is like 70%.
The problem is the the hot air generated just empties into the basement.
That and for the energy used I would rather just lower the set point of central AC which would lower humidity also.
I have a dehumidifier Frigidaire with auto shutoff, 70 pint model. $250 I think I paid a couple years ago.
I hardly use it.
Maybe if we have been gone on vacation and the humidity is like 70%.
The problem is the the hot air generated just empties into the basement.
That and for the energy used I would rather just lower the set point of central AC which would lower humidity also.
Not entirely true. Live in a place with a full basement that stays cold even in the dead of summer, and even non-humid outdoor air results in high relative humidity levels in the basement, even with the A/C running. Particularly true when the A/C is not really used to cool the basement (ie: All my basement vents are closed when the A/C runs - its already at lower than 65 degrees, it doesn't need to be any colder...)
For non-basement applications, that would be generally correct though...
Just need to heat the basement up or insulate the walls.
I had a gut feeling setting the central AC a few degrees lower would also lower the RH, and it does, but when it thunder showers or rains, the RH goes up fast bc the heat pump is then drawing on a more moist source of air. Each time this happened, I turned off the heat pump via the circuit breaker box, and then went to bed, and when I restarted the HP, the RH came down quickly and stays in the mid 50s if the HP is set at The dehumidifier will be good to help keep the RH in the comfort zone when it rains, otherwise I'm keeping the HP set at <74℉. It seems good to wear shoes and socks and not have sweaty feet. I got a hygrometer a few weeks ago and have been watching changes in the RH. The RH went wayyyyy too high the other day [when I was running the HP at 78 or 77℉ and it was too much of a burden on my immune system and I felt drained and allergic. I tend to be allergic to mold and I actually feel my best in dry air. I'd love to move to a dryer air state but can't afford it but I think I can adapt to Tennessee. The dehumidifier will help me stay in the comfort zone.
Do heat pumps dehumidify? It has been hard to keep the RH below 60%. It sometimes gets to 73-75% RH but sometimes goes down to <60, which is in the "comfort zone." If a heat pump is supposed to dehumidify, why has it been such a struggle to keep my RH <60? Is there any certain temperature I should be running it at, or is my heat pump old and needs to be replaced?
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