Actually, kdxbob, I often do run the dehumidifier even when it's cool outside. When I want the heat, I'll run it alone; and if it's too much for the outside temps, I'll run the A/C along with it to keep the house from heating up too much.
So it's interesting what you say about the reheat...
AbbyNormal, the more you talk about humid air infiltration, the more I think that it's at the root of the problems in my house. It doesn't hurt that I've long been attracted to the idea of completely sealing the shell on this house and ventilating only by design.
My plan, as it's evolved, is...
The main living area is about 33 x 22, but during the hot periods, it really has to cool the entire 1300-sq.ft house (one floor). And maybe this is the problem; if I circulated the air throughout the entire house all the time the A/C was running, rather than just during especially hot weather...
AbbyNormal, I like that philosophy of sealing and insulating the attic envelope. I'm looking into that now.
Coldmaster, this is interesting. Posts above, esp. by AbbyNormal, suggest that lower fan speeds increase the amount of removed moisture on each pass through the evaporator coils, lowering...
So what I'm hearing here is that infiltration of moist air may be the main culprit in the prevailing high inside humidity with which the A/C seems unable to cope. Lower fan speeds and colder settings on the A/C may help, but stopping infiltration and providing adequate attic intakes to feed the...
I'm thinking ducted, because for one thing, the unit will use two or three heating fuel sources (heat pump, electric resistance element, LP gas), and it seems wise to just include the heat, the A/C, and the air filtration into a single unit.
Got some issues there, but I can work on that. Looking ahead, though, to the central air installation, and supposing that I still may have higher-than-normal moisture infiltration that I cannot yet do anything about: how do I determine the moisture load in this house so as to size the central...
Funny you should mention that. I actually tried Lysol with the room air conditioner, but the flavor I'd chosen (Fresh Mountain Breeze, or something) when concentrated and mixed with the mold smell stunk and I had to go to the professional cleaner. However, at the same time, I also bought a can...
Great information, all of you.
This unit has an outer cabinet or sleeve that installs in a wall or window, and an inner assembly of all the motors and coils mounted on a heavy pan, which slides in and out of the sleeve for servicing.
I took the mechanical portion outside in the beginning of...
Hello, everybody.
Does anyone know what's happening in the following situation?
My house air conditioner (a 21,500 Btu Amana thru-wall unit) is off. The house temp is mid-to-high 70s. Relative humidity inside the house may be 60 percent or more. So I turn on the air conditioner and after a...
quark - Thank you. I like the idea of using a dessicant, especially a regenerable one, but it seems likely that it would extend this system beyond my budget and complexity constraints right now. What I'll probably do is build the system without any additional moisture control and run if for a...
I don't know. I plan to power-vent the crawl space, but aside from what the air conditioner and the (proposed) bath exhaust would remove, no other plan existed.
This house is pretty leaky; what other options should be considered to remove moisture?
ChasBean - What you're saying is starting to sink in. We do get a lot of infiltration from crawl and attic spaces, and other areas. The positive pressure makes a lot of sense, although I'd like to be able to reclaim some of that heat during the winter (routine winter temps are -20F)
Islander -...
Does keeping a positive air pressure inside the house preclude having an air-to-air heat exchanger (where usually exhaust = intake), or are exchangers made so that you can vary the ratio of intake vs. exhaust air?
The air-exchange rate did concern me, since we live in northern Minnesota (very cold and very hot). My strategy is usually to build a lot of adjustments into a system so that it can be tuned to a wide range of conditions.
My wife likes the strong air movement, anyway. If I install a beefy...
ChasBean1,
I had wondered about the uncomfortable indoor wind speed. Suppose I used 20 ACH. That would imply 3300 cfm. Do you think that would yield too high an air movement?
Excess capacity seems attractive in the case in which I need to clean out the house in a matter of minutes (perfumes...
Central would be easier.
I'm thinking of using plywood to construct the box that houses the blower and filters. That way it could be assembled in the crawl space (there are no openings in the floor big enough to accommodate a pre-assembled unit).
What problems do you see with this scheme...
quark,
I see your point about picking up dust in the ductwork; but wouldn't that require every register in the house to be fitted with its own HEPA filter? Is that what is normally done when very clean air is needed?
Regards,
jcoronat
I’d like an opinion on the following scheme to incorporate my forced-air heating into a whole-house air-filtration system.
I have a house with 10,000 cu. ft. of living space, which I’d like to fit with a high-efficiency ventilating and air-purifying system. The objective is to obtain...
