Here is the situation in the house I am about to move into. It is a 1940 brick colonial. The basement is half finished. The current owners are running a de-humidifier in the finished area, and it seems to want it, although moisture is not a major problem. I know this because the wood floors and paneling are in great shape down there.
I am in IL, btw.
I plan to use the space for an office/ home theater, so I don’t want the noise from this running. I know I could automate the schedule or just turn it off when I am down there, but I am looking for something a little more elegant. I don’t prefer the look of it sitting there either.
I am wondering if there is something I can do to either place a standard dehumidifier on the unfinished side of the basement and use a return and vent to route air through it, or if there is a dedicated machine that will do this, without costing a fortune. I am handy enough to cut a hole in the wall and run a little ductwork, but I don’t know if there is any practical way to do this.
Any help will be appreciated.
ar
Edited 7/5/2006 3:45 pm ET by ar7499
Replies
check out
http://thermastor.com/prod_90h.htm
thanks for the start. This looks like the right idea, but it is probably larger capacity than I need. My space is about 15x25. Also, it looks like I would have to go through an HVAC installer, and there is no mention of price on the site. A quick search on the web only turned up the manufacturer, not any re-sellers.
I am really hoping that this is something I will be able to do myself, but I do appreciate the link. It's good to see that there is a product that does what I want, now, hopefully, I can find a retail version......
ar
I've got a Sears 50 pt dehumidifier sitting on a covered shelf outside our house, duct running into the house. We turn it on with a switch in the house. A pleated filter behind the coils to catch pollens, etc. This is part of our whole house air system, including an air-to-air heat exchanger. I mounted it outside to eliminate the noise and leave some of the heat outdoors. Too rainy for a pic.
There's no trick to installation, other than you apparently want to run room air through it and then have it returned to the room. Small duct will work fine with the fan in the unit. I'd suggest you also use a pleated filter to clean particulates from your room air.
I've never bought a new dehumidifier, generally pay ~$50. As we don't need ac, we're serious about dehumidification in this humid climate. Always have at least one spare used dehumidifier in reserve.
Another thought for you... Where's your water heater? Half of our dehumidification needs are supplied by a heat pump water heater. In addition to roughly 1/3 cost of heating water (compared to standard electric) there's the byproduct of cool dry air. If your water heater is convenient, you get free dehumidification and some cooling along with cheaper hot water for similar ducting. Won't get a HPWH for 50 bucks though.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
You can buy Thermastor dehumidifiers at http://www.acforsale.com.They are very efficient. I believe they have a Carrier coil inside them.
thank you for the link. I cannot find the specific unit that was recommended, but it seems like the therma-stor products are all pretty pricey, and might be overkill for what I need.
I have a few year old dehumidifier, now I am considering taking the guts of it and making my own in-line system, that can be built into a box of duct material....
any thoughts?
thanks all,
ar
look up http://www.drywave.com 800 261 1330 or Air Dryr 1000C
we dry all our clothes on racks and plug in one or two of these depending on the season / think they say burn the energy of 60 watt bulbfour or five months the windows are open and they remain unplugged
that's an intersting solution, but I am definately not interested in heat as a by-product. This is only for the humid summer, and even though it is a basement, I don't want any extra heat. I think it will be just cool enough as it is.
ar