Whole House Humidification
WebsterWoodworker
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
Our old house in Webster Groves has radiators and we’ve always struggled with Humidifying the air in the Winter. I’ve used a Kenmore Whole House humidifier to solve the problem for years. Any better solutions out there? What are others using?
Replies
If you don't have an air
If you don't have an air handler unit to which you can attach a humidifier then good whole-house humidification is difficult.
There are stand-alone units (with their own fan) that are designed to be permanently installed and plumbed into a water supply and drain, and these are an option, but getting the moist air to distribute itself throughout the house may be a challenge. (Of course 2-3 such units could do the trick, at significant additional expense.)
If you have an air handler for air conditioning, that could be used for humidification. You generally need a humidifier unit that is speced for plumbing in hot water, though, as most units aren't effective with both cold air and cold water. And, unless you want to run the AHU continuously during humidifier season, you need to figure out a relay control to turn on the AHU when the humidistat "calls".
Dan, I agree. Without a means to move moist air around and have it mix with dry air, you also run the risk of forming condensation on walls, leading to mold.
Additionally, tract homes down here seem to have a problem with dust collecting in those darn flexible ducts. I can only imagine what kind of little Winter critters will grow once moisture is added. Could make for some interest mold cultures.
It's not the radiators that
It's not the radiators that cause dry air. They indicate that your house is older though, and probably quite drafty--allowing a lot of cold, dry air inside where it warms up and gets even dryer. Have you considered an energy audit to show where you could tighten the house up and improve your insulation?
Anyone considering an energy audit should note that there are companies out there that will take your money, give you a questionable result knowing they have no way of getting their fan to handle the overly-drafty home conditions.
Wife and I went through this 2-3 years ago. Repairs will still months away to insure those exceptional 'holes' were sealed. made no difference as the company claimed that the repeated fan self shutoff condition wouldn't skew his report. BS!
Yet, they took the money, stated the home breathed twice as much as the feds advised, and claimed they could resolve this with $6,000 worth of sealing of which the aforementioned repairs were not included.
I could see it now. They take the $6,000 on top of the $300, seal some ducts, then blame the end unreached promised results on repairs not completed. Good for them because they have $6,300 and duped homeowners in debt.
Instead, I chose to claim their energy audit voided, without confident results because of said repairs, that this company should have refused the audit, but just really wanted that money ($300) at any cost.
And when I asked for detail on exactly what they would do for the additional $6,000 the simply ignored my request three times. So, they can have questionably working equipment, a monkey running it, and produce catastrophic reports, but can't say exactly how they'd get you to target goals for $6,000.
Now, this was a test for me. I wanted to see what kind of integrity this company had. I would have been pleased had they refused the energy audit based on the exceptional conditions of the house, but it was all about the $$$ to them. Heck, they'd have audited a tent. :)
Take up some new hobbies ... indoor plants or aquariums. I'm being facetious, a bit. The other poster suggested something to think about. Your old house leaks dry air a lot in the winter. A tighter house will retain moisture you generate (people, showers, cooking, etc.). Doing that will save the energy you use on the humidifier, too. Start to think LEAKAGE, and maybe you'll find some large holes.
yep airtightness problem
Certainly any house more than, say, 30 years old could stand to be "tightened up" quite a bit, but in the northern half of this country you're not going to "tighten up" an old house well enough (unless you totally rebuild it) to eliminate the need for humidification in the winter.
You know it never occurred to me that leakage was affecting my humidity. I always thought of hot air going out instead of cold air coming in. About the suggestion of adding a humidifier to the Air Handler on our AC unit. Its up in the attic and I'm afraid of the freezing water line possibility. Sounds like the whole house humidifier is the only solution for me. 6 years ago I came up with a way to hook the unit up to my water supply so I don't have to worry about filling up those menacing tanks. Thanks for everyone's help.
I'll add to the remarks that
I'll add to the remarks that a dry house indicates a leaky house. If you have air leaking in, and air already in the house is leaking out somewhere, then adding humidity to the inside air could create a problem if that moisture condenses in the wrong place as it exits, like inside wall assemblies. Don't overdo the humidification.
Webster,
Don't give up.
Get
Webster,
Don't give up.
Get an Energy audit...
It may or may not be possible to tighten your house up enough to obtain comfortable humidity.
Your house is telling you something...
You likely have significant air leakage.
When cold air leaks in.. you have to pay to heat it.
There is a good chance that you could save some significant money and be more comfortable...and make your home more valuable.
I have hot water heat and installed an April Aire whole house humidifier, which seems to work well enough to maintain a 30 - 40% humidity range thru out the winter. I have also spent a decade plugging leaks when ever they are found. Apparently, my old house is relatively tight.
Do you live in the Webster Groves by St. Louis? If so, why would you ever be looking for more humidity? St. Louis seems plenty humid enough year round. Just wondering.
Yes the St. Louis Webster Groves and its 21 degrees today. I think you guys have convinced me its air leakage. I feel the drafts all around the house but those radiators and the constantly running boiler keep the house so toasty. Yikes!
BTW - Norman, how did you install an April Aire with Hot water heat?
April Aire has a model (350?) that works independently. No interface with the heating system at all.
Pulls air across a grid where hot water is dripping, outputs the now humid air back into the house. The humidity then naturally difuses into the entire home.
Yeah, I alluded to units like that in my first post. The problem, of course, is that the moist air doesn't get well distributed, absent some other HVAC system, so you might need to install 2-3 units to achieve reasonably uniform humidity in the house.
I know somone earlier was kidding but fish tanks make great humidifiers. I've got two tropical tanks at different ends of the house and the amount of water they lose to evaporation in the winter is impressive. I've got relative humidity meters in the rooms and they are always in the comfy zone of like 45% in the winter.