Winter inside dry air : Humidifier

---For you guys (Like me) that live in areas where it gets cold in the winter ----

We've always had a problem with the air being very dry in the house during the cold months. Last year I installed "communication thermostats" with humidity sensors that I can access via a web browser. This has been helpful tracking the temp, the amount of time the unit is on, and the actual humidity level. What I noticed was, even though I had a bypass humidifier on the main floor unit, we had humidity levels down to the low 20s. The humidifier couldn't maintain the humidity to the proper levels. We have another HVAC unit to add another humidifier to in the attic, but it is an unheated area and if you pipe water up there the water could freeze and the pipe could burst..... not a good thing.

So, I contacted Aprilaire and explained the situation, the unit sizes, and the house size. They confirmed that the humidifier was undersized for the home. But, they told me something I didn't consider......... You can add another humidifier to the same unit. I've never seen two humidifiers on one unit before, but it sounded like a great idea. So I purchased an Aprilaire 700 unit that has a built in fan.

I used the Aprilaire 700 fan unit because I didn't want more CFM loss off the bypass. I also set this unit to operate on a fan call, not just a heat call. This way I can just run the fan to put more humidity in the air.

This system has been working great. I'm consistently getting 36%-38% humidity.

FYI - It should take an installer about 3 hours to install. (Less if you already have an outlet to plug into)

One note : To much humidity can also cause problems also, so you need to maintain the proper humidity level for the outside temps in your area.

 

Fully agree........

36%-43% is perfect for me.

An easy way to tell if there is to much humidity in the indoor air is to check the windows for condensation. If you have moisture on the windows then the humidity level needs to be lower.