RE: Whole-house dehumidifier

[Guest guest]

Looked at April Airs product literature. No specifics on how their

dehumifier works.

THat is a problem. THey claim it is virtually maintenance free. Any

good dehumidifying equipment does require some maintenance.

The biggest question is where does the water go?

I was surprised that it was only able to reduce humidity to 55% in the

test home. It should have been able to do better than that!

BOB

[Guest guest]



Try going to the contractors installation site for more specs, http://www.aprilairecontractor.com/residential.aspx, you have to register, but it's free.

-----Original Message-----From: Bob s Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 3:57 PMTo: iequality Subject: Re: Whole-house dehumidifierLooked at April Airs product literature. No specifics on how their dehumifier works. THat is a problem. THey claim it is virtually maintenance free. Any good dehumidifying equipment does require some maintenance.The biggest question is where does the water go?I was surprised that it was only able to reduce humidity to 55% in the test home. It should have been able to do better than that!BOBFAIR USE NOTICE:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

[Guest guest]

Steve,

Aprilaire might want you to think this is revolutionary, but they are just copying a unit that’s been available for at least 7 years made by Thermastore, http://www.thermastor.com.

When I practiced in Atlanta I personally installed a number of these units. I found them to work quite well. The Thermastore product has a great optional feature: a very good air filter [better than the Apirilaire whole house filter (used to be SpaceGuard). This filter can be added to the dehumidifier unit. The dehumidifier system blower can be set to circulate 24/7 and you have clean air without the usual noise associated with the furnace/AC AH running all the time.

Larry Gust

IAQA Certified Mold Remediator * Certified Building Biologist * Electrical Engineer

http://www.healbuildings.com

Original Message:

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2004 10:13:16 EDT

From: AirwaysEnv@...

Subject: Whole-house dehumidifier

Has anyone had any experience with this new whole-house dehumidification

system or know its cost?

It looks like an ideal way to control humidity without running the AC

compressor when the house is vacant, or when the system wouldn't be calling for

cooling because outdoor temps aren't high but RH is. It would be perfect for those

Florida condos that don't get used all summer.

Would it be more or less expensive to just retrofit a dehumidistat on the

existing AC system to override the thermostat?

I will probably be recommending it to clients in applicable situations if I

don't hear too many " cons " .

From www.aprilaire.com:

Revolutionary whole-home dehumidification technology from Aprilaire.

The Aprilaire Model 1700 Whole-Home Dehumidifier removes just the right

amount of moisture for ultimate comfort and peace of mind. And it works throughout

your entire home, not just in one room like noisy, messy portable

dehumidifiers. In addition, the Model 1700 lets you dehumidify a separate area of your

home where there is more humidity buildup – like your basement or crawlspace –

even when your heating/air-conditioning isn’t running.

Thanks in advance for comments.

Steve Temes

[Guest guest]

Steve,

Try Therma-Stor Products in Wisconson. They make the Phoenix

Dehumidifiers and Guardian Micro-Traps many are familiar with. They

have, in my opinion, one of the best lines of dehumidification

equipment for whole house and stand alone use. They have a

wonderful, whole house, dehumidification/ventilation system.

Shapiro

>

> Has anyone had any experience with this new whole-house

dehumidification

> system or know its cost?

>

> It looks like an ideal way to control humidity without running the

AC

> compressor when the house is vacant, or when the system wouldn't be

calling for

> cooling because outdoor temps aren't high but RH is. It would be

perfect for those

> Florida condos that don't get used all summer.

>

> Would it be more or less expensive to just retrofit a dehumidistat

on the

> existing AC system to override the thermostat?

>

> I will probably be recommending it to clients in applicable

situations if I

> don't hear too many " cons " .

>

> From www.aprilaire.com:

>

> Revolutionary whole-home dehumidification technology from Aprilaire.

> The Aprilaire Model 1700 Whole-Home Dehumidifier removes just the

right

> amount of moisture for ultimate comfort and peace of mind. And it

works throughout

> your entire home, not just in one room like noisy, messy portable

> dehumidifiers. In addition, the Model 1700 lets you dehumidify a

separate area of your

> home where there is more humidity buildup †" like your basement or

crawlspace †"

> even when your heating/air-conditioning isn’t running.

>

>

> Thanks in advance for comments.

>

> Steve Temes