What's the maximum I can turn our whole-house humidifier up to without consequences? The dial goes up to 50%, but the service techs always set it to 35%. Is there any danger to turning the dial all the way up? Would it introduce too much moisture into the system? I don't want to rust the ducts from the inside out. Thanks.
You don't need to worry about your ducts. The answer is as much humidity as your house can handle without condensing on any surfaces. The coldest surface in your home is usually the windows, so you want to keep the humidity below the threshold where the dewpoint will be higher than the surface temperature of your windows. The only reasons it matters are that you don't want to damage the frames and sills, and you don't want to give mold a place to grow. Obviously the colder it gets outside, the colder your windows will be, hence the numbers that correspond to the temperatures on your control. You can drive in more humidity on a milder day than a frigid one without causing condensation. Modern controls have outdoor temp sensors that will back off humidity as the temperature drops. The bottom line is, if you don't have moisture on your windows, crank it up. If you do, dial it back.
I have a couple of hygrometers in the house. I try to keep it at 35% humidity. At times I will get some condensation and frost on some windows that have the window shades closed but as soon as I pull up the shades a bit it will disappear within a day. I typically don't rely on moisture or frost on the windows as an indicator just because the quality of window, window placement and indoor/outdoor temp as well as sun/shade impacts window condensation quite a bit. When I have any condensation I will simply raise the window shade or crack the register open a little more. Ceiling fans also help. I turn down he thermo to 53 when gone and 57 when going to bed. 63 or so when home. I also keep my garage heated to 53-56.
Humidity also makes the house feel warmer, along with keeping all your caulk lines and corners from cracking.
Hey Jbraun, can you recommend a good solid unit to install? House is 2700 sq. Ft. with 20' plus ceilings in the main living areas. 9' elsewhere. Foam insulation package throughout. House is dry in the winter with the gas heat, so I'd like to have something to utilize the HVAC units oppose to constantly filling up tanks placed in the house.
Dunno, I put one on our system, gets dry inside in the winter with the furnace running. Makes the floors squeak too much
I don't have the experience that Braun has but I have had good luck with Aprilaire units. I have a large whole home evaporation unit with the wifi thermostat. https://www.aprilaire.com/whole-house-products/whole-house-products/humidifier/model-600 The only thing I don't like is how much the filter cost and having to get one each year. But it works really good and is completely automatic. https://www.aprilaire.com/whole-house-products/whole-house-products/humidifier
Aprilaire units are okay. They invented the thing, but haven't done much since. They're really basic, and will get the job done. I like the Honeywell Trueease stuff. The HE150 is a bypass model, meaning it uses the furnace's natural airflow, and the HE300 is fan powered. They have some cool features. The bypass model has a motorized damper that's only open when delivering humidity, so you're not bypassing air all the time. The powered model uses a squirrel cage fan so it delivers more air across the panel. Both have a DC solenoid that is quieter than Aprilaire's and they cycle water on and off for less waste.
Thank you! I will check them out now. Is the install possible by a homeowner or do i really need an HVAC person to do it?
if you're comfortable with a voltmeter, sweating pipes and installing valves (do NOT put a saddle valve on an existing pipe) and can operate a sharpie and a tinsnip, you'll be fine.
