commercial dehumidifier question

10 years ago

Our house has zoned heating and cooling. The basement and first floor are on one unit and the second floor is on another unit. We live in VA and go away for the summer. We turn off the AC since it is very expensive to run it when we are not here. The thermostat is also on the main first floor. Our problem is the basement. Several years we have come back to find mold on furniture, walls, all over. We needed to do something.

We called a HVAC person and he recommended putting in a Sante Fe unit in the basement. Originally he had the air venting into the system from the heating/cooling vents in the ceiling and the air was being returned through the wall intake register. The reverse of how heating and cooling is.

After a week of me telling him that it wasn't working (humidity rose to 82, no water draining from pipe) he came over and found that the unit was not working. A new one was ordered.

It was put in yesterday and he reversed the way it was installed. Now the air comes in from the wall intake register and goes out through the ceiling vents.

Our problem is that there are a number of rooms in the basement and the furthest room is a bedroom. The intake register is the opposite side of the basement against the wall to the furnace room (where dehumidifier is) and the outside wall. I expressed concern that sufficient air wouldn't be pulled out of the bedroom and that the humidistat (the wall thingy where you set what you want the humidity to be like 60%) is above the intake register and far away from the bedroom.

Since it has been there since yesterday the humidity has risen by one 1% in the bedroom and it has been dry outside (unlike 10 days ago when it was wet and damp). I don't know what will happen when we have a rainy spell and we are not here.

Several questions:
1) should we ask that the install go back the way it originally was so air would be pulled out through the ceiling vent in the bedroom and the other rooms?

2)with the air coming in through the intake register, what happens in the winter when we have the heat on and the should be venting back into the gas furnace (assumptions there)

3) in order to run the dehumidifier I have to close all the vents on the first floor and not run A/C because they share the duct work for the zoning and turn off the machine. Today it is 90 degrees.

4) are there any questions I should be asking him? Any suggestions I should offer him.

He is, I feel, dismissing my concerns as I am a female. I DO know when a dehumidifier is not working. It took 4 phone calls, 2 emails and a threat of not paying any more on this machine till it was working. I'm concerned now that I will still have a problem in that back bedroom.

Thank you for all your help. BTW, it is a Santa Fe model.

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Comments (6)

SaltiDawg
10 years ago
"He is, I feel, dismissing my concerns as I am a female."

Do you have any basis whatsoever for saying this?
travelingmama213
Original Author
10 years ago
His secretary mentioned it to me. Is that good enough?

Now, can you help me with my question.
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SaltiDawg
10 years ago
No way to help you if indeed the issue is he or she is dismissing your concerns because you are a woman.

Also, your passive aggressive agenda is showing travelingmama213.... Is that good enough?

This post was edited by saltidawg on Wed, May 29, 13 at 18:47
travelingmama213
Original Author
10 years ago
My husband is home now from his business trips and will be taking this over for me.

Anyone have any help that you can offer us about this problem.
fsq4cw
10 years ago
I donÃ¢ÂÂt believe the installed system is solving your problems of mould caused by humidity and poor indoor air quality; in addition it is using a lot of energy. The most efficient model still uses over 560 watts/hr.

A better solution might be an ERV where you would have an exchange of your damp poor quality indoor air with Ã¢ÂÂfreshÃ¢ÂÂ filtered outdoor air while removing the humidity as well. These units are also far more energy efficient and may use less than 150 watts/hr while actually improving the quality of your indoor air.

The unit youÃ¢ÂÂve chosen, from what I see, other than removing some humidity does not improve the indoor air quality (IAC), as there is no air exchange with the outdoors. I donÃ¢ÂÂt believe your situation will substantially improve until there is an adequate air exchange of indoor with outdoor air.

IMO

SR

Here is a link that might be useful: Greentek ERV/HRV
mike_home
10 years ago
Mold is a serious problem. Do you have a water infiltration problem? Do have a crawl space which covered in dirt? It seems a lot of moisture is entering the basement.

Which Santa Fe model do you own? Even the Santa Fe compact is rated for 70 pints per day. These units are expensive and highly rated. If it is operating properly it should be collecting a lot of water and the humidity should be dropping. I think the second unit is also not operating correctly or the connection the duct work is wrong.

It should not matter which direction the air is flowing as long as it stays in the basement. It is not necessary to connect the dehumidifier through the duct work. Humidity travels through walls. It will take a while but eventually the basement will have a consistent humidity. This assume you don't have an area which is very wet compared to the rest of the basement.

I don't understand what the HVAC contractor did, but it makes no sense that you can't use your air conditioner and the humidifier at the same time. This is unacceptable in my opinion.

To answer your questions:

1. It shouldn't matter.

2. This is hard to answer without understanding exactly what he has done.

3. This needs to be fixed.

4. Ask him why the humidity is not decreasing and when is he coming over the fix the mess he has created.