Folks, got a new Lennox SEER 21 really great HVAC in May. We live in the Palm Springs, CA (desert) area. The salesman who said he had been in installation for decades said we could expect lower humidity in the house as a result of the new system. It's a 2-ton system replacing a 4-ton builder's grade that was 12 years old. I asked why the smaller unit and they said they use SoCal Edison's standards when they evaluate (actually, they just input data they collect into a Web page) and units are more efficient these days.There is a small trickle coming off outside. The system is two stage and spends time in both.

The humidity right now outside is 19% and the house is 61% and it's been like that all summer (slightly muggy indoors).

Any ideas on whether this big a difference is expected or if something isn't working well or if i need to turn on the de-humid cycle (i think i tried that and it had barely any effect). i think they also sell an add-on de-humid device for the HVAC but not sure of that.

i do remember reading that a de-humid cycle can result is a lower house temp because the humidity setting now becomes the setpoint rather than temp. That can result in a lot more energy use.

Any help/experience/knowledge is appreciated.

thanx. bb