Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Topic Author
davebo
Posts: 1133
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:02 pm

Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by davebo »

One of my sons has very dry skin so I bought a humidifier gauge to see what the level was in our house. In the winter, it's between the 18-22%, which is considered low. So I had a guy come out and install a new humidifier on the furnace for around $300.

Once I had the thing going, I noticed after a couple days there was no movement in the humidity in the house. I called the guy and he said it can take a couple weeks to get up to the target humdity (40%). Now around 2 weeks later, still the humidity is at the same level.

I happened to be at a party where this topic came up. There were 3 other people there that had humidifiers in their house and none of them really measured the humidity, so they couldn't say whether it was working. 2 of them said they still have the occasional shock/nosebleed in the winter, which makes them think that maybe it's not working as great as they thought.

Anyone have any experience? I'm going to call the guy up and maybe have him install a new unit, but don't want to even bother if this is just the way it goes. I wonder if I'm just better off with the portable humidifiers that you put in the rooms.

UPDATE 12/11/13:: Well, my GeneralAire humidifier was working this winter up until about 3 weeks ago. Turns out the motor blew out and needed to be replaced. Even with it running full-tilt, it never reached more than 23-24% humdidity in the house and that's when the weather was mild. When the HVAC guy took a closer look, he saw that one of the smaller pieces inside had broken off and said he'd need to order a new one. At that point, I just decided to cut my losses on the thing and get an Aprilaire 600 series.

What a great decision! I had it installed on Monday and my humidity in the house was measuring 16%! It has been EXTREMELY cold here in Chicago and relative humidity is reporting 40% on the Aprilaire display in the basement. I have found that the humidity, measured by my hygrometer upstairs, is more in the 31-32% range but I'm still pretty happy.
Last edited by davebo on Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
sport
Posts: 12094
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:26 pm
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by sport »

We have an Aprilaire humidifier on the furnace. If it gets very cold outside, we have to turn it down. Otherwise, all the windows are covered with condensation from excess humidity. It seems to work very well.
Jeff
colejr
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2007 7:48 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by colejr »

jsl11 wrote:We have an Aprilaire humidifier on the furnace. If it gets very cold outside, we have to turn it down. Otherwise, all the windows are covered with condensation from excess humidity. It seems to work very well.
Jeff
+1 on Aprilaire. Ours has an outside thermometer and automatically turns down the humidity when really cold out, so no condensation problems. I have a cheap humidity gauge in the bedroom and the Aprilaire unit appears to keep the humidity around 40% when cold, down to around 30% when really cold.

Jim
User avatar
NAVigator
Posts: 2545
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:24 am
Location: Iowa

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by NAVigator »

+1 with the Aprilaire. I am pleased with the humidity level at all temperatures. Worry free.

Jerry
"I was born with nothing and I have most of it left."
Tom_T
Posts: 4837
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:33 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by Tom_T »

Make sure the water supply to the unit is actually turned on. You never know what the installer might have forgotten to do!

I can always tell the unit is working because particle dust from the filter accumulates under the unit, and I have to vacuum it up.
German Expat
Moderator
Posts: 961
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:49 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by German Expat »

Depends where you are. We are in Colorado and got a whole house humidifier. It does make some difference but in order to get the full benefit we need to run the fan on constant on (the humidifier will only work if the air conditioning fan is on). Our house is pretty big and the humidifier makes a difference albeit not a large one since we only have it on the main unit but not the upstairs unit.
What type do you have ? You should be able to see if there is water flow by looking at the overflow line.
Auream
Posts: 630
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:07 pm
Location: Raleigh, NC

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by Auream »

One thing to note with humidifiers: its treating the symptom, rather than the root cause of the problem. In all but the most extreme climates, indoor humidity should generally not get anywhere near that low in the winter unless your house is very poorly sealed. Many people install a humidifier when the best solution to the problem would be eliminating air leaks, which would have the side benefit of lowering your heating bill.

That being said, its usually easier to just stick in a humidifier than to go around the house looking for all the possible air leaks. But in the long run, sealing up leaks will save you more money and promote more even humidity.
User avatar
GeneralPerson
Posts: 65
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:06 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by GeneralPerson »

I also have an AprilAir installed but it increased my water bill so much that I had to switch it off. Does anyone else noticed a major increase in their water bills after installing a whole house humidifier?
Topic Author
davebo
Posts: 1133
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:02 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by davebo »

Out of curiosity, do your units only run when the heat is on?

I have a GeneralAire 1137, which seems to be an average humidifier according to the reviews. I guess the reason I started questioning if it was even possible to work was because portable humidifiers are running non-stop and you still (at least in my house) have to have the door closed in order to trap in the humidity and get it to increase.

My furnance is probably only running 10% of the day (or so) and just didn't seem like it would throw off enough moisture move the needle. But maybe I have the wrong humidifier?
German Expat
Moderator
Posts: 961
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:49 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by German Expat »

Yes, they only run if the heat is on or more precise if the fan is on so if you heat is only on 10% of the time for a really dry area like Colorado this won't be enough. If I want more humidity I turn the fan to constant on. A friend of mine bought a fancy steam humidifier with a new controller that also measures humidity and turns the fan automatically on if the humidity goes too low. Works well but has very mixed reviews on Amazon and also does need maintenance (mineral build up). The flow through's are much better maintenance wise (just a filter change) but will waste some water.

To the question about the water bill, how much water does go down the drain for you ? You should only have a very small line and if installed right you can adjust the water flow so you can only see a small trickle going down into the drain (assuming you can see that line). My water bill is not influenced much, it will also hit your water heating bill a little since the line is supposed to be installed into the hot water supply.
rustymutt
Posts: 4001
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 11:03 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by rustymutt »

They work for me. I've got a Aprilaire attached to my main return shaft. Keeps us at 40% humidity. Just this morning I turned the setting down from 45%, because if felt to moist inside. I adjust it as the outside temp changes occur throughout winter months. From 50% when it's very cold out, to 40% when it's in the 50's outside temp. Helps with sinuses, and skin issues.
Even educators need education. And some can be hard headed to the point of needing time out.
edge
Posts: 3833
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:44 pm
Location: NY

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by edge »

I have 2 Aprilaire. I know they work because they didn't turn on this year and the RH was 30%. After being 'adjusted' so they actually run it is around 45-50%.
User avatar
AAA
Posts: 1885
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:56 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by AAA »

I've been using a console humidifier for several years. It has two water containers, almost 3 gallons each, and an evaporative wick. I turned it on at the end of December when my humidifier gauge was showing off scale. The humidifier brings it up to 35%, based on the settings I use. I don't want it too high as then there could be other issues. Even now there's some condensation on the windows. By the way, the increase in humidity is fairly quick, on the order of a couple of hours, so the guy telling you it could take a couple of weeks to get the humidity up sounds way off base.
ResNullius
Posts: 2091
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:22 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by ResNullius »

We have a heat pump system, and we have a whole house humidifier attached. We live in the mountains, where it gets very cold for long periods of time during the winter. Anyway, it seems to work enough to keep us from having dry nose and throat and splitting skin on our fingers. It doesn't get the humidity up to the advertised level, but it does well enough for our needs. It needs to be serviced regularly, which is done by the regular heating/ac company that services our system.
User avatar
StoneReader
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:42 pm

Saddle Valves & Whole House Humidifiers

Post by StoneReader »

I have an Aprilaire with an outside thermometer and it works well. Once a year or so, the temperature will drop rapidly outside and we will get moisture on the windows because the humidity could not drop as fast. Otherwise, there is no condensation. I only turn it on for January and February in Upstate NY.

A friend of mine had an Aprilaire and complained that it did not seem to work. Most of the installers use a self-piercing saddle valve (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB76LXrYKsU ) that goes around a main copper pipe and punctures a hole in the copper pipe as as the valve is turned fully in and the piercing needle penetrates the pipe. Sometimes, the pipe is only dented rather than penetrated so no water connection is made. Penetration failure causes a lot of extra work because the proper way to fix this is to cut out a section of the dented copper pipe and solder in a new section. HVAC workers are not plumbers so they like to avoid this extra work and cost. In the case of my friend, the dishonest installer had just left the defective saddle valve on the pipe, collected his money and left. On the surface, the installation looked good but she was unknowingly not getting water to her humidifier for some years. I bought a new saddle valve for $4 from Lowes and predrilled a 1/8" hole in the pipe downstream of the original saddle valve (so penetration was assured) and installed the new valve with 10 minutes of work. Her humidifier now works perfectly. All of this is very easy to check out but some people just recoil from anything mechanical or plumbing in their basement so they remain unaware of the problem.
smackboy1
Posts: 1285
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:41 pm

Re: Saddle Valves & Whole House Humidifiers

Post by smackboy1 »

StoneReader wrote:A friend of mine had an Aprilaire and complained that it did not seem to work. Most of the installers use a self-piercing saddle valve (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB76LXrYKsU ) that goes around a main copper pipe and punctures a hole in the copper pipe as as the valve is turned fully in and the piercing needle penetrates the pipe.
Self piercing valves are not up to code for new installations because they can be a glitchy. They get clogged up or worse they leak. But many add on humidifiers use them because it is quick and easy for the installer. Ours get clogged regularly, so it's important to make sure water is flowing onto the pad at the beginning of heating season. Also is the pad changed regularly and the unit kept clean?

As others have mentioned the humidifier only humidifies the air when the fan is running. I would be careful cranking up the humidity level too high and having condensate in the ducts or elsewhere. Mold and mildew is a PITA. We use portable vaporizers to supplement. Another idea is have some houseplants.

It doesn't take 2 weeks to feel a change. When I change the settings I can see changes in a few hours, a day at most, if the furnace is running normally.
Disclaimer: nothing written here should be taken as legal advice, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Valuethinker
Posts: 49035
Joined: Fri May 11, 2007 11:07 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by Valuethinker »

German Expat wrote:Yes, they only run if the heat is on or more precise if the fan is on so if you heat is only on 10% of the time for a really dry area like Colorado this won't be enough. If I want more humidity I turn the fan to constant on. A friend of mine bought a fancy steam humidifier with a new controller that also measures humidity and turns the fan automatically on if the humidity goes too low. Works well but has very mixed reviews on Amazon and also does need maintenance (mineral build up). The flow through's are much better maintenance wise (just a filter change) but will waste some water.

To the question about the water bill, how much water does go down the drain for you ? You should only have a very small line and if installed right you can adjust the water flow so you can only see a small trickle going down into the drain (assuming you can see that line). My water bill is not influenced much, it will also hit your water heating bill a little since the line is supposed to be installed into the hot water supply.
'steam humidifier' flashed a few alarm bells.

Temperature in the water tank needs to be above 60 degrees C-- that's the standard temperature to prevent Legionnaire's disease forming.
German Expat
Moderator
Posts: 961
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:49 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by German Expat »

Steam humidifiers don't have water tanks so no issue about water temperature in the humidifier. They use water, heat it up and blow steam into your AC duct rather then using cold water and a mesh filter with a fan. You need to worry more about regular humidifiers where you use water and some people never clean those and their mesh filters.

I do not run my hot water in the house on 60 C because I have a small child and don't want him to get burned. The recommendation is to set it at 48-52 C (125 F or better only 120F). Also in the US (I assume you are outside the US since you used C) the water has a lot of chloride in it which helps prevent the bacteria to a certain level.

I would be more worried about public places especially in countries with low chloride in the water, e.g. shower heads can be contaminated easily. The company I work for in the sister division we sell an automated system in Europe for the control of larger shower rooms and we can heat the water at night to above 60 and turn all showers on for a short time to get heads disinfected.
heater
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2009 4:13 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by heater »

I use a low tech device that works for my whole house. Essick Air Products 2.4-Gallon Console Humidifier. I bought it from Lowes and works well. You do have to fill it manually (twice per day when dry). It's basically just a fan running over water. It's not steam based humidifier.

I have a whole house steam humidifier but became concerned (maybe unwarranted) about hot steam in my ducts.

BTW you should notice humidity improvement within a couple hours. Not 2 weeks. I would guess it's not working right.
Valuethinker
Posts: 49035
Joined: Fri May 11, 2007 11:07 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by Valuethinker »

German Expat wrote:Steam humidifiers don't have water tanks so no issue about water temperature in the humidifier. They use water, heat it up and blow steam into your AC duct rather then using cold water and a mesh filter with a fan. You need to worry more about regular humidifiers where you use water and some people never clean those and their mesh filters.
Thank you for clearing up my misconception.
I do not run my hot water in the house on 60 C because I have a small child and don't want him to get burned. The recommendation is to set it at 48-52 C (125 F or better only 120F). Also in the US (I assume you are outside the US since you used C) the water has a lot of chloride in it which helps prevent the bacteria to a certain level.
In the UK (and Canada, oddly), that 60 degrees C (I think it's actually 55) is the standard for hot water tanks. It is high enough to kill Legionnaire's Disease.

AFAIK Chlorine does *not*. The original case of LD was in Philadelphia at a Veterans Day convention, and it killed *Americans*. That would have been chlorinatd water, presumably.

*yes* that presents a risk of burning. You can put a temperature control on at the faucet end-- that's best practice.
I would be more worried about public places especially in countries with low chloride in the water, e.g. shower heads can be contaminated easily. The company I work for in the sister division we sell an automated system in Europe for the control of larger shower rooms and we can heat the water at night to above 60 and turn all showers on for a short time to get heads disinfected.
I think it is the tanks rather than the heads that can be infected with Legionnaire''s. The key is stagnant water.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionello ... ing_growth
German Expat
Moderator
Posts: 961
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:49 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by German Expat »

Unfortunately it is also the or even more the shower heads since you will have stagnant water and debris in them if you don't clean or disinfect them. Shower heads usually don't see scalding hot water (who would take a shower with 60 degrees C ?) so they don't get disinfected because you tend to shower with warm water.
In Europe scalding is showers is less an issue since most showers use one system mixers where you set a maximum temperature or even have a lock that you need to overwrite to go above. In the US not so much, never saw those temperature mixers here yet.

Here is a link to your own government web site about shower heads:

http://www.pkc.gov.uk/Business+and+trad ... cedure.htm
illcrx
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2012 10:28 am
Location: Spammer

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by illcrx »

amzsales wrote:I also have an AprilAir installed but it increased my water bill so much that I had to switch it off. Does anyone else noticed a major increase in their water bills after installing a whole house humidifier?
You need to have it wired to turn on only when the fan is turned on, any good AC tech with a 24v ac relay could do this for you. Im not sure whey Aprilaire doesnt have these built in.
TimDex
Posts: 962
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:27 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by TimDex »

I use the cheap vicks warm air mist humidifiers for 16 each at wal mart. With a 1100 sq ft house, two of them will bring the humidity up to about 52%, compared to about 30% without.

tim
"All man's miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone. " -- Pascal
Valuethinker
Posts: 49035
Joined: Fri May 11, 2007 11:07 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by Valuethinker »

German Expat wrote:Unfortunately it is also the or even more the shower heads since you will have stagnant water and debris in them if you don't clean or disinfect them. Shower heads usually don't see scalding hot water (who would take a shower with 60 degrees C ?) so they don't get disinfected because you tend to shower with warm water.
In Europe scalding is showers is less an issue since most showers use one system mixers where you set a maximum temperature or even have a lock that you need to overwrite to go above. In the US not so much, never saw those temperature mixers here yet.

Here is a link to your own government web site about shower heads:

http://www.pkc.gov.uk/Business+and+trad ... cedure.htm
Thank you. I was not aware US showers did not have system mixers.

I still find it odd that, in Britain, there is a hot and a cold water tap in many installations eg sink + basin!

Thanks for the tip re shower heads, too.
User avatar
jeffyscott
Posts: 13487
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:12 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by jeffyscott »

TimDex wrote:I use the cheap vicks warm air mist humidifiers for 16 each at wal mart. With a 1100 sq ft house, two of them will bring the humidity up to about 52%, compared to about 30% without.

tim
I like the warm mist type too. I use a pricier one, with a humidistat, $40 and it takes only 1 to humidify our 1900 sf house. I don't know what the humidity level is, I just adjust it based on window condensation. I guess the house is fairly tight, so doesn't need much added humidity.
leo383
Posts: 569
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:36 pm
Location: Durham, NC

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by leo383 »

No one around here will install a furnace humidifier. Too afraid of leaking and liability.

We run a console wick-type humidifier all winter to keep the humidity around 40%. Two of my kids have eczema and the added water in the air really helps. It's also nice petting the cat and not being shocked repeatedly.

But now I'm concerned about Legionnaire's. :(
Topic Author
davebo
Posts: 1133
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:02 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by davebo »

jeffyscott wrote:
TimDex wrote:I use the cheap vicks warm air mist humidifiers for 16 each at wal mart. With a 1100 sq ft house, two of them will bring the humidity up to about 52%, compared to about 30% without.

tim
I like the warm mist type too. I use a pricier one, with a humidistat, $40 and it takes only 1 to humidify our 1900 sf house. I don't know what the humidity level is, I just adjust it based on window condensation. I guess the house is fairly tight, so doesn't need much added humidity.
One thing that I'll add is that the whole house humidifier worked a lot better when they used hot water.
User avatar
frugaltype
Posts: 1952
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 9:07 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by frugaltype »

I have a question about the portable humidifiers.

I tried a cool one and found the cold draft a problem. So I tried a warm air one and it deposited a fine white dust over everything, including, I assume, my lungs.

Is there one that doesn't have these problems? Thanks.
User avatar
jeffyscott
Posts: 13487
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:12 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by jeffyscott »

Usually it's the cool mist ones that leave the white dust :confused

The warm ones I have just boil the water, and instead of generating dust, the minerals just build up on the heating element.
linenfort
Posts: 2241
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:22 am
Location: #96151D

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by linenfort »

Just saw the update in this thread.

I really want to have a whole-house unit installed on my furnace, as I've had bad luck with those small cool-mist humidifiers from places like CVS. Maybe I'm not cleaning them properly, but I have certainly tried. The Satechi USB-powered bottle humidifier didn't work either. It worked for 5 minutes and then stopped.

Good to see that the big ones do work. I'll try an Aprilaire.
And a gauge to check it!
Caduceus
Posts: 3527
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:47 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by Caduceus »

If you are having a problem with white dust, you can use distilled water. My personal preference is for portable humidifiers that have no filtering element (so you must use distilled water). I buy distilled water bottled and prefer doing this to paying for filters (which are usually quite expensive to replace frequently), or scraping minerals and gunk from the base. If you always use distilled water, there's very little clean up and maintenance required ... after all, it's just pure water passing through!

Expensive is not necessarily better. I had a fancy Swiss-O-Air humidifier with more moving parts than a starship, and a $39 Honeywell humidifier that was simple but well-designed. (Actually, I think it is well-designed because it is simple :)) The first one lasted two winters, while the latter has lasted 7 years and counting.
Professor Emeritus
Posts: 2628
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2012 6:43 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by Professor Emeritus »

Auream wrote:One thing to note with humidifiers: its treating the symptom, rather than the root cause of the problem. In all but the most extreme climates, indoor humidity should generally not get anywhere near that low in the winter unless your house is very poorly sealed. Many people install a humidifier when the best solution to the problem would be eliminating air leaks, which would have the side benefit of lowering your heating bill.

That being said, its usually easier to just stick in a humidifier than to go around the house looking for all the possible air leaks. But in the long run, sealing up leaks will save you more money and promote more even humidity.
I frankly find your comment incomprehensible. If you take air at any given humidity and heat it , you reduce the relative humidity. But The quantity of water in any cubic volume of air does not change. We ventilate houses for many reasons. Humans stink, cooking stinks, Radon infiltrates and combustion heating systems require make up air. All this cold dry air must be humidified for human comfort.
dickenjb
Posts: 2941
Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:11 pm
Location: Philadelphia PA

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by dickenjb »

Professor Emeritus wrote:
Auream wrote:One thing to note with humidifiers: its treating the symptom, rather than the root cause of the problem. In all but the most extreme climates, indoor humidity should generally not get anywhere near that low in the winter unless your house is very poorly sealed. Many people install a humidifier when the best solution to the problem would be eliminating air leaks, which would have the side benefit of lowering your heating bill.

That being said, its usually easier to just stick in a humidifier than to go around the house looking for all the possible air leaks. But in the long run, sealing up leaks will save you more money and promote more even humidity.
I frankly find your comment incomprehensible. If you take air at any given humidity and heat it , you reduce the relative humidity. But The quantity of water in any cubic volume of air does not change. We ventilate houses for many reasons. Humans stink, cooking stinks, Radon infiltrates and combustion heating systems require make up air. All this cold dry air must be humidified for human comfort.
He is not totally wrong. Yes, when cold outside air is heated the relative humidity goes down. The absolute humidity, of course, stays the same.

But those same sources of odors (humans, cooking) + showering etc add humidity to the inside air continuously. In a tight house relative humidity would be quite high from daily activity. With air leaks the humidity falls as the humid inside air is constantly replaced by dry outside air. Just like on an airplane where the outside air is being brought in at -40 degrees.

Back on topic, I have an Aprilaire and it does a fine job on my house.
Topic Author
davebo
Posts: 1133
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:02 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by davebo »

dickenjb wrote:
Professor Emeritus wrote:
Auream wrote:One thing to note with humidifiers: its treating the symptom, rather than the root cause of the problem. In all but the most extreme climates, indoor humidity should generally not get anywhere near that low in the winter unless your house is very poorly sealed. Many people install a humidifier when the best solution to the problem would be eliminating air leaks, which would have the side benefit of lowering your heating bill.

That being said, its usually easier to just stick in a humidifier than to go around the house looking for all the possible air leaks. But in the long run, sealing up leaks will save you more money and promote more even humidity.
I frankly find your comment incomprehensible. If you take air at any given humidity and heat it , you reduce the relative humidity. But The quantity of water in any cubic volume of air does not change. We ventilate houses for many reasons. Humans stink, cooking stinks, Radon infiltrates and combustion heating systems require make up air. All this cold dry air must be humidified for human comfort.
He is not totally wrong. Yes, when cold outside air is heated the relative humidity goes down. The absolute humidity, of course, stays the same.

But those same sources of odors (humans, cooking) + showering etc add humidity to the inside air continuously. In a tight house relative humidity would be quite high from daily activity. With air leaks the humidity falls as the humid inside air is constantly replaced by dry outside air. Just like on an airplane where the outside air is being brought in at -40 degrees.

Back on topic, I have an Aprilaire and it does a fine job on my house.
I think the "fix the root cause" problem sounds good in theory, but I had an energy audit done on my house and they found no real issues (other than suggestions involving light bulbs and things like that). Even with a fairly tight house, my humidity levels were at 15-20% in the winter. I don't see how you can get it up to 30-40% without adding some humidity.
tomd37
Posts: 4098
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:39 pm
Location: Middle Tennessee

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by tomd37 »

After reading this whole thread, here is something for readers to comment about. I have often been told by HVAC people that the ideal winter humidity level in a home in winter is between 35 and 45%. Higher than can lead to condensation on the inside of windows during winter.
Tom D.
User avatar
FrugalInvestor
Posts: 6214
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 11:20 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by FrugalInvestor »

Auream wrote:One thing to note with humidifiers: its treating the symptom, rather than the root cause of the problem. In all but the most extreme climates, indoor humidity should generally not get anywhere near that low in the winter unless your house is very poorly sealed. Many people install a humidifier when the best solution to the problem would be eliminating air leaks, which would have the side benefit of lowering your heating bill.

That being said, its usually easier to just stick in a humidifier than to go around the house looking for all the possible air leaks. But in the long run, sealing up leaks will save you more money and promote more even humidity.
You may also be creating unseen longer-term problems by not sealing the leaks and putting in a humidifier. The humidity you pump into the air will condense somewhere. If the house is tight it stays inside and condenses on the windows. If not, the added humidity is leaking into the wall cavity and will eventually condense at the point where the temperature reaches the dew point. If this turns out to be somewhere in the insulation which is likely, then wet insulation and possibly mold are the likely result.
Have a plan, stay the course and simplify. Then ignore the noise!
madbrain
Posts: 6809
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:06 pm
Location: San Jose, California

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by madbrain »

I'm looking to put one in as well. Not for any health reason. I recently bought a used harpsichord from a private party in Berkeley.
The harpsichord had gone out of tune every single day, with all 189 strings needing to be retuning, an exhausting process after which I was in no mood to play play it. Apparently the climate in Berkeley is much more humid than San Jose. The wood has been contracting causing the pins to go loose and the strings to go out of tune.
I bought a couple of room humidifiers. The humidity went up from about 28% to 42%. This is not just per the humidistat on the units, but also on my HVAC system.
This is a 4700 sq ft home though. I am tired of filling the room units up twice a day. It is much better than tuning the harpsichord 2 hours/day, though.
So I'm looking to put in a central humidifier - or maybe two, since we have 2 furnaces. I have a Carrier Infinity zoned system with 10 zones (4 on one furnace, 6 on another).
User avatar
frugaltype
Posts: 1952
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 9:07 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by frugaltype »

madbrain wrote:I'm looking to put one in as well. Not for any health reason. I recently bought a used harpsichord from a private party in Berkeley.
The harpsichord had gone out of tune every single day, with all 189 strings needing to be retuning, an exhausting process after which I was in no mood to play play it. Apparently the climate in Berkeley is much more humid than San Jose. The wood has been contracting causing the pins to go loose and the strings to go out of tune.
I bought a couple of room humidifiers. The humidity went up from about 28% to 42%. This is not just per the humidistat on the units, but also on my HVAC system.
This is a 4700 sq ft home though. I am tired of filling the room units up twice a day. It is much better than tuning the harpsichord 2 hours/day, though.
So I'm looking to put in a central humidifier - or maybe two, since we have 2 furnaces. I have a Carrier Infinity zoned system with 10 zones (4 on one furnace, 6 on another).
Will this settle down given enough time? They always say if you're installing a wood floor to let the wood sit in the house for a few weeks to acclimate before installing it.
madbrain
Posts: 6809
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:06 pm
Location: San Jose, California

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by madbrain »

frugaltype wrote: Will this settle down given enough time? They always say if you're installing a wood floor to let the wood sit in the house for a few weeks to acclimate before installing it.
Possibly. But it was in the house almost a month and was showing no signs of stabilizing until I put the room humidifier.
The problem is the changes in humidity, rather than any particular humidity value. When the heater runs, usually in the evening and weekends, then humidity decreases a lot. And of course we had had almost no rain all year long, so it essentially never increases. Humidity just went down over time as heat ran more this month.

Some cracks developed at the bottom of the case of the harpsichord due to the shrinking from dryness. Some might have been there before I bought it , I don't know. But I could actually hear the wood of the harpsichord crack from another room so I don't think so. There is one crack that runs almost the entire 8ft length. Again, I have heard no more wood cracking since putting the humidifier.
leo383
Posts: 569
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:36 pm
Location: Durham, NC

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by leo383 »

Pianos, guitars, etc., all do better at around 45% humidity. That's where I try to keep our home during the winter. Here in NC, we get about 3 months where the low morning temps can bring a house down to about 25% if you're not careful.
Topic Author
davebo
Posts: 1133
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:02 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by davebo »

tomd37 wrote:After reading this whole thread, here is something for readers to comment about. I have often been told by HVAC people that the ideal winter humidity level in a home in winter is between 35 and 45%. Higher than can lead to condensation on the inside of windows during winter.
Yes, I think that's right. The Aprilaire humidifier that I bought has an automatic target humidity level based off the outdoor temperature. So if you keep your humidifier on "Level 4" (right in the middle), you'll be able to get 20% humidity when it's 0 degrees outside and 35% when it's 20 degrees outside. If it's 0 degrees and you want it to be at 35%, then you need to crank it up to the highest setting.

But 35-40% is a pretty good target I think.
madbrain
Posts: 6809
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:06 pm
Location: San Jose, California

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by madbrain »

davebo wrote:
tomd37 wrote:After reading this whole thread, here is something for readers to comment about. I have often been told by HVAC people that the ideal winter humidity level in a home in winter is between 35 and 45%. Higher than can lead to condensation on the inside of windows during winter.
Yes, I think that's right. The Aprilaire humidifier that I bought has an automatic target humidity level based off the outdoor temperature. So if you keep your humidifier on "Level 4" (right in the middle), you'll be able to get 20% humidity when it's 0 degrees outside and 35% when it's 20 degrees outside. If it's 0 degrees and you want it to be at 35%, then you need to crank it up to the highest setting.

But 35-40% is a pretty good target I think.
How much did you pay for your Aprilaire including installation ?
I'm having my HVAC guy come out tomorrow to take a look.
Topic Author
davebo
Posts: 1133
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:02 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by davebo »

madbrain wrote:
davebo wrote:
tomd37 wrote:After reading this whole thread, here is something for readers to comment about. I have often been told by HVAC people that the ideal winter humidity level in a home in winter is between 35 and 45%. Higher than can lead to condensation on the inside of windows during winter.
Yes, I think that's right. The Aprilaire humidifier that I bought has an automatic target humidity level based off the outdoor temperature. So if you keep your humidifier on "Level 4" (right in the middle), you'll be able to get 20% humidity when it's 0 degrees outside and 35% when it's 20 degrees outside. If it's 0 degrees and you want it to be at 35%, then you need to crank it up to the highest setting.

But 35-40% is a pretty good target I think.
How much did you pay for your Aprilaire including installation ?
I'm having my HVAC guy come out tomorrow to take a look.
I paid $400 for the unit and installation and I got this unit:

http://www.aprilaire.com/?znfAction=Pro ... 5&item=600

Not sure if that's a good price or not.
Burns
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2017 3:56 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by Burns »

So new condo with FHA and a whole house humidifier. We live in New England. On our thermostat panel the humidifier comes on in the winter when there is a call for heat and the heat cycle is "ON".

Problem.....our unit gets plenty of sunshine and stays warm without the furnace being on very often.

My problem is without the heat cycle running the room humidity gets down to almost 20%

If instead of of a FAN SETTING of AUTO will the HUMIDIFIER work if I just have the fan turned on to LOW?


If not is there an easy fix to have the Humidifier work with just the Fan being ON?

Thank you for your help.
michaeljc70
Posts: 10843
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2015 3:53 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by michaeljc70 »

I had one installed at my last place. I never did any formal tests, but felt it didn't perform anywhere near a standalone humidifier. Friends have told me they work because when they turn theirs up, their windows get condensation. I never had any condensation.
Topic Author
davebo
Posts: 1133
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:02 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by davebo »

Wow, old thread...I started this one about 4 years ago! Looking at it over the last several winters, I've come to the conclusion that maybe a whole house humidifier takes the bite out of the dryness but it's nothing to write home about.
clutchied
Posts: 862
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:11 am

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by clutchied »

davebo wrote:One of my sons has very dry skin so I bought a humidifier gauge to see what the level was in our house. In the winter, it's between the 18-22%, which is considered low. So I had a guy come out and install a new humidifier on the furnace for around $300.

Once I had the thing going, I noticed after a couple days there was no movement in the humidity in the house. I called the guy and he said it can take a couple weeks to get up to the target humdity (40%). Now around 2 weeks later, still the humidity is at the same level.

I happened to be at a party where this topic came up. There were 3 other people there that had humidifiers in their house and none of them really measured the humidity, so they couldn't say whether it was working. 2 of them said they still have the occasional shock/nosebleed in the winter, which makes them think that maybe it's not working as great as they thought.

Anyone have any experience? I'm going to call the guy up and maybe have him install a new unit, but don't want to even bother if this is just the way it goes. I wonder if I'm just better off with the portable humidifiers that you put in the rooms.

UPDATE 12/11/13:: Well, my GeneralAire humidifier was working this winter up until about 3 weeks ago. Turns out the motor blew out and needed to be replaced. Even with it running full-tilt, it never reached more than 23-24% humdidity in the house and that's when the weather was mild. When the HVAC guy took a closer look, he saw that one of the smaller pieces inside had broken off and said he'd need to order a new one. At that point, I just decided to cut my losses on the thing and get an Aprilaire 600 series.

What a great decision! I had it installed on Monday and my humidity in the house was measuring 16%! It has been EXTREMELY cold here in Chicago and relative humidity is reporting 40% on the Aprilaire display in the basement. I have found that the humidity, measured by my hygrometer upstairs, is more in the 31-32% range but I'm still pretty happy.
I have a pretty big place to humidify but our first year in the new house I didn't use the humidifier.

We got down to like 17% and had all kinds of wood issues like cracking and picture frames popping. It was relatively unpleasant.

The 2nd year I got on it in the beginning and now we don't ever drop below ~35%. I've found that it can maintain what we have but if I let it go like the 1st winter, I can't ever recover unless we take drastic action.

this coming year I'm going to try insulating the humidifier return and see if that makes a difference.

A house at 50% humidity is much more comfortable than 35%.
Alan S.
Posts: 12669
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 6:07 pm
Location: Prescott, AZ

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by Alan S. »

michaeljc70 wrote:I had one installed at my last place. I never did any formal tests, but felt it didn't perform anywhere near a standalone humidifier. Friends have told me they work because when they turn theirs up, their windows get condensation. I never had any condensation.
I have condensation on certain windows when the outside temp is low. The humidifier runs with the heat so the colder it is the more water is sprayed into the furnace. I have to turn the % down when it is very cold, but when it's in the 40s or above the % can be raised without any condensation.

I think the installation of windows and surrounding insulation deficiencies aggravate the condensation issues.
michaeljc70
Posts: 10843
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2015 3:53 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by michaeljc70 »

Alan S. wrote:
michaeljc70 wrote:I had one installed at my last place. I never did any formal tests, but felt it didn't perform anywhere near a standalone humidifier. Friends have told me they work because when they turn theirs up, their windows get condensation. I never had any condensation.
I have condensation on certain windows when the outside temp is low. The humidifier runs with the heat so the colder it is the more water is sprayed into the furnace. I have to turn the % down when it is very cold, but when it's in the 40s or above the % can be raised without any condensation.

I think the installation of windows and surrounding insulation deficiencies aggravate the condensation issues.

Even if you have no humidifier, if you have bad windows I think you can have condensation. You can get it in your car and there is certainly no humidifier. In the place I was referencing, it was new construction with new double pane windows.
arsenalfan
Posts: 1132
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:26 pm

Re: Do Whole House Humidifiers Work?

Post by arsenalfan »

Love our APRILAIRE/BRYANT whole-house humidifier. Was a replacement unit - and humidity in our house is a steady 35-38% on both levels of a 4000 sq ft above ground home. No more itching/dry skin in winters!

HATE our GENERALAIRE DS-15 whole-house humidifier. Had it for 3 years, and it was a total lemon and stunk. Finally had it ripped out and replaced with above unit. Random error codes, terrible manual and no one in the area serviced it. Not sure why HVAC company installed it. We had our home custom built, and it was one of many things we just didn't have time to research. $1300 mistake...
Post Reply