Current indoor humidity?

[rach]

mine is at 37% and wont go any lower
HRV running the whole time
huge skylight a the staircase, and can see frozen ice at the edge, and skylight at bathroom is always dripping water due to moisutre
windows have moisture and turns to ice.
not sure what else to do at this point to stop the mositure.
this only happens when temp is less than -15 outside.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Get a look up there for sure before it warms up. If you have any frost inside your attic, get it documented withyour warranty people ASAP. "Attic rain" in newer houses is a super common problem.

Make it a very quick glance because his moist air will be flooding up into that ice cold attic the entire time the hatch is open. Then condensing, freezing, attic rain...

[FishPoo]

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mine is at 37% and wont go any lower
HRV running the whole time
huge skylight a the staircase, and can see frozen ice at the edge, and skylight at bathroom is always dripping water due to moisutre
windows have moisture and turns to ice.
not sure what else to do at this point to stop the mositure.
this only happens when temp is less than -15 outside.

Same problem. high 30% humidity no HRV.

Skylight at staircase and bathroom.

I sometimes aim a circulation fan at the window, helps keep it less frosty. Otherwise the moisture leaks onto the spackle/drywall and then it comes off in chunks over time.

[The_Rural_Juror]

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Make it a very quick glance because his moist air will be flooding up into that ice cold attic the entire time the hatch is open. Then condensing, freezing, attic rain...

Werd. Also possible they missed a section of the exhaust pipe insulation causing condensation on cold pipe...or the exhaust was covered by snow.

[Tik-Tok]

#newhomeproblems

My 60yo house with 30yo windows has no problem with excessive humidity.

[88CRX]

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#newhomeproblems

My 60yo house with 30yo windows has no problem with excessive humidity.

Cause your old house can't retain heat or humidity or air... cause its leaky AF. haha

This is a huge problem in new homes that are super air tight. Run your HRV, keep the humidifier on your furnace turned down in the winter, keep your blinds up (to get air circulation on and around the glass) and run your bathroom fans for 20+ minutes after you shower.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Is the HRV just the ventilation fan? Sorry I am a new home HVAC noob. I notice when I run mine it also turns on the furnace and blows heat - is that because it is sucking the -25C fresh air?

[Cagare]

It's a fresh air re-circulation. It draws air from your home, recovers heat from it, before discharging it outside and bringing in fresh outside air and heating it, which is why it is called a heat recovery ventilator.

Your furnace fan will always run when your HRV does, or at least it should.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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It's a fresh air re-circulation. It draws air from your home, recovers heat from it, before discharging it outside and bringing in fresh outside air and heating it, which is why it is called a heat recovery ventilator.

Your furnace fan will always run when your HRV does, or at least it should.

Thanks - and yes it does, when I turn on the ventilation fan all the heat registers blow what seems like warm air. The exhaust fan it seems to be connected to is the main floor bathroom.

[realazy]

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Thanks - and yes it does, when I turn on the ventilation fan all the heat registers blow what seems like warm air. The exhaust fan it seems to be connected to is the main floor bathroom.

Not all new houses have HRV, I think some builders get away with it by insulating the basement more to meet the energy standard. My 2018 build does not have an HRV but I have r20 insulation for the basement.

A HRV is a Heat Recovery Ventilator, its basically a heat exchanger that uses your exhaust air to heat the inlet air. HRVs can be run 24/7 or set to run on a timer. Usually houses that have HRVs dont have seperate bathroom exhaust fans (at least not in every bathroom) from what I noticed when I looked at show homes and friend's houses with HRVs.

In my experience last winter, I had water drip out of my ceiling speakers in my master bathroom, I took out the speaker and noticed that the insulation was a bit light above the speaker, the builder had the blown in insulation topped up for me.

[benyl]

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Thanks - and yes it does, when I turn on the ventilation fan all the heat registers blow what seems like warm air. The exhaust fan it seems to be connected to is the main floor bathroom.

No, that is a vent switch.

HRV is a box connected to your furnace that looks like:



There should be separate control for it near your thermostat. Unless you have a fancy thermostat that can control an HRV.

Your larger washrooms should have a timer that controls it as well. You smallest washrooms shouldn't even have a bathroom fan as the HRV should be able to handle the exhaust.

[jwslam]

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Is the HRV just the ventilation fan? Sorry I am a new home HVAC noob. I notice when I run mine it also turns on the furnace and blows heat - is that because it is sucking the -25C fresh air?

HRV is a giant box you would see next to your furnace if it exists

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Not all new houses have HRV, I think some builders get away with it by insulating the basement more to meet the energy standard. My 2018 build does not have an HRV but I have r20 insulation for the basement.

A HRV is a Heat Recovery Ventilator, its basically a heat exchanger that uses your exhaust air to heat the inlet air. HRVs can be run 24/7 or set to run on a timer. Usually houses that have HRVs dont have seperate bathroom exhaust fans (at least not in every bathroom) from what I noticed when I looked at show homes and friend's houses with HRVs.

In my experience last winter, I had water drip out of my ceiling speakers in my master bathroom, I took out the speaker and noticed that the insulation was a bit light above the speaker, the builder had the blown in insulation topped up for me.

Thanks. I *think* I have an HRV because I have a switched labelled "Ventilation" that fires up my furnace and runs the main floor bathroom exhaust fan. All bathrooms have exhaust fans, and our master bathroom actually has two (one in the toilet area and one above the shower). I am pretty sure there is a heat exchanger in the mechanical room too but I'll need to double check.

- - - Updated - - -

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HRV is a giant box you would see next to your furnace if it exists

Thanks - I am 99% sure i have that. There is definitely a big rectangular box hanging next to my furnace. That's actually pretty cool that it uses the warm stale inside air to heat the cool fresh air before blowing it into my house. I've been afraid to run it because the HRV fan is above hardwood and if it drips like the master bedroom one does, it will wreck the floor.

[Swank]

12% - I'm going to put on wool socks and run around on the carpet to see if I can finally create a Hadouken. We just have a humidifier in the bedroom, that seems to suit our needs just fine plus the white noise sound helps with sleep as much as the comfort of the humidity. No frost on the windows but they are fairly new (~4 years old), they insulate incredibly well.

[Tik-Tok]

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Cause your old house can't retain heat or humidity or air... cause its leaky AF. haha

I prefer the term "uncalibrated pressure relief"

[goldfish168]

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ah, good to know. I've got an ecobee that defaults to 36% and my windows are a disaster.

Here's a chart I found that shows what humidity level Ecobee adjusts to according to outdoor temp and what window efficiency you have selected when Frost Control is turned on. You might want to check your settings if it's defaulting to 36%.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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12% - I'm going to put on wool socks and run around on the carpet to see if I can finally create a Hadouken.

I just fuckin died. RoFL!!!

[firebane]

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12% - I'm going to put on wool socks and run around on the carpet to see if I can finally create a Hadouken. We just have a humidifier in the bedroom, that seems to suit our needs just fine plus the white noise sound helps with sleep as much as the comfort of the humidity. No frost on the windows but they are fairly new (~4 years old), they insulate incredibly well.

[ercchry]

My old man analog wall mounted hygrometer/thermometer/pressure combo thing says low 40s... might not be calibrated, no frost issues. Windows circa 06, house late 70s

[rach]

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Same problem. high 30% humidity no HRV.

Skylight at staircase and bathroom.

I sometimes aim a circulation fan at the window, helps keep it less frosty. Otherwise the moisture leaks onto the spackle/drywall and then it comes off in chunks over time.

this is exactly what happens to mine as well, seeing drips of water, and leaks to the sprayed ceiling and chipped the white stuff off