Current indoor humidity?

[lilmira]

You can also pee on the floor. Wait, that's for jelly fish sting.

[ExtraSlow]

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You can also pee on the floor. Wait, that's for jelly fish sting.

Or stop peeing on the floor, whichever.

[killramos]

Have we factored seat up or seat down into your humidity levels?

[GLETUN]

Any other condo owners reporting? My Nest thermostat has been steadily reading 9% during this cold snap.

Corner unit with floor to ceiling windows and no frost at all. I don't notice much discomfort except for using lip chap more often.

[ExtraSlow]

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Any other condo owners reporting? My Nest thermostat has been steadily reading 9% during this cold snap.

Corner unit with floor to ceiling windows and no frost at all. I don't notice much discomfort except for using lip chap more often.

@GLETUN welcome to beyond.ca. What do ya drive?

[ExtraSlow]

Turned my humidity back up. Above 30% again. Still wish it was 50%. Still considering the desert spring disc humidifier to help get there.

[Tik-Tok]

I think the best solution would be to just install an indoor pool.

[tirebob]

My understanding is mold does not grow in under 18% humidity, and mold bothers me more than dry air, so I leave my humidifier off always.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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My understanding is mold does not grow in under 18% humidity, and mold bothers me more than dry air, so I leave my humidifier off always.

I'm not bothered by dry air either - most of us are probably used to it as Calgarians. I think for most people it has to do with allergies and/or hardwood flooring warranty. Though for warranty I suppose all you'd have to do is crank it up to 30% before claiming.

[ExtraSlow]

This probably doesn't need it's own thread, but in this picture, where the hot side of the furnace is on the right. Which direction does air flow through the flex pipe? Does it flow from Cold side to hot, being "drawn" by the faster moving hot air? Or does is it "pushed" from higher pressure hot side to the lower pressure cold side?



So, when I put my hand here when the heat is running, does that pipe get hot, or stay cool?


I mean, I know what happens in my house, but I have a buddy telling me it's "fucked" and it should be the other way. and I've proven, I'm not HVAC genius. So how should it work?

[ThePenIsMightier]

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This probably doesn't need it's own thread, but in this picture, where the hot side of the furnace is on the right. Which direction does air flow through the flex pipe? Does it flow from Cold side to hot, being "drawn" by the faster moving hot air? Or does is it "pushed" from higher pressure hot side to the lower pressure cold side?



So, when I put my hand here when the heat is running, does that pipe get hot, or stay cool?


I mean, I know what happens in my house, but I have a buddy telling me it's "fucked" and it should be the other way. and I've proven, I'm not HVAC genius. So how should it work?

Wow. Good question. I really don't know but I'll stick my neck out and take a swing.
It appears to me that your humidifier is connected to your cold air return. While this seems less than completely rational, I guess it shouldn't be a disaster. Then they connected the first branch from the hot duct to your humidifier, which essentially blows the hottest air through your humidifier and into your cold air return...
I have zero doubt that your flex line to the humidifier will be hot and air will be flowing that way because that's the highest pressure closest to your furnace fan beating the low pressure at your cold air return which has suffered multiple pressure drops on its way back to your furnace.
But why? Why not just have the humidifier on the hot side? Is it about pre heating the air from the cold return?
It doesn't seem "fucked" but it does seem odd without giving it too much additional thought.


Edit - and mine is precisely the same. I just checked. Since my house is #SoFuckinEcoBrah I think it's safe to assume TréSlō has a correct, if not advanced, install.

[Darell_n]

The hot air will push ‘backwards’ through the humidifier into the lower pressure return air duct. Same-same, the key thing is you have air through the humidifier going somewhere. Most humidifier manufacturers don’t care, just install it where there is best fit and can be serviced easily. It will still be bypassing in either direction.

[Maxx Mazda]

Thanks to everyone for the pictorials and explanations of how the HRV works.

Our controls look like what’s pictured. The lower one is the HRV control, which has two main functions either ON or Dehumidify. We set our humidifier to what’s recommended for the outside temperature, but should we have the HRV running all the time? Will it help our energy bill when it’s really cold? Or does the cost of running the thing outweigh the savings it makes by capturing the heat and warming the incoming air before it goes into the furnace? And obviously I make sure the dehumidify level is set lower than what the humidistat is commanding so they don't end up fighting each other. Also yes, we only have a bathroom fan in the master. The rest of the bathrooms and the laundry room have circular vents and LED control panels for the HRV only.

Pic is attached. Banana is for scale.

[The_Rural_Juror]

I really want that banana.

[cdnsir]

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This probably doesn't need it's own thread, but in this picture, where the hot side of the furnace is on the right. Which direction does air flow through the flex pipe? Does it flow from Cold side to hot, being "drawn" by the faster moving hot air? Or does is it "pushed" from higher pressure hot side to the lower pressure cold side?

So, when I put my hand here when the heat is running, does that pipe get hot, or stay cool?

I mean, I know what happens in my house, but I have a buddy telling me it's "fucked" and it should be the other way. and I've proven, I'm not HVAC genius. So how should it work?

When I installed my Wait 5000 last year, I re-read the setup pictures like 50 times cuz it was hard to imagine that is how it should work.

Your layout is exactly how it recommends, the warmed air pushes to the cold intake side where the humidifier is installed. The sensor in the humidifier picks up on heat increases through that duct then and turns the water on accordingly.

It blows my mind that if we're adding moisture to the cold air before it gets heated, wouldn't that be less effective than adding it after when the air has already been heated? Then at a brilliant flash of Jr High science, we do want the moisture to go in cold so it can be mixed with the warm air.

Back to your question, your hand should feel hot there. The only thing to nit-pick is that connecting duct should be relatively flat. The install manual states as much, and my Jr. High Science education pays off yet again. Heat rises so you might not be getting enough warm air to the humidifier's sensor located that far below.

[ExtraSlow]

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When I installed my Wait 5000 last year, I re-read the setup pictures like 50 times cuz it was hard to imagine that is how it should work.

Your layout is exactly how it recommends, the warmed air pushes to the cold intake side where the humidifier is installed. The sensor in the humidifier picks up on heat increases through that duct then and turns the water on accordingly.

It blows my mind that if we're adding moisture to the cold air before it gets heated, wouldn't that be less effective than adding it after when the air has already been heated? Then at a brilliant flash of Jr High science, we do want the moisture to go in cold so it can be mixed with the warm air.

Back to your question, your hand should feel hot there. The only thing to nit-pick is that connecting duct should be relatively flat. The install manual states as much, and my Jr. High Science education pays off yet again. Heat rises so you might not be getting enough warm air to the humidifier's sensor located that far below.

Pretty sure my humidifier has no sensor in it. The solenoid clicks open to allow water flow when the furnace is in the heating cycle, but there's no sensor inside this particular humidifier.

You know those steam humidifiers? I was wondering why they don't have something like those "ultrasonic cold mist" type systems for humidifiers. You could control things much better, and you could add humidity to the system during heat or cooling cycles, and if it was after the AC coil, you wouldn't be increasing your risk of freezing up.
#slowshowerthoughts

[revelations]

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My understanding is mold does not grow in under 18% humidity, and mold bothers me more than dry air, so I leave my humidifier off always.

Mold may not, but other issues happen once the humidity leaves the optimal zone of around 40-60%.



http://advancedhomeenergy.com/articl...ture-humidity/

[suntan]

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Pretty sure my humidifier has no sensor in it. The solenoid clicks open to allow water flow when the furnace is in the heating cycle, but there's no sensor inside this particular humidifier.

You know those steam humidifiers? I was wondering why they don't have something like those "ultrasonic cold mist" type systems for humidifiers. You could control things much better, and you could add humidity to the system during heat or cooling cycles, and if it was after the AC coil, you wouldn't be increasing your risk of freezing up.
#slowshowerthoughts

Home construction is slow to change. Consider how long it took just to have 2X6 exterior walls.