Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers - Furnace humidifier a waste??

We have just bought a house with a brand-new (literally) Kenmore gas furnace with a flow-through humidifier. I have some major concerns about the amount of water that flows through this thing and heads down the drain. Shouldn't these humidifiers run on a closed-loop system to re-use the water until fresh water is needed?

My wife and I try to be as ecologically responsible as is possible and this just seems like a waste of precious water, nevermind the cost.

There are many good humidifiers out there that dont work that way.

http://electronicaircleaners.com/database/index.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ElectronicAirCleaners&Product_Code=356686-001

Might take a look at this one no drain on it and it works good in hard water also.


ED ;)

well, thanks for the ad, but I could almost count the age of my humidifier in hours!

No one else has ever considered the ecological or financial consequences of these things?

Our solution for the moment is to collect the water and use it as a grey-water resevoir for watering the plants, etc. What I'd really like to do is have the system pull from its own resevoir until the level gets low and only then draw from the copper...

The flow though been around a long time.. Not that much water is going to waste.. I'd rather have fresh water than standing water in the pan.

If you are really concern about water, you can get the old style float system.