Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers - Humidy Levels

OK here is a question for anyone who may have an idea, or better yet a possible solution.

I put in a Honeywell HE360a model, direct fan unit about 2 months back. I had not really noticed any difference in my homes humidy level, at least so far as I could tell. So i began to slowly raise the humidistat level and currently this is set to 60 on the humidstat that came with the unit. This has been set there for about 2 weeks now, and yesterday I went and bought a humidy meter and currently this meter is showing about 20% humidy, which is well below where i think it should be given how many times/day the furnace has been running. I live in the N.E. and its been really cold the last few weeks, up until today. The unit is sized for 4000+ sq ft and my house is approx. 2900, I checked to make sure the pad was wet and the fan was comming on when the furnance turned on. I also made sure that there was water in the distribution tray??? Any ideas i am not so sure the humidifer is doing what it should be?? I do not have the fan running all the time, because i think this blows cooler air from my basment through the rest of the house.

I would welcome any comments or suggestions.

Is the unit mounted on the Supply or Return side of the system?

Is the heating system gas or heat pump?

Avg run time of your system. and about how many time an hours does it run?

Where is the humidistat located?

Is the unit mounted on the Supply or Return side of the system?

Is the heating system gas or heat pump?

Avg run time of your system. and about how many time an hours does it run?

The unit is on the supply side,above the AC coil.

The system is gas

To be honest I would be taking a guess at how many times it runs/hour. But I know its only on for a few minutes at a time, when it does run, seems like it does not run very long. Is there anyway to tell other than standing and counting, my stat. is not that complex that it tells me how many cycles/hr.

The humidstat is mounted on the return side in the basement.

If your furnace runs a very short time, and not often, the humidifier will not be able to do it's job.

Ideal run time is about 10 to 15 min to reach it's peek performace.

What do you have for t-stat, a basic Honeywell dial type?

If it's not already, try hooking the humidifier up to hot water and configure it to turn on the furnace blower when there is a call for humidity.

Did you wire it in with a Outdoor Temperature Sensor . Lots of time they dont let the unit turn on when called for. :)

If your furnace runs a very short time, and not often, the humidifier will not be able to do it's job.

Ideal run time is about 10 to 15 min to reach it's peek performace.

What do you have for t-stat, a basic Honeywell dial type?

I have a honeywell digital T stat that is programmable,but its about 3-4 years old... I keep it set to 69 and the house is a bit chilly sometimes, but i'm trying to avoide a 300 dollar gas bill each month... I bought a med. size room unit just to get the levels up and see what happens to make sure my meter is reading properly and the meter seems to be accurate... I have the unit upstairs and have also noticed now that its gettting a bit colder the humidy levels are increasing, currently the levels is about 35-40% and that is without running the portable unit. My son has bad excima and so i want to keep it a bit higher in his room then the rest of the house, and the extra moisture seems to be helping him. i am trying to keep my humidy meter downstairs and the unit upstairs, i am sure the unit is helping but to what extent i am not sure... What is a usual humidy level in most houses, considered normal??

I also called Honeywell and they told me to run the fan all the time because my furnace was not running enough, after a 20 minute conversation... But the problem is that when i turn the fan on the humidfier does not come on, the actual heating cycle must come on for the humidifier to work??

The humidity level in your house will depend on a few different things. The outdoor temperature, how good your windows are, and how well insulated your house is. You mention that it seems drafty at 69. This could indicate that you have some air leaks that are bringing in cold dry air. Typically in a house that has good windows, keeping the RH between 30 and 45 is a good recommendation. If it gets really cold outside -20 or below then an RH level between 25 and 30 will have to do. If your windows aren't very good then you won't be able to keep as high of an RH level because your windows could begin to frost completely solid. So knowing your climate and temp swings in the winter is important to what your humidity levels can be. Here is a link to some info, Humidity Settings vs. Temperature / Humidity Tables (http://www.askthebuilder.com/B103_Humidity_Settings_vs_Temperature_Indoor-Outdoor_Humidity_Tables.shtml)

D did a good job.

YOu could try running the humidifier with the fan.. But sounds like your unit needs to be rewired up to run with the fan itself. Before we do that.

What is the model # of the t-stat. We may be able to change the Cycle rates to give you a longer run time.

D did a good job.

YOu could try running the humidifier with the fan.. But sounds like your unit needs to be rewired up to run with the fan itself. Before we do that.

What is the model # of the t-stat. We may be able to change the Cycle rates to give you a longer run time.

thanks for the comments guys, and suggestions, my house is only about 3 yrs old but i think they went kinda cheap on flashing and insulating windows. I wanted to try and seal them up as best as posisble, but i have found on newer windows there is not much room to seal them and still be able to open them.

Jay, Where would i find the model on the T-stat?? I have a number of 97-4730 Rev. B on the cover of the unit, but i am guessing this is not the model #.

OK here is a question for anyone who may have an idea, or better yet a possible solution.

I put in a Honeywell HE360a model, direct fan unit about 2 months back. I had not really noticed any difference in my homes humidy level, at least so far as I could tell. So i began to slowly raise the humidistat level and currently this is set to 60 on the humidstat that came with the unit. This has been set there for about 2 weeks now, and yesterday I went and bought a humidy meter and currently this meter is showing about 20% humidy, which is well below where i think it should be given how many times/day the furnace has been running. I live in the N.E. and its been really cold the last few weeks, up until today. The unit is sized for 4000+ sq ft and my house is approx. 2900, I checked to make sure the pad was wet and the fan was comming on when the furnance turned on. I also made sure that there was water in the distribution tray??? Any ideas i am not so sure the humidifer is doing what it should be?? I do not have the fan running all the time, because i think this blows cooler air from my basment through the rest of the house.

I would welcome any comments or suggestions.
Check on control board of your furnace to what terminal you red wire of hum is hooked to?

Jay, Where would i find the model on the T-stat?? I have a number of 97-4730 Rev. B on the cover of the unit, but i am guessing this is not the model #.

Take the t-stat off the sub base, and should be something stamped on to the subplate or on back of the t-stat.

With the number you've given me seems like is maybe a Honeywell.. They start off with TH---- or RTH----

Take the t-stat off the sub base, and should be something stamped on to the subplate or on back of the t-stat.

With the number you've given me seems like is maybe a Honeywell.. They start off with TH---- or RTH----

Yes its a Honeywell and has the same number on the back as the front, there are a few jumper switches and they are as follows.

Heat Type : F or E (my unit is set to F)

There are also 3 other setting or dip switches.

Heating System Dip Swich Fuel Switch
Warm Air Furnance 1=on 2=off F
Hot Water or HE Furnance 1=on 2=off F
Electric Furanace 1=on 2=off E

All of my switches are set to the on position for all three dip switches currently, is this correct?

Mark

Heat Type : F or E (my unit is set to F)
Correct.

There are also 3 other setting or dip switches.

Heating System Dip Swich Fuel Switch
Warm Air Furnance 1=on 2=off F
Hot Water or HE Furnance 1=on 2=off F
Electric Furanace 1=on 2=off E


Ok, Must of misread the back of the t-stat? The on and off should not be the same for each type of system.

You want to set the dipswitch to HE furnace.

Correct.


Ok, Must of misread the back of the t-stat? The on and off should not be the same for each type of system.

You want to set the dipswitch to HE furnace.

sorry it did not post like i had written it,

the jumpers are as follows

Heating System
Warm Air Furnace = 1 on 2 off
Hot Water or HE Furnace = 1 off 2 on
Electric Furnace = 1 on 2 off

So my jumpers should be set to 1 off 2 on, and current all 3 jumpers are set to the one position. If this was put in by a trained HVAC guy why would they not set this correctly?? Am i missed something here??

I don't know what furnace you have.. If you don't have a 90%, they may of just left it a the "Warm air furnace" settings. That setting gives you about 9 cycles an hour, and run time isn't long enough.

Where if you set it to HE furnace, cycle time will be about 3 times an hour. That gives you a longer run time and allowing the humidifier to do it's job.

IF your furnace is a HE line, then sad to say some installer don't read manuals.

I don't know what furnace you have.. If you don't have a 90%, they may of just left it a the "Warm air furnace" settings. That setting gives you about 9 cycles an hour, and run time isn't long enough.

Where if you set it to HE furnace, cycle time will be about 3 times an hour. That gives you a longer run time and allowing the humidifier to do it's job.

IF your furnace is a HE line, then sad to say some installer don't read manuals.

Its a model number Trane TXC043C4HPCO

Its a model number Trane TXC043C4HPCO

sorry, i think i gave you the ac coil, the unit is actually TUX100C948D3?? Is this an HE furance??

Yes, the TUX is the XR90 model. so it's 90% HE furnace. (Use PVC pipe for exhaust)

Yes, the TUX is the XR90 model. so it's 90% HE furnace. (Use PVC pipe for exhaust)

Jay,

Thanks for all the help I think this is a best I can do to try and get the humidy levels up. I am still running the portable unit and I think its helping... So possibly a two prong approach and I can make it work to acceptable levels.

One last question, I am trying to finish a basement and currently have 2 registers there now but want to try to add more, without get to complex. What is the maximum size of the current furnace I have now, do you know by chance, or can you point me in a direction where i may be able to get more info. I don't want to put to many reigisters in there and limit the rest of my house, on the other hand I think I need at least 2 or 3 more, and knowing the way this house was constructed i'm sure its at max. capacity.... Also another question is do i need to add returns??

Tell me more about your house?

Single story or two story?

Sq footage of each area.


Also, yes, you will need to add a return or two down there to help with the comfort.

Able to draw out your floor plan in the basement?

Tell me more about your house?

Single story or two story?

Sq footage of each area.


Also, yes, you will need to add a return or two down there to help with the comfort.

Able to draw out your floor plan in the basement?

Jay, Yes actually I have a pretty good plan of my house and basement design, did it with a CAD program made by Punch design, but not sure how I could send it to you. I can pdf it I suppose and email it to you???

I did some math, which can be a bit scary, especially for me!!! But here is what I came up with, my furnace is 100,000btu, of which 90,000 btu is output, my house is approx. 2250 sq ft, ( 2 story) so that's about 40 btu /sq ft. Which in reading what I had read online for my area this is a good amount (zone 2 for heating). However, and this is a big however, my basement is going to add approx. 950 sq/ft so with my current system I am at about 28-29 btu/sq ft...

I am thinkning this will be too low and affect the rest of the house, I am not concerned with cooling the basment as honestly it stay's very cool down there anyhow, even in the summer. There is about a 9 degree difference between the temp. on the first floor and basement.

The furnace is only 3 years old and i hate to replace for a bigger one, is there anyway to boost efficency?? I thought about electric heat, but that may break me on running those in wall electric units... I thought about a direct vent fp, but again one I am trying to build 3 rooms in my basement, so i am not sure how good that may do?? what about a 2nd furance, like 35,000 btu of something, but I think I would have no ac option, unless I spend more money and put an additional one in?? This cost is in addition to the already $25,000 basment price to finish.

As alsways suggestions are appreciated?

Yeah, send it over as a PDF file to my e-mail.

address is in my profile.

basement don't add much to the heat/cooling load to the system.

So, you will be fine with you got.

I'll be looking for your e-mail.

Yeah, send it over as a PDF file to my e-mail.

address is in my profile.

basement don't add much to the heat/cooling load to the system.

So, you will be fine with you got.

I'll be looking for your e-mail.


Jay did you get my message, what are your thoughts??

I'm afraid I did not get anything??

e-mail is jaymarking at gmail dot com

ok just sent... let me kmnow if you don't get it.

Ok, I got it.. I will look at it Sunday night or on Monday.