Heating & Air Conditioning Building a Home

Need a solution for whole house humidifier

7 years ago

Coming up on the second winter in new construction home. The whole house is spray foamed well, even under the basement slab. Passed the blower door test with amazing numbers. I have geothermal heating and cooling.I say this because I've read that sealing a house well will keep humidity in. Mine does not. Last winter our humidity was very low, sometimes dipping to 17. Every time I touch an outlet or adjust tv I'd get shocked. I'm more alarmed about the hardwood floors, which did show a few gaps. The gaps have closed up over the summer and definitely don't want to see them ever again.

I've researched the hell out of all options. Seems the steam units are a good option. I really wish that I didn't have to do anything. I hate the thought of somehow trying to figure out how to introduce all this humidity into the house in a controlled manner without all the awful side effects of mold in the ductwork and wherever else it might develop. I am wondering if have 3 regular units from Amazon that I place strategically will do the job? At least with this method I wont get mold in the ductwork? Wish I wasn't scared of the whole house console units.

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Comments (4)

BT
7 years ago
We have AprilAir 700 piped to hot water it works absolutely fine. Make sure either use advance tstat, or move AprilAir control to the main area, most I have seen installed in a basement with sensor right next to it - pointless. Start from setting like 30%. https://www.aprilaire.com/whole-house-products/humidifier/model-700

865 steams are good, but do you really need this? And the maintenance ... steam rods must be replaced every year. IMHO AprilAir 700 are very easy to install and fool proof.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
7 years ago
Have you talked to the HVAC contractor that performed the work on your home? If they can't help, they may be able to direct you to an engineer that may have worked on your home.
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taconichills
Original Author
7 years ago
I will take a good look at the aprilair 700. Thank you for the recommendation. The hvac contractor wants to do steam consoles on all the air handlers. Just seems too ripe for mold if anything goes a little wrong. I know very little about it, but know that extra moisture sitting in ductwork is quite unsettling.
nexp
7 years ago
I'm not sure what your electric rates are, but steam can be a very expensive way to humidify air. If your ductwork or air-handlers are in unconditioned space (vented attic), I would not add humidifiers to them as you will be ripe for condensation in the ducts. The aprilaire 350 is a unique solution - it is a permanently installed stand-alone humidifier that has a built-in fan and gets its own short duct.