When is best time to run a dehumidifier?

[jjj70095]

I heard that if you run it at late night, it is cheaper in terms of electricitiy. Is this true?? Because of electricity demand is low at night. And how long should it run?
My walkout basement is at 65- 70 humidity and I set it to 50 humidity on the guage. It is a 50 pint dehumidifier with a timer.

 

[whitedust]

Just run Ac open ducts in basement allow air circulation to basement should take care of it in summer

 

[mezz]

Peak & off peak hours with electricity suppliers vary by state, region & season. So to say "night" is a low demand as a whole would not necessarily apply to everyone everywhere all the time. Assuming this is a stand alone unit, you could set your dehumidifier up on a timer to turn on for the off peak hour period.

 

[dfattack]

run it all the time. once you get the room at the humidity you want it will cycle itself off and on. If you stop if for 8-10 hours humidity will rise and you will run the dehumidifier non-stop until it reaches set point. I'm sure if you calculated usage you wouldn't have that much more if any by running it and letting it satisfy vs off then non stop running then off....

 

[wiscrev]

If you can, attach a hose and run it to the draiin.

 

[jjj70095]

It has a pump on it to pump it into a sink. Can even elevate the pump hose up to 16 feet. Have put it on continuous for now to get it to 50. I do have AC ducts open, but it still only got level to 70. I mainly use AC at night to sleep.

 

[whitedust]

AC is a gigantic dehumidifier keep it on. Turning on and off allows humidity back in.

 

[jjj70095]

Do any of you have a humidifier for winter that is built into the heating vent? I just saw this yesterday at Menards for $200. One would not need humidifiers in rooms then....

What You Need to Know About Furnace Humidifiers

Furnace humidifiers moisturize the air throughout a home. Learn all about flow-through humidifiers, including their essential parts and how they work.

www.thespruce.com

 

[whitedust]

They have been doing this for 50 years or more you want to treat your air your furnace contractor will add it to your forced air system. They can purifier air if that interests you. Imo just more stuff to go wrong and up north outside air is soooo cold I turned my furnace humidifier off or had ice build up on windows

 

[ddhanna]

I am close by in Three Lakes and have one on my furnace. With the dryness of winter air, I keep things at 35-40% and get no ice on windows.

 

[dfattack]

I have thermostats that use outside air sensors and throttle back the humidifiers based on outside air temperatures to eliminate condensation on the windows. they work very well. Don't have to guess what to set humidifiers at. Stat does all the work for you.

 

[favoritos]

70% humidity spells problems unless you're trying to grow mold. It's less work to control humidity than fixing mold problems.

Running AC and dehumidifier on temp cycles isn't going to get much done. If the space has been at 70% for any time all the material in the space is at that moisture. It takes time to get those materials dried down. Set your dehumidifier to desired level and let it run.

I'd also verify that the dehumidifier is really pulling water. Just because it's running doesn't guarantee it's working. I've had pump lift dehumidifiers give up pretty quick because of pumps failing. I've had better luck with simple garden hose gravity drains.

 

[garageguy]

Find a temperature your happy with, let the air-conditioning run. Set the dehumidifier at 55 and let it run if it needs to. Enjoy.
Turning things on and off, up and down makes things worse. The air-conditioning will do most of the work and you will be comfortable all summer long. Open the windows on cool low humidity days.

 

[james88]

x

 

[jjj70095]

I have set dehumidifier to 55 and it gets about a bucket of water a day.

 

[dfattack]

from what I’ve read 40-50% is ideal (45%) being perfect. This was from when I was researching allergies and dust mites. Those numbers are the sweet spot. Hard to hit mid summer and even mid winter in extreme cold since humidity that high will for sure get condensation on windows. Need to go lower in winter and I’m seeing upper 50’s now up north with air on. I use ERV’s to replace indoor air so that makes it a little harder to get humidity lower since I’m bringing in outside air constantly while furnaces are running (A/C).

Good conversation

 

[pclark]

from what I’ve read 40-50% is ideal (45%) being perfect. This was from when I was researching allergies and dust mites. Those numbers are the sweet spot. Hard to hit mid summer and even mid winter in extreme cold since humidity that high will for sure get condensation on windows. Need to go lower in winter and I’m seeing upper 50’s now up north with air on. I use ERV’s to replace indoor air so that makes it a little harder to get humidity lower since I’m bringing in outside air constantly while furnaces are running (A/C).

Good conversation

45% is ideal for your homes building components.

 

[BigSix]

I set my basement dehumidifier to 55% humidity and leave it on auto. It cycles on and off based on the humidity in the basement. When the central AC runs, the dehumidifier runs less. I may be wrong on this but I think most residential power charges are at a fixed rate. The power meter only records kilowatt hours (kWh) and does not know what time of day the power is used. Large commercial or industrial electrical power customers can get time of day usage rates, but not residential as far as I know.

 

[mezz]

All power companies have peak & off peak hours. When those hours are will vary between electric providers, what time of day, night, & time of year. It's a matter of supply & demand, when the demand is high, this reflects peak hours of operation. The meters don't separate the times of use, but, the electrical provider does, so if your using power during off peak times, that rate will apply for that specific time of use. Google peak & off peak electricity for your electrical provider.