whole house humidifier?

[relaxandreflect]

we are building a new house with gas heat downstairs and a heat pump for the upstairs. there will be about 1688sq ft dwn and 827 sq ft up. i will have a studio in one of the upstairs bedrooms and need that to be 40-50% humidity for instruments. would one whole house humidifier that would be installed and attached to the gas heat be enough for the whole house, or would it be better to get a second for the upstairs?

or, if i just put one upstairs, would the humidity fall for the lower levels?

[mshilarious]

I use one of these in my 1800 sq ft house:

http://yourhome.honeywell.com/Consum...gh/Default.htm

It works OK, but since I have a heat pump, on really low humidity days I struggle to get the indoor up to 30%.

I run my fan through most of the day, so I haven't had a problem with uneven levels on different floors.

[altiris]

Wow you need a humidifier? Man come down here to south texas. Its so humide sometimes it looks like fog.

[Farview]

I suppose it would depend on if the vents for the gas heat reach the upstairs area. If they are separate vent systems, you will need a separate humidifier.

[deepwater]

Come to Southest Georgia. We have to have dehumidifiers. Its like breathing water down here. Its 70% right now in March - wait until summer.

[Light]

Originally Posted by relaxandreflect

we are building a new house with gas heat downstairs and a heat pump for the upstairs. there will be about 1688sq ft dwn and 827 sq ft up. i will have a studio in one of the upstairs bedrooms and need that to be 40-50% humidity for instruments. would one whole house humidifier that would be installed and attached to the gas heat be enough for the whole house, or would it be better to get a second for the upstairs?

or, if i just put one upstairs, would the humidity fall for the lower levels?

It depends on where you live. Here in Minnesota, a whole house humidifier keeping your house at 40-50% is a pretty bad idea. First of all, in order to keep the humidity up there, it needs to be HUGE. Second, if you keep the humidity that high when the temperature is really low, you are going to cause a great deal of condensation on the wooden elements of your house, in the form of frost (actually, it will form everywhere, but it is primarily a problem on the wood). What happens is that when the temperature goes back up, the frost melts, and that water gets trapped next to the wood in you house. When unfinished wood and water get together, wood always loses. Keep the humidity that high for a few years up here, and your whole house will rot. This is, of course, less of an issue for masonry buildings, though even there the water can cause erosion of the building. And if you live some where which is dry and hot, such as a desert, condensation will not be an issue (though there could well be other issues I am not aware of).

If the instruments you are talking about are guitars, your best option is to use a Kyser Lifeguard, plus a incase humidifier made from a sponge in a travel soap dish (drill some holes in the soap dish), and then keep them in the case when you are not playing them. I deal with hundreds of guitars a year with humidity problems, and doing this will keep your guitars in good shape.

For pianos and such, your best bet (I am guessing, I don't work on pianos) is to use an area humidifier.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[punkin]

Here in CO, during the winter we've got to turn on the humidifier just to keep the nose bleeds in check.

To tell you the truth, I'm not comfortable in a room at 50%. I "feel" better at 30-40 but that's me. We do have a whole house system but I've always believed that stability is the ticket. We have wood floors...you can always tell when winter is on the way...the floors pop and move. It tears up finished floors in a hurry... humidity changes are what wreck the instruments by "moving" the wood and expanding the joints.

Pick a reasonable number and try to hold it steady.

[Light]

Originally Posted by punkin

Here in CO, during the winter we've got to turn on the humidifier just to keep the nose bleeds in check.

To tell you the truth, I'm not comfortable in a room at 50%. I "feel" better at 30-40 but that's me. We do have a whole house system but I've always believed that stability is the ticket. We have wood floors...you can always tell when winter is on the way...the floors pop and move. It tears up finished floors in a hurry... humidity changes are what wreck the instruments by "moving" the wood and expanding the joints.

Pick a reasonable number and try to hold it steady.

Well, to a point yes, but humidity which is too low will always cause wood to dry out. If you are going to keep things a consistent humidity, for guitars you would not ever want to go below about 35%, and even that makes me nervous.

And I know all about humidity swings. If I do nothing to my house, I can measure humidity levels of about 3-5% in the middle of the winter. That is death for guitars, let me tell you.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[frederic]

Our house has hot-water heat (radiators), so it gets very dry in-house in the winter. What I did in the studio, to protect gear and avoid static build up, was put an aluminum baking pan on the radiator with distilled water in it, and refill it every few days. Works well. We did this in our bedroom too, and dry noses went away and we're happier as are the cats.

Downstairs we have in the kitchen a steam-based humidifier on the counter, which gets refilled every night before bed, and usually around 10am in the morning. Our house is that dry in the winter.

I've been debating for years installing central air/heat, however the house is so old there really is no place to tuck ductwork, unless I feed the ducts in the floor of the first level, making the ceiling in the basement even lower, as well as filling the attic with ducts. When I redid my studio, I buried ducts (send and returns) in the walls and ceilings, so it's there, drawn and documented, for down the road should I ever go that route. I've also buried plumbing in the back wall above the windows to the eave, and capped said plumbing, in anticipation for a mini-split system if I ever go that way for noise-free AC. Pipes were short enough I didn't see any reason not to bury the pipes while the walls/ceilings were essentially gone during the remodel.

[Rod Gervais]

Originally Posted by frederic

I've been debating for years installing central air/heat, however the house is so old there really is no place to tuck ductwork, unless I feed the ducts in the floor of the first level, making the ceiling in the basement even lower, as well as filling the attic with ducts.

Frederic,

If you are really interested in central air - perhaps you should consider the new low volume high velocity systems.

They don't use duct work - but rather 1 1/2" or 2" flexible hose - connected to a plenum box located adjacent to the air handler unit.

They are quite quiet if installed properly - and bcause of the small hose dize are great for remodeling jobs.

Rod

[punkin]

Don't encourage him...he'll end up welding something in the snow which will end up making us all feeling worthless and weak.

[relaxandreflect]

if i go ahead and have the water line run so that i can add one later, what brand/models do you recommend?

[apl]

I've got what mshilarious has in the place we've rented since June and it's been one of the most comfortable winters ever. I set it on 30 I think. No static has been nice.