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Santa Fe dehumidifier worth the cost?

12 years ago

I've inquired about this once before, and now it's a year later and I haven't been able to figure this out!

Is it worth the extra $800-$900 to buy a Santa Fe dehumidifier, vs. a Danby or other model in the $200 range?

I have a very humid basement. There are water penetration issues that I'm trying to deal with separately, but in the meantime certainly need to run a dehumidifier. But I really

don't know if the added water removal capacity of the Santa Fe, and the more efficient (supposedly) power consumption of the larger unit, is worth it.

Thanks for any insight.

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Comment (1)

sniffdog
12 years ago
I bought a Sante Fe whole house unit right after we moved into our new home. Problem occured in late spring/eraly summer when we noticed that we had water spots on the basement floor. The Sante Fe does a great job in keeping the basement dry.

About a year after I put the Sante Fe in, I replaced my thermostats with Honeywell IAQ tstats. I wanted a Tstat that could control the HVAC, Humnidifier and Dehumidifier from one place. In programming the IAQ controllers, I noticed that they allow a feature where you can run the HVAC down to 3 degrees (programmable) below the temperature set point based on the humidity level (the IAQ tstat has a built in humidistat). That means you can use your air conditioner as a dehumidifier and actually have some control on how it operates. Our short term fix when we first noticed the water spots was to run the AC down to about 74 degrees and that cleared up the water spot issue immediately. The problem with this approach is that when you get spring/summer temperatures that are relatively low (say around 70) with very high hunidity, or in the winter, the AC approach won't work and that's when you need a DH.

In doing you comparisons on the various units, see how many pints of water per day each one is rated to remove as well as the CFM of the blower on the unit. Also, read the reviews on line. I found that you get what you pay for with these units. IMO, the SF was worth the higher price we paid.

Also - download the installation instructions before you order to make sure there is a configuration that will meet your needs. Check the ducting requirements. Also - all of the large capacity DH's require a floor drain to deal with the water. You will also need to elevate the unit a few inches above the drain to ensure proper drainage. You may also need to purchase a small hand held digital humidistat to get your unit set just right since the Sante Fe humidity dial is an analog knob and provides no indication on the actual humidity level.
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Check iaqsource.com and look at the Honeywell and Sante Fe units. They have some good reviews on each. I bought the Sante Fe large capacity unit this summer when we noticed spots on the basement floor. Bought the unit and within 2 days the spots were gone and the humidity in botht he basement and main level dropped remarkably. Make sure you get a small humidistat (cost about $20 on amazon) for the basement so that you can measure the baseline and the improvement after you turn the unit on. The one thing I wasn't carzy about about the Sante Fe unit is that out of the box, it has a control dial on the back of the unit that has one of those lines as an indicator that get's thicker as you turn the dial (real helpful - not). I set the knob right in the center and then read the potbale humidistat. Once I saw the humidity drop below to 50% in the basement, I adjusted the knob to make the unit to turn off. My goal is to keep the basement humidity between 45 and 50%. When I started it was up between 70 and 75% on very humid days. When I first hooked it up, the thing ran 24x7. I wanted to make sure it would eventaully turn off when the humidity was acceptable. If you don't set the knob right , it will keep running. They do make an external humidistat control for the Sante Fe, and when I finish the basement off I will probably put that in.
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I think this is the system I researched a year or so ago where it draws air from the basement that gets replaced by drier air from the upstairs. I had issues getting info from the company, return calls, or answers to questions I had. This caused me to stick with a convential dehumidifier. It was expensive and they would not allow you to purchase on your own and install. Seemed expensive for what it was. I think I could build one on my own, it really was just a humidity meter that would trigger a fan to operate.
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I guess adding the basement wouldn't shorten the cycle, but it would lengthen the time between cycles. A/C is set at 75, and basement is 69. Blending bsmt air with living space upstairs would cool upstairs even without any a/c on, if I didn't mind the extra humidity and radon. The only difference, as I understand it, between an air conditioner and a dehumidifier is that the heat from the a/c condenser can be separately vented if desired. An a/c's dehumidification should equal a dehumidifier's, just as an a/c cools as well as a heat pump - all the same machine, except how the plumbing and venting is arranged. The only other considerations are that if it is vented, the a/c will cool the bsmt, as well as drawing in moist outside air, both increasing RH. In other words, the dehumidifier (or a/c in unvented dehumidifier mode) achieves part of its dehumidification by heating the space, or at least by not cooling it. I think if the a/c unit can operate at temps in the 60s, it is preferred, as it has the flexibility of running in cooling mode (vented) or dehumidifier mode (unvented). I'm also thinking it might be more efficient, as EER is reported (even tho not great), while there's not much reason for dehumidifier mfr to make unit efficient.
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