Please share your opinion of whole house humidifiers

13 years ago

I could really use some opinions! Everyone I know who is familiar with them has "older" knowledge (e.g. HVAC business owner who retired in the 90s), but advises us to stay far away. I don't find a lot of good feedback on them, but most of what I can find are people reporting problems with older "stagnant water" systems.

We have this furnace: Bryant Evolution System Plus 90i Gas Furnace

Our HVAC guy recommended we get this: Braynt Preferred Series Fan Humidifer, Large Capacity humidifer.

We were quoted $600 for the unit + installation.

This would be to humidify about 4900 sq.ft. across three floors.

Any input/feedback? Preferred brands? Good idea/stay away?

Thanks in advance!

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Comments (4)

johnhvac
13 years ago
I have a lot of good things to say about whole house humidifiers. I have installed Aprilaire Humidifiers for 35 years now. There isn't a more reliable brand out there. The Bryant/Carrier line of humidifiers are actually rebranded Aprilaire humidifiers

That's the good news.

The above model appears to be an Aprilaire 700 humidifier

On a tight house it can humidify up to 4200 square feet

Which seems a little shy of the sq footage that you need.

What city in the country do you live in?

Is that cost $600 for the humidifier alone and a seperate cost for installation? or for both the humidifier and installation.

You've got a great furnace do you have the infinity controller for the furnace or just a regular thermostat?

How is the humidifier going to be controlled?

Lots of questions
countryboymo
13 years ago
Also it should be noted that if the humidity is kept up the temperature in the home can be kept down quite a bit in comparison to without a humidifier. With no humidifier in the colder months 76-77 feels comfortable and with the humidifier 73 feels comfortable. This alone makes a substantial difference in cost to heat a home and to top it off you will not be getting shocked by everything. I highly recommend them.

It should be said that the better the house is sealed up and insulated the better the house will hold the humidity that we put in it with showers, and dishes, cooking etc.
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My climate is similar to yours, and I could not LIVE without my whole-home humidifier. It is by Aprilaire. If you don't have one, then, as you mentioned, your wood floors and cabinetry will suffer. More importantly, you will also personally have dry skin and nasal passages. You will get a spark every time you touch something, including your pets. Regarding Mishmosh's comment of only increasing the humidity a little, you do not want too much humidity in your house in winter. That would cause severe condensation issues with your windows. On the Houzz Windows forum, this winter condensation issue comes up all the time. Here is a link to one thread, but there are many. You want a humidifier that will make your home's indoor winter humidity about 30%. Your concerns about mold are unfounded; you will not get mold at 30%. In my home, in winter, if I didn't have a humidifier, my indoor humidity would be 10-15% which is very uncomfortable to live with. You will definitely benefit by spending the money to add a whole house humidifier. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5556880/massive-condensation-on-windows
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avesmor
Original Author
13 years ago
johnhvac - Thank you for the response! I'm glad you have a lot of questions. :) Questions = input, and I really need that. I'm cautiously optimistic because I had read so many bad reports of whole house units I halfway expected a "steer clear" consensus.

We live near Kansas City, MO. Distinct seasons. After revisiting our floorplan it looks like our total used sq.ft. will be closer to 3975 sq.ft. (we're planning a basement finish that will account for about 1/3 of the total sw.ft. and are going with a larger area left unfinished than we had originally planned). Our house is relatively tight - we just finished construction this fall and invested in heavily upgraded insulation throughout, when the house was framed we had all the door & window framing sealed with foam and/or caulking, we had all outlets draft proofed, etc. We moved from a drafty house and did not want to go there again.

Our house seems to default, during the winter, to around 22% humidity. We haven't lived there during the summer yet, so we don't know what to expect then. Our hardwood floors are complaining! (major contraction gaps)

That's the general info I could think to add. Here are answers to your questions:

I assume the $600 is for the unit and the installation, but that could be wrong. It was a conversation my husband had, and he then told me "He quoted me $600 to do it." Is that high, or low? (It's lower than what I would expect, but we're also linked to a builder that sends his company all of their HVAC work, so I don't know...)

I googled the thermostat you mention and that's not what we have. But I know he suggested also changing the termostat if/when we added the humidifer, and that looks like the one he told us about (we have a brochure, but I don't have it accessible right now). I do know he said it would run about $250 more.

You're pointing out how little I know, which means I need to make some calls and get some more information! I can give the HVAC guy a call this afternoon and get some more information on what all his quote/proposal included.

You have a lot of experience installing these - how many problems have you run into? Were the issues mostly negated when the technologies changed (cool stagnant water vs. heated water, etc.)?
avesmor
Original Author
13 years ago
countryboymo - good points I had not thought of, though I have noticed that the rooms we can keep relatively humidified (using free standing units) do tend to feel warmer/cooler (we use a warm mist unit in our daughter's bedroom and often have to remove the blanket from her crib because it gets so warm in there). I will take anything that helps reduce utility bills, especially if it's significantly enough to pay for itself as a long term investment. :)

We have exhaust fans within 3 feet of all showers, and had one added in our laundry room, and have a mega CFM externally vented range hood. Maybe we're drawing out too much of the humidity that would otherwise help us out!

Thank you for the input, I really appreciate it.

Please share your opinion of whole house humidifiers

Comments (4)

johnhvac

countryboymo

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Please share your opinion of whole house humidifiers

Comments (4)

johnhvac

countryboymo

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