I saw that Shark Tank episode, and it's actually part of what put me off of the product. It was a couple of guys looking to make some money, who had no experience whatsoever in the HVAC industry. I have a lot of respect for Robert Herjavec, but again, he has no HVAC experience. I would not base my purchase of an HVAC related product on his investing decision. I have seen a great deal of issues in the field with the Nest thermostat. I tried tried one in my own home, but removed it after a few months. Again, it was not created by people who know HVAC. That showed in the product, and when you called them for support. It seemed to do a fine job of controlling basic systems that just had a gas furnace and A/C (though I noticed a lot of reliability issues, and it allowed excessive temperature swings in my opinion), but when I put it on more complicated systems, like multistage, heat pump, and dual fuel systems, it just choked and could not control them in an efficient and comfortable manner. Many people reported significantly increased electric bills. The fact that these smart vent people are partnering with them speaks volumes to me. Again - CNET is a great place to go for reviews on consumer electronics, but they know nothing about HVAC. Same deal with Lowe's and Samsung. Their ability to get funding from these places doesn't really answer any of my concerns about the product. I agree that the article I linked was mainly written with heating systems in mind, but a lot of it applies to cooling systems too. You don't just risk system damage by restricting airflow on a furnace. There is plenty of risk with an A/C only system as well. Low airflow can lead to coil freezeups, blower failure, and compressor failure. I don't understand what you mean about "relieving pressure" when using schedules. As long as vents are being closed off, static pressure in the ductwork increases. I'm glad these companies are at least acknowledging the pressure issue. But their websites have next to no specific information about what they are doing to get around the problem. I would want to know what type of sensor they are actually using to measure the pressure. Are they just measuring it at individual vents or are they taking into account readings from all the vents together? Also, what are they doing with the pressure readings they are getting from these sensors? At what point do they determine static pressure is excessive? That can be different for different systems. How do they specifically know what kind of pressure buildup for your particular duct system? That kind of thing requires a qualified technician to measure, and these systems are not designed to be put in by qualified technicians. Let's assume these systems can actually get accurate static pressure readings for the system, and somehow know when airflow is being restricted too much for a particular system (based on what I've read about these, I feel that both of these assumptions are a stretch). When pressure does get too high, what will the system be able to do about that? A traditional zoning system installed by a contractor could ramp down the variable speed blower, lowering pressure while still allowing zones to be closed off. A more basic zoning system installed on a non variable speed HVAC system could open a bypass damper installed by the contractor, allowing some the excess supply air to go straight to the return duct, again lowering static pressure while allowing zones to close. But these smart vents? The only thing they'll be able to do if they sense high pressure is to not close, which kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? That air has to go somewhere! The title of the article I linked is "Ecovent - Treating Symptoms Instead of the Disease". Based on what I know about these products I feel that is an accurate description of them. Even if they worked perfectly, without any potential for issues down the road, the problems they claim to be trying to solve should not be present at all in a properly sized, designed, and installed HVAC system. If temperatures are extremely uneven from room to room, that isn't just a fact of life that you have to deal with; it means that your duct system is poor. I have no zoning system whatsoever in my house, and my temperatures are almost perfectly even from room to room, even with just one thermostat. So, if you're having issues with comfort or energy consumption - get a good contractor to evaluate your entire system. You will be better off in the long run eliminating the root cause of these problems. All of this is just my personal opinion I've formed based on the information I've been able to find about these products online. If you decide you'd like to go ahead with one of these systems, post back with a review and let us know how it works for you.

Yes! A bath fan thread. Most important is the ductwork. Insist on well-sealed, rigid metal pipe but a short flex takeoff from the fan can be good practice too. In cold climates, pitch the pipe to the exterior and use R3 to R8 insulation to prevent condensation drip. Use cape or butterfly dampers just inside the exterior wall for better blower door results. Consider 6" pipe for difficult runs and better performance or a jumper duct that passively supplies make-up air from a neighboring room. I just did a jumper duct in my personal bath reno with the supply grill right behind the toilet. It performs really well for that and my tiny bath with notoriously long hot showers. Panasonic whisper fans are among the most recommended and I think it's worth going out of your way for the best models. Integrated LED and 3-speed adjustment are particularly nice features. Broan has been stepping up better offerings too. Be sure the fan is well sealed to the ceiling opening. This important detail is commonly missed as it falls through the trade cracks. Timer delay wall controls seem best suited to effective bath ventilation.

tiger_dunes, of course I googled the topic (and found the same manual), but I'm not accustomed to reading HVAC manuals. The tone of your comment, "First of all, help yourself with your research and learn to use Google or another search engine" is not helpful. The heating is natural gas, does that matter with respect to what type of blower is installed in the unit? I thought the SEER rating and the model # would have been enough to understand if it's capable of dehumidifying on demand. I didn't assume that it has a variable speed indoor fan. Frankly, all the websites that I went to talk about multi-speed fans and variable speed fans with a multitude of different opinions. In my untrained world, a multi-speed fan sounds a lot like a variable speed fan, but apparently they're different. I came to this forum to see if someone knows definitively and has had any experience with this unit and it's ability to dehumidify in conjunction with a thermostat that has a humidistat-type functionality. If you have experience with the unit I'm talking about and setting it up to dehumidify, then by all means, let your knowledge flow forth. If you don't, then please refrain from telling me how to educate myself with respect to search engines and google.

We received almost no rain in Sept and the levels were about the same. I suspect it's probably from what you're doing in the home. If the home is sealed well, the humidity gets in / can't get out many times due to what the occupants are doing. Think steamy showers, laundry (clothes dried in dryer, if dryer is improperly vented it could be possible) Improperly drained condensate pans etc. Does the house feel muggy and or / are there smells? Maybe there is an issue with your HVAC system. Common experience for me when things go muggy is that the AC system may have developed a refrigerant leak. Just as well it could be faulty RH readings, from your controls. Measuring humidity can be a difficult challenge and readings can be much different from one room to the next. Humidity sensors may not completely fail, but over time be susceptible to drift. https://www.vaisala.com/en/blog/2019-09/what-causes-drift-relative-humidity-sensors