Dehumidifiers in SW Florida

[jack1953]

The ideal humidity for homes in SW Florida is between 40-45 percent.

During the day, in the summer, I am running closer to 60.

I have two entrances, used frequently, located at the front of the house (front door and garage door). My house is designed with an 'open' design between living room, great/dining room, and family room.

The square footage of the area, minus bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen is about 900 square feet.

Would a higher end portable dehumidifier, located centrally in that design, set to 45 percent, be of any benefit in your opinions? If so, what pint size would you recommend?

My son's bedroom is on the west side of the house and the humidity tends to run higher than the rest of the house. The bedroom is small about 150 sq ft.

Also, would a smaller unit in my son's room benefit, or should I wait and see if the big unit helps any?


Thanks,
Lee

 

[lsd]

Do you have central a/c?

 

[jack1953]

Do you have central a/c?

Yes

 

[MongGrel]

Something sounds borked to me, have 900 Sq Ft in Clearwater here that is very open, not counting Bedrooms, Baths, Florida room and have no problems with humidity with a heat pump at any rate.

Just the doors being open a lot about all I can think of, you can't cool things if the doors are open a lot.

Not sure what you mean by the garage door, unless your cooling your garage and the thing is open a lot. That would explain things right there.

 

[lsd]

Your central a/c should be keeping your humidity at the right level. An over sized a/c system can cause this. Is your system constantly cycling on and off?
You may want to look into that before investing in a dehumidifier.

 

[jack1953]

Your central a/c should be keeping your humidity at the right level. An over sized a/c system can cause this. Is your system constantly cycling on and off?
You may want to look into that before investing in a dehumidifier.

The unit is fine. Humidity reached 45 at night but in the day it runs around 56-57.

 

[jack1953]

Something sounds borked to me, have 900 Sq Ft in Clearwater here that is very open, not counting Bedrooms, Baths, Florida room and have no problems with humidity with a heat pump at any rate.

Just the doors being open a lot about all I can think of, you can't cool things if the doors are open a lot.

Not sure what you mean by the garage door, unless your cooling your garage and the thing is open a lot. That would explain things right there.

What does your humidity run during the day?

 

[Blain]

Is your duct work sealed under the house?

 

[boomerang]

What levels are your neighbors at? I think the ideal humidity is just that, ideal. It's something that although desired, is not a requirement. As long as the AC is running regularly, you should be fine - IMO. Some newer systems with variable speed compressors will allow the A/C to run at very low cooling levels to remove excess humidity. Do you happen to have one of these? If so, you may want to explore the menu's in the thermostat to make it run that way.

We have a condo in SW Florida. It is unoccupied 8 months out of the year. FPL recommends that the A/C be run for two hours starting two hours before sunrise with a target temp of 72º to control the humidity. After that, the temperature should be set at 88º. I just got email notification nearly one hour ago that 72º was reached. Now, the temp will rise through the day (and the humidity with it) and the A/C will only kick on if the temp gets above 88º. The overwhelming majority of days it does not come on again until the next morning.

We have had zero issues. But, I get it, we don't have humans taking showers, washing clothes, doing the dishes, etc. during that timeframe. Still, if you are not seeing signs of mold, I wouldn't worry about it.

Humidifiers are typically noisy. It will run nearly constantly and the water it collects will have to be emptied unless you can get it up high enough and close enough to a drain to drain through gravity. If you're not experiencing problems with mold, who wants to go through that? I just don't think it's something to be concerned about.

What do you set the thermostat at in the Summer? Lowering it a degree or two might make a huge difference in the humidity levels.