Not running AC in summer for a week or so...

[homestarmy]

I have been working working working 12 hours a day 7 days a week lately, so when I get home its night and I haven't been running AC at all. But then today I was watching something on TV that reminded me that because of that it will not remove moisture from my house... so do you think it's a bad idea to not run it then? What should be the minimum I should run it? A few hours every other day?

BTW, I'm in Central FL.

 

[beer]

A dehumidifer will do the trick at a fraction of the electrical cost.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: beer
A dehumidifer will do the trick at a fraction of the electrical cost.

Was just going to post the same thing.

 

[Amused]

Where do you live? (fix your profile)

 

[homestarmy]

Central FL.

How often should I run the AC? Is once every three days ok?

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: beer
A dehumidifer will do the trick at a fraction of the electrical cost.

a dehumidifier is the guts of an AC unit in a box on wheels.

 

If you're in central FL, definitely buy a dehumidifier. It'll make your place feel cooler, to boot. But definitely do something, or you'll have a HUGE bug or moisture problem, or both soon.

 

[homestarmy]

Well I usually run the AC for a good portion of the day, but I'm working a hell of a lot day in and day out... I'm just wondering how often it needs to be run at minimum...

And how much for a dehumidifier anyhow?

 

Originally posted by: homestarmy
Well I usually run the AC for a good portion of the day, but I'm working a hell of a lot day in and day out... I'm just wondering how often it needs to be run at minimum...

And how much for a dehumidifier anyhow?

Maybe $100 for a small one (I'm assuming apartment?). You'll make up that amount in a hurry in energy savings from not running the AC all day.

 

Should be all you need

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: homestarmy
Well I usually run the AC for a good portion of the day, but I'm working a hell of a lot day in and day out... I'm just wondering how often it needs to be run at minimum...

And how much for a dehumidifier anyhow?

Maybe $100 for a small one (I'm assuming apartment?). You'll make up that amount in a hurry in energy savings from not running the AC all day.

 

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: homestarmy
Well I usually run the AC for a good portion of the day, but I'm working a hell of a lot day in and day out... I'm just wondering how often it needs to be run at minimum...

And how much for a dehumidifier anyhow?

Maybe $100 for a small one (I'm assuming apartment?). You'll make up that amount in a hurry in energy savings from not running the AC all day.

What's there to be confused about? He asked how much for a dehumidifier, and I told him. I also told him the cost of the unit will quickly be offset due to the energy savings of running a dehumidifier all day instead of the AC.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: homestarmy
Well I usually run the AC for a good portion of the day, but I'm working a hell of a lot day in and day out... I'm just wondering how often it needs to be run at minimum...

And how much for a dehumidifier anyhow?

Maybe $100 for a small one (I'm assuming apartment?). You'll make up that amount in a hurry in energy savings from not running the AC all day.

What's there to be confused about? He asked how much for a dehumidifier, and I told him. I also told him the cost of the unit will quickly be offset due to the energy savings of running a dehumidifier all day instead of the AC.

I think he doesn't understand how he could save $100..to make up for the purchase.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: homestarmy
Well I usually run the AC for a good portion of the day, but I'm working a hell of a lot day in and day out... I'm just wondering how often it needs to be run at minimum...

And how much for a dehumidifier anyhow?

Maybe $100 for a small one (I'm assuming apartment?). You'll make up that amount in a hurry in energy savings from not running the AC all day.

What's there to be confused about? He asked how much for a dehumidifier, and I told him. I also told him the cost of the unit will quickly be offset due to the energy savings of running a dehumidifier all day instead of the AC.

i don't understand the big energy savings.

 

[homestarmy]

Actually I own my own home !

Bought it a year ago at age 21!

Brand new, 1431sqft plus garage (not huge but not bad for me).

 

Originally posted by: homestarmy
Actually I own my own home !

Bought it a year ago at age 21!

Brand new, 1431sqft plus garage (not huge but not bad for me).

Congrats! As for the energy savings, when you're running the AC you're also running the furnace blower. ACs are huge power draw devices since it takes a lot of power to: a) draw air from the house into the AC unit, b) remove heat AND humidity from the air c) a ton more power to blow and distribute that cold air around the house. With a dehumidifier, you're simply taking moisture out of the ambient air, which is, effectively, only one-third of the entire air conditioning operation.

So roughly, you're only using 1/3 of the energy with a dehumidifier compared to the energy you'd be using to air condition an entire house all day.

 

[homestarmy]

Is there any danger of not running it when its not really necessary aka winter?

 

[homestarmy]

ARRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

 

Originally posted by: homestarmy
Is there any danger of not running it when its not really necessary aka winter?

There's no reason to run a dehumidifier in the winter, unless your area of the country is extremely monsoon-like in winter (FL may be like that, I'm not sure). My parents have a dehumidifier in their basement that they unplug during the winter here in Michigan. It's dry enough as it is during winter, a dehumidifier would simply be overkill.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: homestarmy
Is there any danger of not running it when its not really necessary aka winter?

There's no reason to run a dehumidifier in the winter, unless your area of the country is extremely monsoon-like in winter (FL may be like that, I'm not sure). My parents have a dehumidifier in their basement that they unplug during the winter here in Michigan. It's dry enough as it is during winter, a dehumidifier would simply be overkill.

Aye, it would become too try, and that is bad.

 

Originally posted by: Excelsior
Aye, it would become too try, and that is bad.

Too or too not, there is no try.

 

[aplefka]

How do dehumidifiers work? Is it kinda like an air filter basically or what? Because here in Cali, whenever someone gets a really bad cough or anything we have a humidifier we put in the room they sleep in to help. But that makes a bit more sense to me than a dehumidifier.

 

[homestarmy]

Originally posted by: homestarmy
ARRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Oops wrong thread!! I wondered where this post went!

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: homestarmy
Actually I own my own home !

Bought it a year ago at age 21!

Brand new, 1431sqft plus garage (not huge but not bad for me).

Congrats! As for the energy savings, when you're running the AC you're also running the furnace blower. ACs are huge power draw devices since it takes a lot of power to: a) draw air from the house into the AC unit, b) remove heat AND humidity from the air c) a ton more power to blow and distribute that cold air around the house. With a dehumidifier, you're simply taking moisture out of the ambient air, which is, effectively, only one-third of the entire air conditioning operation.

So roughly, you're only using 1/3 of the energy with a dehumidifier compared to the energy you'd be using to air condition an entire house all day.

a) ok
b) a fan blowing over condensing and evaporating coils as opposed to just evaporating coils isn't going to make any difference
c) same point as (a)

 

Originally posted by: aplefka
How do dehumidifiers work? Is it kinda like an air filter basically or what? Because here in Cali, whenever someone gets a really bad cough or anything we have a humidifier we put in the room they sleep in to help. But that makes a bit more sense to me than a dehumidifier.

Ask, and you shall receive