I have a raised ranch about 3100 sq ft which includes finished basement space of about 1500 sq ft; basement has several rooms including laundry room with dryer vented outside. Located in Binghamton area of NY. Heating is by boiler i.e. not forced hot air. Have high humidty levels in basement which I want to correct. I see a product called HumiVent2000

(see:http://www.dehumidifiers-online.com/...escription.htm)

on the Internet - they claim the product circulates household air from upper floor and vents air to the outside at the basement level and reduces the humidty level. It cost about $500 and claims to have very low power consumption (a BIG arguement againsts dehumidifiers)

Can any experts, or anyone with an opinion, give me an opinion of this product and/or this general approach of circulating upper floor air (in my house on the upper floor there is relatively normal humidity - lots of open windows in summer - and no A/C).

Or offer a less costly solution? Thanks!

 

The website says, "HumiVent-2000 operates on the principle that water is heavier than air. Moist air collects in the lowest part of the house, usually the basement, and affects the environment throughout the home."

WATER is heavier than air. WATER VAPOR (humidity) is not. In fact water VAPOR is lighter or less dense than air. The vapor is almost uniformly distributed throughout the house. Basements tend to have colder walls and thus may have temperatures below the dewpoint.

Buy a dehumidifier. Heating the basement would lower the relative humidity but I doubt that you want to do that in the summertime.

 

Thanks Lynn.

I had suspicions about a product that is basically an exhaust fan for the basment and costing $500. The website didn't really provide much info on how it works. If I want to expirement with such an approach, it sure could be done a lot cheaper.

Please bear with me as I theorize on approaches other than the costly to operate dehumidifier (I dont know what kwh prices are in Arizona, but here we run about 13 cents/kwh). I do have some options to increase air circulation to the outside. The basement has a door to the garage at the same level. And a walkout openning pretty much at the opposite end of basement. Do you think leaving these open would be of notable benefit?

I guess I also need to think about where the moisture comes from. Mmmm. Most of the walls are covered and insulated I think, but probably not enough, and likley no vapor barrier. One large room has carpet laid direct on concrete, the other large room has tile. The basement is cool, but humid. So warm outside air circulated into the basement hits the cooler basement - result - condensation/water saturated air - result - high humidity levels. So maybe air circulation is not the answer. So I would need the basement walls and floors to be the close to the same temp as the air being circulated in. Probably next to impossible as I cannot overcome the effect of the below grade walls kept cool by the ground.

There's also a washer down there adding to the mositure.

Well anyways I think I will expirement with improving air circulation, thinking about improving wall and floor insulation and isolating the laundry area better. Seems like I'll probably end up with a dehumidifier sooner or later.

Any additional suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

 

1) If the washer is contributing, do laundry out for a week or two to test its contribution to the problem. Dry the laundry out as well to test that possibility.
2) Insulation AND a vapor barrier can keep the humidity away from cold walls. The floor is another matter. This could get pricey.
3) If the humidity is just in the atmosphere, Ventilation will worsen the problem by bringing in a fresh supply of water vapor laden air.
4) There are chemical desiccants that will dry the air. I expect that they are not cheap either. They can often be recyled with solar heat if you wish. Look into that.

 

Lynn,

Thanks again. I think the keyword is "dewpoint". The basement has been below the dewpoint for the past week and longer and thus 100% saturation. The laundry I'm sure adds some too.

I will look for an appropriately sized energy efficient dehumidifier and bite the cost bullet in favor of comfort.

This is a great forum, keep up the good work!