Saving Electricity, run Dehumidifier longer or frequent start stops

[mattl]

We have some people well versed in electricity here and I'm wondering if I'd save electricity if I set my dehumidifier to run longer. My Maytag died this spring and I bought a knock off twin to it, but this unit seems to start and stop every few minutes. I'm wondering if the current draw to start the compressor every few minutes ends up costing more than having the unit run longer and start less frequently.

Since it seems to cycle every few minutes right now, when it gets hotter outside the humidity in the basement raises enough that it runs almost constantly, I'm wondering if setting the humidity level lower would actually save money. I used to keep it at 40%, but a few weeks ago I raised it to 45% and that is when I noticed the frequent cycling. I raised it mainly to cut down on electric use, but I'm wondering if I accomplished that.

What do you think?

 

[mielabor]

I think you should use one of those energy meters that you can place between the appliance plug and the socket. They are not expensive and you can use them for all your devices to find out what they use and if your measures to cut down on energy use are effective. There are probably a lot of theoretical considerations that can be argued over but the proof lies in the actual measurement.

 

[thomasortega]

My fucking hot and dry weather again...
anybody please explain me how does a dehumidifier works?

here we use only humidifiers. (mostly ultrasonic)

Ok, I know... this is really wierd... an appliances designer that doesn't know how it works.
I'm starting to fell like the Maytag repairmen.

 

[j2400]

These are essentially an air conditioner. They chill the air, causing the humidity to leach out, and then warm it up again. Wikipedia has an article that explains in more detail.

Dehumidifier - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[toggleswitch2]

40% to 60% is a good range for indoor relative humdidty.

40% is a bit on the low side. 45% is better. Will 50% RH work for you? Above that level I find mould and musty odors begin to form.

I don't think that the starting wattage draw is more that the equiavalent of running the thing for a minute.

Of course it will cycle more if less stress/effort/exertion is required to do the easier job of 45% RH as compared to 40% RH.

Justt think of it this way, it is not drawing ANY power in those times that it is "OFF"



If you have central A/C and it also does the area in which the dehumdifier is located, perhaps a timer to run the unit fromm say 10pm to 10am is warranted. The A/C will cool and dry the air during the day, the dehumdifier at night.

BTW since the dehmidifier is basically an A/C that re-heats the air, it may pay to have a TINY A/C in that space during the summer. Same work it's doing and cost to run, but helps he other A/C's.

 

[oldhouseman]

Message to Thomas

The humidity factor varies here greatly.

I am sure Toggles has a very different experience of late June, July and August than I do here in Georgia.

Right now the temperature is getting up to 97 and the humidity is so high it is hard to breath if you have asthma or lung issues (like I do). You can sweat you self to death walking from the parking area to the office.

In the time before air-conditioning there were not many homes in the South that put up wallpaper due to the humidity and "raising damp" as it was called because the humid weather caused wallpaper to fall loose from the walls.

The problem was solved by mounting sheets of linen on the walls and putting the wallpaper on the linen.

That way the walls could "breath" and the wallpaper would stay n tact.

I have found evidence of such wall treatments in my house (built in 1797).

I think using a dehumidifier depends on what part of the country one lives in here in the US.

I have not found them useful here in the south.

Thomas, the issue is that here it gets so hot (in the South) that the humidity factor of the weather is so high that you will sweat so much your clothes are soaking wet just taking a walk outside.

In the part of Georgia I live in we stay inside our home after 10 am to 8 pm from the last week of June to the first week of September due to the weather.

The humidity is to high.

I live much like my ancestors in the early 19th century so I am used the humid conditions.

Thomas,...you have a great conditions that you live in. In some ways better then we have here in the southern US.

Trust me you do not want to find out first hand about living in Humid conditions.

By the way

after the American Civil War

about 20 thousand Southerners from America moved to Brazil.

I meet with many of the descendants of them. I understand there is a community of people who are connected to the old Confederate South.

 

[thomasortega]

That's really interesting...

By the way, our humidity levels are most part of the year near 20%
too dry...

 

[thomasortega]

That's why we use humidifiers....

my region is like hell

hot and dry...

looks like a convection oven.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Met a Brazilian guy who lived in Manhattan. Claimed to be a political refugee running from discrimination against his gayness. Big girly bottom who wanted to be "kept", based on that fact alone. Anyway, I digress...

[Honey, if you think "they" will slit your throat for being a flamer, turn off the gas (Read: swish) and therefore cut the flames. How does that old campaign go?,... "The life you save may be your own"] Anyhoo...

He absolutely freaked-out that an air-conditioner dehumidifies, and went to the trouble of leaving glasses of water in the apartment (in hot humid summer) to combat this.

So either this is a (baddy) learned response, or he is used to 1,000% RH and beleives it to be desirable.

Thomas, why do you beleive dryness is so bad? I hope you guys don't use humidifiers in the summer. If you do, are they actually misters or evaporative coolers to lower the ambient temperatures? And what do you mean by winter, 20*C? (English system: think just under 70*F +/-). Thanks.

 

[toggleswitch2]

ugh.

"Badly" and "believe".

I can spell; typing and proof-reading is another issue! LOL

 

[brisnat81]

I dont think that it's the dryness is so bad.

It's that we dont freak out when it gets humid.

I live in a sub tropical part of Australia, and in summer our daily maximums range from 30-40degC, Lows of 15-25degC, with humidity around 60%-85%

During the day if we're home, we'll run the AC from 10am - 3pm and whilst its above 30degC, but once the sun goes down, we turn it off and make do, so to speak.

In summer, you sweat more, drink more fluids and just get on with life. You get used to sweating during the night, sleeping nude and changing the sheets and towels every second day. We have no issues with mould or mustyness.

I can only assume the reason that we dont bother with dehumidifyers 24x7 is that with the high minimums we reach in winter (5degc) our houses are far less airtight, thus better ventilated and able to keep everything in balance.

 

[thomasortega]

We have a lot of different weathers in Brazil...

Right now, I have a lovely 25°C temperature, because it´s winter. Humidity level is 55%(just checked)

But during our summer (here in the south) temperatures can reach more than 49°C (Once it reached 54°C) and humidity levels LESS than 20%.
It´s the same as inside a dryer without the clothes.
too hot, we sweat a lot, but it evaporates quickly.
That´s why we also don´t need dryers. we just hang the clothes in a line, they dry much faster than in the dryer.

All air conditioners dries the air..
So imagine the chaos: Dry weather + powerful air conditioners (to compensate our hot weather) drying even more = dry eyes, dry throats, allergies...

That´s why we always need to use humidifyers. or at least keep a wet towel or a bucket of water in front of the A/C

 

[iheartmaytag]

Just thinking and I may be all wrong, but I would think that the constant cycling would use more juice than running a longer cycle. I always heard a motor (compressor) consumes more electricity at start up than through their entire cycle. This may no longer be correct with new and more efficient motors.

I set my dehumidifier in the basement to run mostly at night when the programmable thermostat turns the central A/C up for the night. This way the basement in my 73 year old house doesn't get the musty's (I think the air circulation helps too). Here in central U.S. we have been in the low 100's but been getting rain through most of the summer. Our humidity has been in the 80-90% almost consistently. As an Asmatic this makes breathing very difficult as moisture displaces oxygen in the air. I also have to be careful of the mold spores that warm humid air makes happy; as mold is my number one trigger for asthma.

When the A/C is running there is a constant stream of water running into the sump. When it isn't on the dehumidifer pulls about three buckets of water (about 1 gallon) a day.

 

[estesguy]

Let it cycle

Compressors have locked rotor amperage (LRA on ID plate) and run current amperage. Locked rotor is the amps it draws on start up, and it is higher than run current amps, but it only draws that current for a split second, after that it draws run current amperage. So having it cycle off and on will save you electricity by far over just letting it run