3 y/o home, gas furnace, Venmar HRV, always low humidity...

[CanadianGuy]

Hello Everyone;

Site looks great, this is my first post. I live in Ontario, Canada. This week has been especially mild, -5 to +2. The RH has been around 90%, however the humidity in my home will not rise over 24%. It is really dry in the house and uncomfortable.

I have a gas forced air furnace. Also installed is a Venmar 1.0 HRV unit. I have the auxiliary panels that set it for a 20 minute run, and a dehumidistat on the wall beside my thermostat. Indoor air temp is set at 19*C. I have the dehumidistat set at 50% humidity but it wont get anywhere near that. I have been contemplating installing a whole home humidifier, but wanted to come on here and be sure that the HRV should not be doing more for me. Im not expecting it to act as a humidifier, but when the RH has been 90% for over a week i would expect my indoor to be higher then 16-24%.

Can anyone provide any insight into my dry home?

[beenthere]

When you bring in 2°F 90%RH outdoor air, and heat it to 66°F, its RH drops to 6%. Your HRV is probably running too much, and causing your low humidity problems.

[teddy bear]

Hello Everyone;

Site looks great, this is my first post. I live in Ontario, Canada. This week has been especially mild, -5 to +2. The RH has been around 90%, however the humidity in my home will not rise over 24%. It is really dry in the house and uncomfortable.

I have a gas forced air furnace. Also installed is a Venmar 1.0 HRV unit. I have the auxiliary panels that set it for a 20 minute run, and a dehumidistat on the wall beside my thermostat. Indoor air temp is set at 19*C. I have the dehumidistat set at 50% humidity but it wont get anywhere near that. I have been contemplating installing a whole home humidifier, but wanted to come on here and be sure that the HRV should not be doing more for me. Im not expecting it to act as a humidifier, but when the RH has been 90% for over a week i would expect my indoor to be higher then 16-24%.

Can anyone provide any insight into my dry home?
How many sqft. of home and how many occupants?
Track the outdoor dew point verses the indoor dew point. %
RH outside means nothing. There is enough info on the net for you to educate yourself.
Turn off the HRV as it is over drying your home.
With a large home and low occupancy, you may need a humidifier.
Adequately ventilated homes may need humidification when outdoor dew points are below freezing and dehumidification when the outdoor dew point are near or above indoor temperatures.
Good luck.
Regards TB

[CanadianGuy]

Turned off the HRV after reading your reply. Humidity came up slightly, however it has been -10*C. Home is 1100 Sq.ft. plus same size unfinished basement. Thank you for the replies.

Current Conditions:

Temp: 12 °F
Dew point: 7 °F
Barometer: 30.01 "Hg
Humidity: 79%
Visibility: 15 mi

Last update: Sun 10:00 PM EST