Hello all:
I have a ~900 sqft basement that I use a 50-pint dehumidifier to remove excess moisture with. We live up in north central PA. The problem is that the unit heats the basement to ~77F in the summer which is a bit hot for my wife. I was thinking of installing a 6-8,000 BTU window unit in an above grade window (south facing unfortunately). Any thoughts or should I do something else?
Thanks for your assistance!
Steve
It will do what you're trying to accomplish... reduce the temperature in the basement. An added bonus is it will help reduce the humidity also.
If you're having enough moisture/humidity in the basement to require the dehumidifier to run enough to overheat the basement you might want to try and reduce the amount of humidity that needs removing.
Use the biggest hammer you like, pounding a square peg into a round hole does not equal a proper fit.
Thanks - would 6,000 be sufficient or should I go with 8,000? I don't want to over size the unit but since the cooling requirements are so low I also don't want to undersized the unit...
The energy/btu's the dehumidifier is putting into the basement (not exact) is easy to figure out. Look at the name plate and look for the line that says one of the following: Amps/amp draw/wattage.
Assuming a 110VAC unit.
Amps x 110 = watts consumed by unit. Watts x 3.41 = btu's the unit is basically putting into your basement.
Use the biggest hammer you like, pounding a square peg into a round hole does not equal a proper fit.
Ok - so at 5.2 amps and 115 volts we are talking about ~ 2040 BTU. So it sounds like a 6,000 BTU window unit would be more then enough...
Your dehumidifier may not be operating properly. How much moisture is the unit removing per day? Some dehus remove very small amounts of moisture while using a lot of electricity. Results are a warm basement before getting dry.
Dehumidifiers like Santa Fe Compact dehumidifier will remove 7 gals. of moisture per day which quickly drys the space and the dehu starts cycling. Get a good dehu and forget the a/c for basement space. I would expect a Santa Fe to warm a basement 3-4^F and maintain <50%RH. This would cost $15 /month verses +$50 per month for a/c and dehu.
Regards TB
http://santa-fe-products.com/index.p...d=61&Itemid=36
Bear Rules: Keep our home <50% RH summer, controls mites/mold and very comfortable.
Provide 60-100 cfm of fresh air when occupied to purge indoor pollutants and keep window dry during cold weather. T-stat setup/setback +8 hrs. saves energy
Use +Merv 10 air filter. -Don't forget the "Golden Rule"