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ham789 · 01-22-13, 09:04 PM

Here in Oregon, the outside humidity is very high in winter.
I use an ultrasonic humidifier on the occasions that it gets too
low for comfort. Put a little bleach in it to keep the diseases at bay.
Don't have much problem with hard water.

My little hrv takes out a lot of water. Depending on current humidity,
I just don't run the stove
vent or the bathroom fan to keep the released moisture inside.

Never thought much about it and assumed an steam generator used
a lot of energy. But...if it takes just as much energy to vaporize
a cc of water at 70F as it does at 212F, maybe it doesn't matter.
And if all that heat stays in the environment, the only difference
is the cost of electricity vs cost of primary heat source.

I experimented with wet towels on the bathroom rack over
the heater vent. Seemed to help, but conflicts with the primary
purpose of the towel...to dry things.

And condensation inside the HRV should give back some percentage
of the energy it took to create the humidity in the first place.
Yes???
Next time I'm bored, I'll run a thermocouple down the coroplast
and see where the dew point is located.

I keep running into diminishing returns. It just doesn't get that cold
here. Was 23F this morning, but up near 40F during the day.
Over the last 577 cycles of the gas heater, I've averaged 7,440
BTU/Hour.

01-22-13, 09:04 PM	#346
ham789 Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: tigard, oregon Posts: 42 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Here in Oregon, the outside humidity is very high in winter. I use an ultrasonic humidifier on the occasions that it gets too low for comfort. Put a little bleach in it to keep the diseases at bay. Don't have much problem with hard water. My little hrv takes out a lot of water. Depending on current humidity, I just don't run the stove vent or the bathroom fan to keep the released moisture inside. Never thought much about it and assumed an steam generator used a lot of energy. But...if it takes just as much energy to vaporize a cc of water at 70F as it does at 212F, maybe it doesn't matter. And if all that heat stays in the environment, the only difference is the cost of electricity vs cost of primary heat source. I experimented with wet towels on the bathroom rack over the heater vent. Seemed to help, but conflicts with the primary purpose of the towel...to dry things. And condensation inside the HRV should give back some percentage of the energy it took to create the humidity in the first place. Yes??? Next time I'm bored, I'll run a thermocouple down the coroplast and see where the dew point is located. I keep running into diminishing returns. It just doesn't get that cold here. Was 23F this morning, but up near 40F during the day. Over the last 577 cycles of the gas heater, I've averaged 7,440 BTU/Hour.