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Humidifiers and Heat Pumps


Draco-REX

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Ok, so I live in a small apartment and it has a heat pump (essentially an AC unit that can run in reverse) for the HVAC. Last winter, and this one, it's become REALLY dry in here. My indoor/outdoor thermometer said the inside humidity this morning was 23%. I'm from the coast, so I'm not used to this dryness and it's wreaking havoc on me.

 

My question is, if I get a humidifier, should I place it near the heat pump so the humidity is spread out by it, or should it be far away as possible in case the heat pump removes some of the water from the air?

 

Thanks.

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There are arguments to be made both for putting it right where your HVAC's air intake is (spreads humidity through the whole apartment) and for a single room (like, say, the bedroom, since that's where the majority of your apt time will be). When you get right down to it, though, the moisture will eventually disperse through the whole apartment anyways, so it's really up to you which way you want to get it wet. Or you could just be like me, and have multiple aquariums.
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Keep it where you spend the most time. Usually the bedroom or living room. I have a de-humidifier in the basement, and a humidifier in the bedroom.

 

"I like to put a humidifier and a dehumidifier in the same room and make them battle it out." -Steven Wright

 

Well, just bought one. I didn't realize that humidifiers were still so small-scale. I still got a reasonably sized one (1050sqft) but it's got all the crazy bells and whistles. It's filtered and uses UV light to kill stuff in the water before atomizing it. So I'll let it run today in the main room, then I'll put it in my bedroom. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it's the dry air a night that's been killing me.

 

It sucks taking a deep breath and having my sinus tissues feel like they're going to crack. I spent my early life in Plymouth MA and most of the rest on Cape Cod. There, you'll have 100% humidity in the summer and that doesn't neccesarily mean it's raining.. I think I'm just geared to get some of my daily water intake from my skin. ;)

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There, you'll have 100% humidity in the summer and that doesn't neccesarily mean it's raining.. I think I'm just geared to get some of my daily water intake from my skin. ;)

 

No, that is not true, 100% humidity is only attainable at the dew point for that day. Mass. does not sit at the dew point all day every day..... If you are on the ocean on a boat you will not see 100% humidity during the day..... I believe you are used to more humid conditions living on the coast, but not 100%. Just because it is raining does not mean the humidity is 100%. Rain and dew point are 2 completely different things.

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No, that is not true, 100% humidity is only attainable at the dew point for that day. Mass. does not sit at the dew point all day every day..... If you are on the ocean on a boat you will not see 100% humidity during the day..... I believe you are used to more humid conditions living on the coast, but not 100%. Just because it is raining does not mean the humidity is 100%. Rain and dew point are 2 completely different things.

 

I didn't say it was ALWAYS 100%. :) I just meant that you're going to have trouble finding places that hit 100% humidity that aren't on the coast. As for rain, I know they are different, hence 100% without rain.. It's just that most people think it's odd to have 100% humidity since the first inclination would be to think that 100% of the air is water.

 

It's was a tongue-in-cheek comment. :) Didn't mean for it to become a point of discussion.

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