Frugal Dehumidifier - any good models widely available?

 I've been looking for a good dehumidifier and I notice that each  big
box store only really carries one brand and there really isn't much
online as far as reviews. I know some dehumidifiers are energy hogs
and some are very loud can anyone recommend a dehumidifier that they
are happy with? I have an 800 sq/ft basement that I'm looking to cover
and the temp can go as low as 55 degrees in the winter.

 

How about a Crawlspace Smart Vent?

http://www.smartvent.net

They cost $365, but they only use 40 watts when moving 290 cfm of air
out of a basement when the absolute moisture content of basement air
is greater than the absolute moisture content of outdoor air.

To also heat (cool) a house in a cool (warm) season, we might power up
the Smart Vent with a differential thermostat only when outdoor air is
warmer (cooler) than house air.

Nick

 

...

Does that mean when the absolute moisture content is the same (high or low)
it does noething?  Seems like it would have limited value in a naturally
humid region whee you want to make it lower.

 

The technical description on the crawlspace web page says they evacuate
crawlspace air when its RH is more than 35% and the absolute moisture
content of the outdoor air is lower than that of the crawlspace air.
They also evacuate crawlspace air when the crawlspace RH is less than
25% and outdoor air has 20% more absolute moisture. They say adding
humidity to a crawlspace is sometimes useful to keep it from drying out
to the point that hardwood floors buckle.


Yes. This might work well in a climate with some humidity variability
and with a fairly airtight crawlspace and some building materials that
can store moisture. It would work better in Chattanooga (wmin = 0.0036
in January) than Key West (wmin = 0.0100 in January.)


Yes. It only works on dryish days. There's a nice graph of crawlspace
humidity over time on the web site.

Nick

 
Thermastor makes the most efficient dehumidifier, according to Energy Star.
Costs a lot but can pay for itself in energy savings.  When I bought mine,
it was twice as efficient as the models sold at Sears.  I use it to dry out
my swamp of a basement.  It's somewhat noisy, but apart from that I have no
complaints.

http://www.thermastor.com/Santa-Fe/

The powered vent that Nick recommends would be a lot cheaper to buy and to
run, assuming it can be used in your application.

--
Bill McFadden     billmc@agora.rdrop.com    http://www.rdrop.com/users/billmc
CAUTION: Don't look into laser beam with remaining eye.