Humidity Control - Dehumidifier vs. Humidity controlled fan

[kawicivic]

Ok I just set up my 180 a few months ago. Since getting the sump running, I have decided that the basement is just too moist. I have the tank in my furnace room and that is one concern (considering dividing the room into a fish only room.

So here is the question - I know of 2 ways to control the humidity - dehumidifier set up in the room and a humidity controlled fan that will force take the humid air outside once it reaches a certain level of humidity.

What are the pros and cons of each method. Is one method cheaper than the other (upfront and maintenance costs are going to be considered).

Let me know your experience.

[Anthony.Luciano]

well first off, what is the power consumption of the humidity controlled fan vs. your dehumidifier.

[kawicivic]

I do not have either at the moment.

[Anthony.Luciano]

oh well other than that, i do know that the humidity controlled fans work pretty well, I used to have one of those types but it wasn't humidity controlled it was manual and it really worked but the dehumidifier I would imagine you save on electricity but if the room is really humid your going to have to keep emptying that pal under it.
I do not have either at the moment.

[110galreef]

I have a 250g DT, 40g frag tank & 65g sump.....lose about 3 gals a day.
I keep my basement at ~ 55% RH via a dehumidifier and the fish room is about 52%. The dehumidifier is in the fish room, but i usually keep the door open.
Basement is about 1300 sq ft.

I am in OH and it is pretty humid. On the hot humid 90* weeks, the dehumidifer runs and AVG of 7Kwh/day. It is a energy star 1 yr old model. Was about $300 online shipped for free. I think it is a 70 pint/day. Easily keeps up too. As it does turn off at times.

For me at my .069c/ Kwh this costs me ~ $15/mo in the worst months. In the winter it is about only $5/mo as it very seldom runs. The evaporation adds to the dry winter air we have!

Hope this helps!

[BrianOKC]

I think the dehumidifier is going to pull more electric. I think when I looked into 1 the wattage was similar to a small window A/C.

[crvz]

the fan is surely cheaper to run and will likely solve your problem, but you have to be really careful with hooking it up to a humistat. The issue with one of those triggering the fan on/off is that you'll get near the set level and it will cycle on/off over and over, and I've ruined a few fans this way. I've found it's better to just use a timer for the exhaust fan and monitor the humidity manually (adjusting run time of the fan as needed).

Of course, if the room is large, an exhaust fan may not prove adequate. I imagine it would work better if you closed off the room with the tank in it.

[Anthony.Luciano]

+1 you can probably hook it up to an aquarium controller such as an apex with a humidity probe and have the minimum time of the fan lets say 1 hour that way it wont ruin it because if it reaches the set point the apex wont let the fan turn off for 1 hour.
the fan is surely cheaper to run and will likely solve your problem, but you have to be really careful with hooking it up to a humistat. The issue with one of those triggering the fan on/off is that you'll get near the set level and it will cycle on/off over and over, and I've ruined a few fans this way. I've found it's better to just use a timer for the exhaust fan and monitor the humidity manually (adjusting run time of the fan as needed).

Of course, if the room is large, an exhaust fan may not prove adequate. I imagine it would work better if you closed off the room with the tank in it.

[kawicivic]

after starting to look at some other threads and some of the input here I am thinking that the fan is the way to go...

any other input?

Thanks to everyone who has commented so far!

[crvz]

if you go with a fan, look for something that's a bit more than just a cheap bathroom exhaust. I got an airking model that's mostly plastic due to some issues I had with other models of metal casing. Low dB rating is possibly important depending on what else you may use the room for.

[Editour2]

Just to chime in......I have a fish room which houses the tank (215 gal), 40 gal refugium, 20 frag tank, 125 gal sump and all equipment. The room is only 6' x 10' long. I was contemplating a portable AC unit since the room does not face any exterior wall and as such a regular AC would vent into my garage. Figured why should I use a chiller and cool off just the water when I could be comfortable as well. I would use the 5' dryer type vent to vent the portable to an outside wall. However if I could just use fans blowing on top of the tank and an exhaust fan/vent to do the same job...I may go that route. CRVZ do you have a link to the exhaust fan you are using? Do you have it hard wired or did you convert it to a regular ac plug? How is it connected to the timer/controller. I was thinking about using a dehumidistat ventilation control unit I read this thread.

[crvz]

I think this is the one I've got.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PU9Q4O/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&s=hi&psc=1

I just hard wired it and plugged it into a DC8 port on my controller.

[Editour2]

Found this:

http://airking.ventingdirect.com/air-king-ak200ls-energy-star-200-cfm-quiet-deluxe-bath-fan-only-with-1-4-sones/p285376

Only problem: my fish room is in my garage however there is a bedroom above that area so the vent has to be in the exterior wall not the ceiling. How would that work?

[Editour2]

So you are saying that you connected a regular plug to the wires of the exhaust fan and connected that directly into your Controller?
Been reading through some posts on RC.....many say you need around 190 cfm and 1.3 scones. Not sure what all that measures....assuming cfm is the power of the fan to suck air and scones is a measure of the fan noise. My fish room is only 6' x 10'. Again I am concerned about mounting the fan on a vertical wall rather than ceiling and still considering this as opposed to the portable AC. Any thoughts?

[Editour2]

Actually the word for noise levels is sones not scones as indicated above. The lower the sones the quieter the fan. CFM is an acronym for "Cubic Feet per Minute". This is a measurement of air volume velocity and is often used in measuring air flow.

[Editour2]

Some useful Information:

Fan loudness is measured in "sones." The lower the sone, the quieter the fan. The best fans have sound ratings of 0.5 sones or less. Units that produce more than 4 sones or more should be avoided.

Small bathroom fans (less than 76 cfm) must have sound levels of no more than 2.0 sones to be labeled as Energy Star compliant; large bathroom fans must have sound levels of no more than 1.5 sones.

What's the capacity for air flow? Fan exhaust capacity is rated in liters per second (L/s) or cubic feet per minute (cfm). A standard 5 x 8 bathroom needs a good-quality fan that draws a minimum of 50 cfm. Larger master baths may require stronger fans to efficiently pull the humid air from the room. To calculate the size of fan needed, use this equation: Multiply the total cubic feet of the bathroom buy 8. Then divide that number by 60, and you'll get the required cfm. This equation is based on recommendations from The Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program.

Is the exhaust fan equipped with an electronic timer? In general, bath exhaust fans should stay on for one hour after baths or showers to effectively remove excess moisture from the room. Bathroom fans connected to light switches or exhaust fans that have a simple "on/off" switch normally won't run as long as that because the homeowner doesn't think about the real function of the fan. Also, homeowners may not remain at home long enough to keep the fan on the recommended amount of time. A fan equipped with a timer will ensure the fan remains on as long as needed to exhaust moisture.

An electronic timer is usually quieter than a mechanical timer and offers a wide range of settings. Make sure the timer setting instructions are easy to understand and the timer itself is easy to operate. Use a delayed fan shut-off to keep the fan running for at least one hour after the homeowner leaves the room. Other options include a motion sensor that activates the fan when someone is in the bathroom.

Where in the bathroom should the fan be located? Because exhaust fan will inevitably exhaust clean room air along with moist air, locate exhaust vents as far away as possible from space heating and cooling registers. This will minimize the amount of conditioned air that is directly exhausted out of the bathroom.

When mounting bath exhaust fans, remember to seal gaskets and fan houses mounted on ceilings to reduce gaps that could result in air leaks. In insulated ceilings, use fans that are rated for insulation contact.

[crvz]

So you are saying that you connected a regular plug to the wires of the exhaust fan and connected that directly into your Controller?
Been reading through some posts on RC.....many say you need around 190 cfm and 1.3 scones. Not sure what all that measures....assuming cfm is the power of the fan to suck air and scones is a measure of the fan noise. My fish room is only 6' x 10'. Again I am concerned about mounting the fan on a vertical wall rather than ceiling and still considering this as opposed to the portable AC. Any thoughts?

Yes, I simply wired the white (neutral), black (hot), and green (ground) wires to an extension cord and plugged it into the controller. There is no electrical difference schematically to doing this than hooking it up to any other switch or timer; it simply terminates differently.

For sixty square feet, you won't need 190 cfm except for the most intense cases. I use the 120 cfm model and my room is 10x14, or about 2.5 times what you're looking at. Noise levels are irrelevant with the exception of what you are willing to tolerate.

I also mounted my fan directly to the wall. This is not aesthetically what it is design for, but there is no issue in doing so. The fan will operate fine in this case.

[Editour2]

Thanks for all the info....so in mounting to the wall rather than the ceiling....how does the exterior look? Can you send me a pic? Did you box it out on that wall? If you can please send pics to
editour2@yahoo.com

[mcrist]

One thing to consider is the humidity outside your home. Where I live the humidity is usually over 50% in the summer months so I would never be able to reduce the humidity in my home with just fans. I had no other choice but to go with a dehumidifier.

With fans you can never reduce the humidity in your home to lower than the outside air.

[crvz]

I didnt bother doing anything to it other than screwing it onto the wall. It looks just as you'd expect. My fan actually vents into the garage when it runs, but I don't use it during the summer much as I have an AC unit dedicated to the wet room due to the high summer temps and humidity here on the Texas gulf coast.