I have a 2 story house with an unfinished basement. The temp in the basement right now is about 64 degrees, and the humidity level is around 61%. I want to get a dehumidifier to get the humidity in the basement below 50% to avoid mildew etc. A dehumidifier for the size of the basement looks to cost me around $200-$300.
My question/thought (and I am no HVAC person at all). Do I just get the $1,200 whole house unit and do the whole house? Eventually I will finish the basement and have an HVAC pro do the true work, but for now I am curious if there is an easy down and dirty way for me to hook it up temporarily until I finish the basement and have a pro do it?
By temporary I was thinking... Do I hook the intake side to one of the existing cold air return vents in the basement, and hook the output to one of the normal vents in the basement? Not sure if that would work or not, because would the furnace/AC blower try and send the air backwards through the dehumidifier and cause problems? I kinda thought a Dual port on both the intake and output of the dehumidifier one sending air into the basement, the other sending air to like I mentioned above, could even maybe use those dampers to direct a percentage to the basement, and the other percentage to the rest of the house.
I guess my mind thinks, 64 Degree air being pushed into the upper floors that are warm in the summer and need AC, maybe would also make my AC run slightly less... along with pulling extra humidity out...? But like I said, I have 0 knowledge about HVAC, so guidence is greatly appreciated.
I'm looking at the aprilaire 1850 model which based on my calculations is enough for my whole house.
My question/thought (and I am no HVAC person at all). Do I just get the $1,200 whole house unit and do the whole house? Eventually I will finish the basement and have an HVAC pro do the true work, but for now I am curious if there is an easy down and dirty way for me to hook it up temporarily until I finish the basement and have a pro do it?
By temporary I was thinking... Do I hook the intake side to one of the existing cold air return vents in the basement, and hook the output to one of the normal vents in the basement? Not sure if that would work or not, because would the furnace/AC blower try and send the air backwards through the dehumidifier and cause problems? I kinda thought a Dual port on both the intake and output of the dehumidifier one sending air into the basement, the other sending air to like I mentioned above, could even maybe use those dampers to direct a percentage to the basement, and the other percentage to the rest of the house.
I guess my mind thinks, 64 Degree air being pushed into the upper floors that are warm in the summer and need AC, maybe would also make my AC run slightly less... along with pulling extra humidity out...? But like I said, I have 0 knowledge about HVAC, so guidence is greatly appreciated.
I'm looking at the aprilaire 1850 model which based on my calculations is enough for my whole house.
