Something not mentioned is that dust mites love humidity. Keeping indoor humidity levels consistently below 45% will prevent dust mites. If a member of the household has a severe allergy to dust mites, this could be a lifesaver. I love your videos. Keep 'em coming.
Thanks for sharing this!! We're borrowing a dehumidifier from a good friend right now and it's been LIFE CHANGING!!! It's amazing what a difference it makes in the comfort of our home.
I found a loophole for this. I live in NC by a lake, super humid. I put a small window air conditioner in a spare bedroom where I don't see or hear it. It runs on low pretty much all day, but only uses about 350 watts. It contributes to the overall cooling of the house, but more importantly because it is always running it makes a fantastic dehumidifier. I still have a normal heat pump that comes on and off, the window unit is only a supplement for that, and now it doesn't have to cycle as much. Total cost $129 vs Won't tell you the price because it's well into 4 digits. My humidity stays about 40-45%, and as a result, I can set the thermostat a good 5 degrees higher comfortably than I did last year.
Whats cool now is the new inverter mini splits will do that in one of their running modes. So for instances a 3ton can run at 1.3 tons all day at around a 20% higher cop too so no humidifier needed.
I build a house in Florida and installed a high end a/c system which included a multi-speed compressor and fan system. The system had a humidistat as part of the thermostat. The system ran at a very low rate almost continuously and the house was dry and cool always. Getting some fresh air into the house might have made a difference but I was quite happy with the system as it was. Best regards.
In the south we don't have basements, and I agree that attic mounted furnaces run counter to thermodynamics. Here in Texas, where I live now, there are no basements and they put the evaporator and heat exchanger in the attic. When I lived in CA the evaporator and heat exchanger were either in a closet in the center of the house or in the garage, but the ducts are routed through the attic. High ceilings in today's homes don't help much when heating either. In anyevent the a/c system I had in my house in Fl was great at keeping the house comfortable at an economic cost. Best regards.
Great update on the Ultra Aire. You may have been the reason I installed the UltraAire XT-105 in my new home build 3+ years ago. Walking into my home always feels great. And yes 75 degrees feels great. My home is very tight and the XT-105 maintains 40-45% easily I'm my 4000+ sq-ft home here in Virginia. Thanks for your sage advice my friend.
@paladain55 yes, it came in at 0.9 ACH50 which I felt bad about because I couldn't fully seal plumbing vent traps or the other holes like range hood, dryer, whole house vacuum, ERV, & the XT-105 make-up air intake. So I kind of suspect we may have achieved 0.6 ACH50 if those leaks could have been sealed better. Cheers, Eric
Wow! Maybe you can look into a heat pump dryer. They don't need a vent. But we are talking $/yr lost on venting at this point it isn't much. Its like a 55mpg car vs a 57mpg so don't feel bad lol I assume I'm starting at 8ish ACH50.
Hey Matt, you can definitely find this brand online. The 98 pint is $1627 delivered from Sylvane’s website... it literally showed up at the top of the TH-cam app when I was searching for videos on “Ultra Aire dehumidifier installation”. I know that in this day and age pretty much everything can be bought online but this one seems to be readily available straight from Sylvane.
This is awesome. I just seen you bring one to the demolitia channel. Humidity can make a big difference too. This seems like a must have with every HVAC unit
For new tight construction I was considering mini splits along with a CERV . The CERV is an ERV with a small compressor to work the incoming outside air, and it would need its own distribution ducting. It has a brain of its own and can check air quality and can just plain recirculate air inside without exchanging air to outside. So let the minis do the job with their inverter driven technology and let it be circulated evenly with the CERV, when it senses a need for more outside air the CERV will serve. Dehumidify your outside supply air as it comes in. Maybe Matt could do a video on the CERV? Went different direction and bought an existing FL home but if I build again I'd be thinking that way again. Big Matt fan!
Ok so on my recording studio build, I can take the fresh air side from my ERV feed it into the top port of this dehumidifier unit, to get fresh dehumidified air into the studio through diverted boxes for noise reduction on both supply and return. Then run two separate returns, one for the ERV to exhaust stale air and one back to the dehumidifier. For A/C we are using multiple head Split Units total of 48k units. Probably Mr Cool since they have quiet mode or silent mode. Anything over 200 cfm at registers will be picked up on mics during recording. When not recording then we can turn up the flow if necessary to control temperature.
Matt. I sealed my house. But some air quality problems I’d like you and others to know about. I’m a single guy in too much house. 3 bathrooms. I never use the other 2 and the water evaporated from the traps under those sinks and tubs. I bought the foobot sir quality meter. And am working on installing this renewal air piece. But also going to find an inline sewer vent fan on roof vents. Inside attic. To give all the plumbing a vacuum to tgat vent. My meter instantly saw improvement. My VOC was very high. The foobot and AWAIR meters can send signals to Honeywell T10 thermostats or just a regular wemo switch to turn on air renewal. Why there are no thermostats that measure air quality are beyond me.
We deal with this on a constant basis in commercial buildings. Make a monthly reminder to run the sinks/tubs/toilets for a few seconds each. Why pay for the equipment, power, and forced air leak when you could just let the traps function as designed?
Just a heads up, FTC recommends more clear labelling of sponsored content (I.e. disclosure would be better earlier on in the video, TH-cam also has a tick box on the upload/edit page that allows one to disclose paid endorsements; and there’s always the option to mention it in the description)
From my understanding it's supposed to be at the beginning or near the beginning of the video. Since a lot of videos are embedded elsewhere where you cannot see the description it is not enough to simply add it to the description. Adding the "hey this is sponsored content" at or near the beginning of the video is required. I think it's within the first few minutes or %of the video? Ok here it is from the FTC site tips-advice portion. www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking "I guess I need to make a disclosure that I’ve gotten paid for a video review that I’m uploading to TH-cam. When in the review should I make the disclosure? Is it ok if it’s at the end? *It’s more likely that a disclosure at the end of the video will be missed, especially if someone doesn’t watch the whole thing. Having it at the beginning of the review would be better.* Having multiple disclosures during the video would be even better. Of course, no one should promote a link to your review that bypasses the beginning of the video and skips over the disclosure. If TH-cam has been enabled to run ads during your video, a disclosure that is obscured by ads is not clear and conspicuous."
Buying an AC condensing unit with a variable speed compressor supposedly helps humidity quite a bit since it can stay running for much longer vs an "all on or all off" system. So, assuming somebody was building a new home, would they be better off spending some extra $$ on the variable condensing unit, or getting a basic single-speed condensing unit and buying a whole house dehumidifier?
Ideally you should design the equipment with this dehum unit in mind when sizing. Like Matt said if you control the humidity with this you eliminate a portion of the load on the AC system. I would downsize 1/2 if adding one of these assuming north Texas area. These units are great.
I wish I would have put a dehumidifier in place when I built. My home is pretty tight and even though I have a two stage variable speed system, sometimes the humidity is a little higher than needed. With the current temperatures in north Texas (108f), my system still cuts on/off but it has pulled a little more humidity than normal. img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/FastFord19/Mobile%20Uploads/MVIMG_20180724_184946_zps6fhjpy3p.jpg
Scott Kline Do you actually reduce the load on your AC for a given set point? Or do you just allow for a higher set point to feel more comfortable? In either case, if a variable speed AC compressor allows for sufficient humidity reduction, the net effect should be the same in terms of comfort and savings. I guess the question “is it enough” is answered by “depends on the region”
Alan Oldaker Do you have a two stage compressor on your condensing unit? The ones I’ve seen that are two stage usually operate at either 67% or 100%. It’s better than single stage for sure but the truly variable condensing units can sit there and run at 5% all day long if they need to in order to stay running.
I like the idea of adding a humidifier to the HVAC system. You indicate that this unit brings in fresh air. Does that mean you do not need a separate ERV if you install this unit?
We are building new home in Houston area. Being a Mech Eng, I will be specifying a VCAC unit from either Carrier or Trane. Because the VC AC units are designed to remain essentially On for long period of time, and that may not be the best energy efficiency, as compared to adding this dehumid unit, the NPV of the two systems, over about 15 years, are near the same. But, the big difference is having one more piece of mechanical equipment that will eventually fail. Trane or Carrier will NOT servcie this additional unit. As for the thought "there are not many technicians that know VC units", if you use the same installer to maintain the unit then that myth is debunked. And yes, Matt is correct, controlling humidity (or dewpoint) is key to comfort. Having a tight house, and controlling the humidity will most definitely allow raising the temperature and thus reduce energy bills.
When you said is uses 7.3 amps that's at 120 V about 800 watts vs 15 or 20 amps @ 240 about 4000 watts, so it's more efficient than how you compared. Amps x Volts = Watts. Good video though. These do give off some heat so it will give off heat btu's into home. In FL I have no problem running my AC in winter to pull humidity from air, even when it's 60 outside briefly. But I can see this in a damp cool mild climate for sure. It's nothing more than a $2000 plumbed dehumidifier with a filter for your HVAC with fresh air input.
Can you turn the dehumidifier component off, so if I want to use it in the winter time here in midwest, I am not drying the air out more than it already is.
A variable speed compressor is going to be better than this although this technology is fairly new to home owners in terms of affordability but is not new because its been used in commercial buildings for a while. Therefor there isn't much reason not to adopt it as soon as the cost makes sense. If you can afford it variable speed compressors are going to be worth while for a home owner. Further this unit is basically heating the air. So while it "only" uses 7 amps which to be honest is pretty good theres more energy needed by your HVAC to cool it back down. But the price hike on a variable compressor is considerable. You'll probably pay at least $2000 extra. I'd say building new upgrading to variable compressor is going to barely be the sensible option this year. But a few years from now it'll always been the best cost decision. While on a retrofit it makes no sense because the entire HVAC needs to be replaced. Still the need for whole house dehumidifiers are quite numbered. Nicely timed Matt ;3 Should tell Ultra-Aire to start making variable speed compressors.
Yo, Matt. Son of Texas stuck in Minnesota here. Wife an I have the opportunity to buy a house with lake front property for about 24k. Its stripped down the the studs which means we can fix EVERYTHING! We can aerobarrier for starters. But up here is humid half the year the other half the year its super dry. Is there a unit like this what will both dehumidify and humidify to keep a 40%-50% year-round climate? Current house here in the winters we hit 10%-15% and it just dries you right out.
I spoke with an environmental engineer. He says he always finds mold in ERV's. which makes sense if you think about the inevitable condensation in the unit as cooler outgoing air mixes with humid incoming air. I am going with a ventilating dehu like this unit by itself.
...also, just asking? if the air is warmer, the relative humidity will in fact be lower but the moisture level will be the same due to the relative part of relative humidity. I know it removes water and perhaps a mute point. Do you know of one that works in cold and hot weather? TY in advance!
Matt, Great Video... Since you install these in most of the homes you build, What is the average price you charge to install this unit. Just a round about number not holding you to anything. Thanks again....
Does this UltraAire unit include ERV functionality such that a separate ERV is unnecessary? I don’t see an UltraAire port for exhaust to outside for balanced ventilation.
Hi Matt, I was wondering how much these cost? I tried Googling Ultra-Aire and can find lots of literature, but no cost information. Even on the manufacturer's website. I figure its around $1500-2000, but not sure. The unit you show in this video was also featured a while back on an episode of This Old House.
Do you have any info on running an ERV and a dehumidifier for a fully foam sprayed home in the south? We're build a single story 2800 sqft home with a full basement, but we're concerned about air quality and humidity
Small AC window units. Don't oversize because the units will kick on and off too often and not circulate enough air thus not enough moisture removal. The other option is a couple of small dehumidifiers, but then you won't get any cooling.
I was looking for something less... tackly. I want the windows be be free of such clutter. Is there something that can be built in to the unit and hidden. I'm talking about for a new build, not after the studio has already been built. By the way thanks for the response.
John, No problem. I get what your saying and don't blame you at all, tacky and obtrusive is annoying. My brother has been doing HVAC his whole life and will ask him if he knows if he's familiar for what you are looking for. If there's anyone that knows a good suggestion for John, please chime in ! Good talking with ya John, if I hear of anything, you'll be the first to know. Thanks.
John - we do have an in-wall dehumidifier for apartments that will help if you are having a humidity issue. It is called the Ultra-Aire MD33 www.ultra-aire.com/dehumidifiers/md33/. Hope this helps!
I had one added to my older home in Houston, TX and it adds so much heat that my a/c unit now runs longer ! The air is drier and feels better but it actually made my electric bill go up. It’s basically just a small a/c unit in itself so now I have two units running at the same time. There’s no way I’m comfortable with it warmer either, I still like it below 74 for sleeping. I don’t believe that anyone will actually want their house warmer.
I live on the gulf coast. I know that a burden to Handlers in our area is that the coils rust out prematurely due to the humidity. Would this possibly help prolong the handlers by reducing humidity going into the system?
I think we need video on sizing a dehumidifier. Okay okay. I need one. Because my 1700s 6k sqft hotel is all rotted out, and when I'm finally done rebuilding it, It needs to last another 250 years 🤣
We built our home 3 years ago. The builder built very tight and we have had humidity problems since the beginning. A whole house dehumidifier and a fresh air devise have been installed. Please advise as the dehumidifier cannot take take the level of humility down to the setting?
Is there another component that goes with this appliance? If the appliance is drawing air into the house from the outside, shouldn’t it also be a expelling air from the house to the outside? Does this appliance control an exhaust damper too?
Matt, I’m a homeowner, adjuster and a huge fan. I watch all your videos. Question: What software do you use to estimate your projects? What do you think of Xactimate?
Just what I needed. We are currently building in Huntsville, AL and all but one builders looked at me sideways when I said I wanted a entire house dehumidifier. Can any HVAC guy/gal install this?
Amy Simmons Hi! I'm also located in Huntsville, AL where I operate a Spray Foam Insulation company (www.180insulation.com) with my brother. Not an expert on HVAC systems per se, but if you're in the market for high-performance building materials, Spray Foam offers some excellent air sealing + moisture/vapor resistance. Feel free to gimme a shout!
Jeremy Mock thanks Jeremy, can you spray foam a finished wall. Like drill a hole and foam it. I have a 3rd garage that I would like to insulate and has ac
Amy Simmons Do your research well before you hire an hvac company. Ask questions and expect competent answers. If you need help I’ll try to get a recommendation for you as I have hvac pro friends around the country.
How is it any different than running a regular dehumidifier uf the warm exhaust still gets dumped into the heated space? Seems a mini split on dehumidification setting would be better.
I definitely see the value in this however, I live in a very dry (South Eastern Idaho) climate. Would this still bring value to home owners in this area or is there something else that would work better to change out the air?
Can anyone recommend a micro version of this? I'm planning on building out of a forty foot cargo container and I will be moving it around every few years to different parts of the USA. I would really like to have this built in rather than have to run a separate unit that takes up living space.
Over the years between my parents, my brother, and myself we have owned five of the Honeywell whole house dehumidifiers. The Honeywell rebranded UltraAire units appear to be ideintical. All have failed from R410a leaks within the first two years. There are some critical design flaws with these units.
Hey Matt, do you have any videos out about what to do in a house with no vents? I have no AC, my heating is done through baseboards on the windows, I live in the Mid-East.
Wall fan coil units, somthing like Mits Air ductless splits. You have can have multiple units hanging on walls indoors tied to one unit outside and you need to rough in refrigerant lines between them
An HRV has both a fresh air intake and an exhaust. Is an exhaust required for this Ventilating Dehumidifier? My house is very tight, and I have a huge window moisture problem in winter. I'm thinking this unit would be a good way to go. I was going to install a whole home dehumidifier, but this ventilating dehumidifier may be a better option. I currently have a Venmar HRV, but it doesn't help the moisture much at all, and it's very noisy. ;-(
Thank you for the great video, Matt. I live in Austin TX and I am interested in putting one of these in my attic, do you know an installer that you would recommend? thanks.
@@rakeshyarlagadda2823 sorry no I did not. I ended up buying a portable dehumidifier from Costco. It sits in my laundry room and I only run it as needed during certain times of the year. The rest of the time the AC takes care of the humidity.
@Rakesh Yarlagadda, did you keep looking for an installer? Another Austinite here looking to add this to my house. So far, it’s been tough finding hvac guys that have installed these before
What is the reasons that the Ultra-Aire dehumidifier bring in fresh air and vent heated air into the house? What do you think about coupling a Energy Recovery Ventilation System to it?
I have the same question to some degree. I'm a big fan of ERV's on spray foam houses. THEY HAVE HIGH C02 levels. My variable speed AC handed Humidity fine. and the idea of taking air from outside and not also returning it to out side like a ERV does scares me a bit as you house will be under positive pressure from uncontrolled locations Vs controlled location as when using a ERV system to exchange indoor n out door air. I have highly technical REEF TANKS with corals and so forth and find indoor C02 from exhalation to be a very real problem in my 2015 current construction methods well sealed home. My bit of research says high C02 makes most people feel lazy drowsy. I believe it effect my quality of sleep for sure seasonally based on when its winter in FL my windows are open more and i have lower C02 levels my reef tank does better and i sleep differently than summer. i'm not willing to say better or worse but there is a difference in how long i sleep and how well i feel rested in the morning's. My second hand Carrier ERV lays in my attic still not installed BTW. Its on my some day project list right now.
I am building a house with a sealed crawlspace, I am supposed to have dehumidifier. With this unit satisfy both the dehumidification in the crawl space as well as in the home itself? I’m building in the Charlotte North Carolina region, hot humid summers. House is going to be approximately 2100 ft.² ranch.
Yes, that has been our result. We chose to pipe the dehunidifier's water to a small sup pump under the house with a different discharge point than our main HVAC unit.
I looked this up and you can have it ducted just with this system alone. You bring in outdoor air, it goes through humidification, and then distributes throughout the house. You have returns too back to the system. If you go to their website, there's a diagram showing this option I believe.
Where are the energy savings? 840 watts X 24 = 20,160 watts per day or 20.1 kWh per day as much energy as an efficient VRF AC. On hot days, the energy consumed is now the energy of the Ultra Aire 120-H plus the energy of the AC - lot of energy.
I'm interested as well. I live in Central FL and know my in-laws (who don't live far away) added a whole house Dehumidifier when they replaced their AC. II'll ask if they have a means of identifying what % of their electric bill is from the dehumidifier vs the ac. I'm sure the overall is lower than the old ac unit. I also need to ask if they can set the humidity via the thermostat and what they have it set at as well as have they adjusted the average temp. Also need to find out how variable of a speed their AC unit is/how much its running at what amp draw vs the old unit. To me it sounds like a lot of moving pieces to determine whether it saves significant energy or not. I'm betting it would have to be plotted on a 3D map kind of like a fuel trim map for a car, to determine the optimal efficiencies for the various people's perception of "Comfortable."
Eric Kosak, My sister who lives in Fort Myers, Fla had one of these style of units added along to her central air. I told her that she was crazy since the central air already did the dehumidifying. 3 months later she informed me that her house was more comfortable overall and her electric bill dropped around 15.00 dollars a month. I understand that it will take forever to recoup what she invested, but when you're more comfortable, sometimes a person just doesn't care !
can you elaborate please? I just built an air tight, super insulated home and would like to hear some legitimate concerns. most arguments I get are from old school builders who don't actually understand the benefits of modern building and are afraid of change. i'll admit, I am not a fan of all the new stuff but being an h.v.a.c. contractor for 20 years helps me understand a little better.
Something not mentioned is that dust mites love humidity. Keeping indoor humidity levels consistently below 45% will prevent dust mites. If a member of the household has a severe allergy to dust mites, this could be a lifesaver.
I love your videos. Keep 'em coming.
Thanks for sharing this!! We're borrowing a dehumidifier from a good friend right now and it's been LIFE CHANGING!!! It's amazing what a difference it makes in the comfort of our home.
I found a loophole for this. I live in NC by a lake, super humid. I put a small window air conditioner in a spare bedroom where I don't see or hear it. It runs on low pretty much all day, but only uses about 350 watts. It contributes to the overall cooling of the house, but more importantly because it is always running it makes a fantastic dehumidifier. I still have a normal heat pump that comes on and off, the window unit is only a supplement for that, and now it doesn't have to cycle as much.
Total cost $129 vs Won't tell you the price because it's well into 4 digits. My humidity stays about 40-45%, and as a result, I can set the thermostat a good 5 degrees higher comfortably than I did last year.
Great tip. Thanks for sharing!
Great idea, do you know what your total square ft is and the BTU of the widow ac, that way I can scale it to my house.
Whats cool now is the new inverter mini splits will do that in one of their running modes. So for instances a 3ton can run at 1.3 tons all day at around a 20% higher cop too so no humidifier needed.
I build a house in Florida and installed a high end a/c system which included a multi-speed compressor and fan system. The system had a humidistat as part of the thermostat. The system ran at a very low rate almost continuously and the house was dry and cool always. Getting some fresh air into the house might have made a difference but I was quite happy with the system as it was. Best regards.
In the south we don't have basements, and I agree that attic mounted furnaces run counter to thermodynamics. Here in Texas, where I live now, there are no basements and they put the evaporator and heat exchanger in the attic. When I lived in CA the evaporator and heat exchanger were either in a closet in the center of the house or in the garage, but the ducts are routed through the attic. High ceilings in today's homes don't help much when heating either. In anyevent the a/c system I had in my house in Fl was great at keeping the house comfortable at an economic cost. Best regards.
Great update on the Ultra Aire. You may have been the reason I installed the UltraAire XT-105 in my new home build 3+ years ago. Walking into my home always feels great. And yes 75 degrees feels great.
My home is very tight and the XT-105 maintains 40-45% easily I'm my 4000+ sq-ft home here in Virginia.
Thanks for your sage advice my friend.
How leaky is your house? Did you ever get a blower door test done?
@paladain55 yes, it came in at 0.9 ACH50 which I felt bad about because I couldn't fully seal plumbing vent traps or the other holes like range hood, dryer, whole house vacuum, ERV, & the XT-105 make-up air intake. So I kind of suspect we may have achieved 0.6 ACH50 if those leaks could have been sealed better.
Cheers, Eric
Wow! Maybe you can look into a heat pump dryer. They don't need a vent. But we are talking $/yr lost on venting at this point it isn't much. Its like a 55mpg car vs a 57mpg so don't feel bad lol
I assume I'm starting at 8ish ACH50.
Hey Matt, you can definitely find this brand online. The 98 pint is $1627 delivered from Sylvane’s website... it literally showed up at the top of the TH-cam app when I was searching for videos on “Ultra Aire dehumidifier installation”. I know that in this day and age pretty much everything can be bought online but this one seems to be readily available straight from Sylvane.
This is awesome. I just seen you bring one to the demolitia channel. Humidity can make a big difference too. This seems like a must have with every HVAC unit
Great explanation of a whole house dehumidifier. It's good it's American made and warranted for a long time.
For new tight construction I was considering mini splits along with a CERV . The CERV is an ERV with a small compressor to work the incoming outside air, and it would need its own distribution ducting. It has a brain of its own and can check air quality and can just plain recirculate air inside without exchanging air to outside. So let the minis do the job with their inverter driven technology and let it be circulated evenly with the CERV, when it senses a need for more outside air the CERV will serve. Dehumidify your outside supply air as it comes in. Maybe Matt could do a video on the CERV? Went different direction and bought an existing FL home but if I build again I'd be thinking that way again. Big Matt fan!
Ok so on my recording studio build, I can take the fresh air side from my ERV feed it into the top port of this dehumidifier unit, to get fresh dehumidified air into the studio through diverted boxes for noise reduction on both supply and return. Then run two separate returns, one for the ERV to exhaust stale air and one back to the dehumidifier. For A/C we are using multiple head Split Units total of 48k units. Probably Mr Cool since they have quiet mode or silent mode. Anything over 200 cfm at registers will be picked up on mics during recording. When not recording then we can turn up the flow if necessary to control temperature.
Matt. I sealed my house. But some air quality problems I’d like you and others to know about. I’m a single guy in too much house. 3 bathrooms. I never use the other 2 and the water evaporated from the traps under those sinks and tubs. I bought the foobot sir quality meter. And am working on installing this renewal air piece. But also going to find an inline sewer vent fan on roof vents. Inside attic. To give all the plumbing a vacuum to tgat vent. My meter instantly saw improvement. My VOC was very high. The foobot and AWAIR meters can send signals to Honeywell T10 thermostats or just a regular wemo switch to turn on air renewal. Why there are no thermostats that measure air quality are beyond me.
We deal with this on a constant basis in commercial buildings. Make a monthly reminder to run the sinks/tubs/toilets for a few seconds each. Why pay for the equipment, power, and forced air leak when you could just let the traps function as designed?
With this lock down..
America needs one 🇺🇸🇺🇸👍👍🙏🙏🙏🇺🇸
Just a heads up, FTC recommends more clear labelling of sponsored content (I.e. disclosure would be better earlier on in the video, TH-cam also has a tick box on the upload/edit page that allows one to disclose paid endorsements; and there’s always the option to mention it in the description)
Thanks for adding it to the description (:
From my understanding it's supposed to be at the beginning or near the beginning of the video. Since a lot of videos are embedded elsewhere where you cannot see the description it is not enough to simply add it to the description. Adding the "hey this is sponsored content" at or near the beginning of the video is required. I think it's within the first few minutes or %of the video?
Ok here it is from the FTC site tips-advice portion. www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking
"I guess I need to make a disclosure that I’ve gotten paid for a video review that I’m uploading to TH-cam. When in the review should I make the disclosure? Is it ok if it’s at the end?
*It’s more likely that a disclosure at the end of the video will be missed, especially if someone doesn’t watch the whole thing. Having it at the beginning of the review would be better.* Having multiple disclosures during the video would be even better. Of course, no one should promote a link to your review that bypasses the beginning of the video and skips over the disclosure. If TH-cam has been enabled to run ads during your video, a disclosure that is obscured by ads is not clear and conspicuous."
Pacific Northwest too. Lots of moisture, not as much heat for A/C runtime
They work great Matt it should be code to have them.
Buying an AC condensing unit with a variable speed compressor supposedly helps humidity quite a bit since it can stay running for much longer vs an "all on or all off" system. So, assuming somebody was building a new home, would they be better off spending some extra $$ on the variable condensing unit, or getting a basic single-speed condensing unit and buying a whole house dehumidifier?
Depends on installation location. Super humid areas such as Florida, Louisiana etc definitly require a dehumidifier.
Ideally you should design the equipment with this dehum unit in mind when sizing. Like Matt said if you control the humidity with this you eliminate a portion of the load on the AC system. I would downsize 1/2 if adding one of these assuming north Texas area. These units are great.
I wish I would have put a dehumidifier in place when I built. My home is pretty tight and even though I have a two stage variable speed system, sometimes the humidity is a little higher than needed.
With the current temperatures in north Texas (108f), my system still cuts on/off but it has pulled a little more humidity than normal.
img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/FastFord19/Mobile%20Uploads/MVIMG_20180724_184946_zps6fhjpy3p.jpg
Scott Kline Do you actually reduce the load on your AC for a given set point? Or do you just allow for a higher set point to feel more comfortable? In either case, if a variable speed AC compressor allows for sufficient humidity reduction, the net effect should be the same in terms of comfort and savings. I guess the question “is it enough” is answered by “depends on the region”
Alan Oldaker Do you have a two stage compressor on your condensing unit? The ones I’ve seen that are two stage usually operate at either 67% or 100%. It’s better than single stage for sure but the truly variable condensing units can sit there and run at 5% all day long if they need to in order to stay running.
Nice Video! I think those would be helpful as well in climate 6. In the summer it can get pretty humid in Minneapolis.
I like the idea of adding a humidifier to the HVAC system. You indicate that this unit brings in fresh air. Does that mean you do not need a separate ERV if you install this unit?
We are building new home in Houston area. Being a Mech Eng, I will be specifying a VCAC unit from either Carrier or Trane. Because the VC AC units are designed to remain essentially On for long period of time, and that may not be the best energy efficiency, as compared to adding this dehumid unit, the NPV of the two systems, over about 15 years, are near the same. But, the big difference is having one more piece of mechanical equipment that will eventually fail. Trane or Carrier will NOT servcie this additional unit. As for the thought "there are not many technicians that know VC units", if you use the same installer to maintain the unit then that myth is debunked. And yes, Matt is correct, controlling humidity (or dewpoint) is key to comfort. Having a tight house, and controlling the humidity will most definitely allow raising the temperature and thus reduce energy bills.
Experienced HVAC guys don't install oversized AC systems.
They don't run long enough to dehumidify before the house cools down.
what about when the temperature outside is 80 degrees?
When you said is uses 7.3 amps that's at 120 V about 800 watts vs 15 or 20 amps @ 240 about 4000 watts, so it's more efficient than how you compared. Amps x Volts = Watts. Good video though. These do give off some heat so it will give off heat btu's into home. In FL I have no problem running my AC in winter to pull humidity from air, even when it's 60 outside briefly. But I can see this in a damp cool mild climate for sure. It's nothing more than a $2000 plumbed dehumidifier with a filter for your HVAC with fresh air input.
I'm wondering if it could be connected to the supply side of an hrv.
Can you turn the dehumidifier component off, so if I want to use it in the winter time here in midwest, I am not drying the air out more than it already is.
Tell them to make a diy sale available if they want to sell one to me.
DaBuick ebay
Anyone can buy them online.
Been wanting one of those for a few years.
In the old days they had a window AC with dual condensors, switch to dehumidiy and half the heat gets circulated back, no problem! :-)
yup, I want one!
Seems to use a lot of power, 840w? Love what it does but would love to see a more energy efficient one.
A variable speed compressor is going to be better than this although this technology is fairly new to home owners in terms of affordability but is not new because its been used in commercial buildings for a while. Therefor there isn't much reason not to adopt it as soon as the cost makes sense. If you can afford it variable speed compressors are going to be worth while for a home owner. Further this unit is basically heating the air. So while it "only" uses 7 amps which to be honest is pretty good theres more energy needed by your HVAC to cool it back down. But the price hike on a variable compressor is considerable. You'll probably pay at least $2000 extra. I'd say building new upgrading to variable compressor is going to barely be the sensible option this year. But a few years from now it'll always been the best cost decision. While on a retrofit it makes no sense because the entire HVAC needs to be replaced. Still the need for whole house dehumidifiers are quite numbered. Nicely timed Matt ;3 Should tell Ultra-Aire to start making variable speed compressors.
Great video Matt. Would you install an ERV and dehumidifier together or are they doing pretty much the same job?
Great question, Two years ago and still no reply from anyone?
First time I've ever been the first viewer on any video posted on TH-cam! Thought it'd be more satisfying. lol
Go smoke and enjoy it
Yo, Matt. Son of Texas stuck in Minnesota here. Wife an I have the opportunity to buy a house with lake front property for about 24k. Its stripped down the the studs which means we can fix EVERYTHING! We can aerobarrier for starters. But up here is humid half the year the other half the year its super dry. Is there a unit like this what will both dehumidify and humidify to keep a 40%-50% year-round climate? Current house here in the winters we hit 10%-15% and it just dries you right out.
How does this type of set-up work if you also want to install an ERV?
im curious also
I spoke with an environmental engineer. He says he always finds mold in ERV's. which makes sense if you think about the inevitable condensation in the unit as cooler outgoing air mixes with humid incoming air. I am going with a ventilating dehu like this unit by itself.
Would think that having them in parallel would make a good deal of sense. Pre dry the air
What about the more northern climates, like the midwest, or, using climate zones, climate zones 5 and up?
How would you get rid of the CO2 build up on a very tight house? Does this system take care of it?
Thanks for the instructive video.
...also, just asking? if the air is warmer, the relative humidity will in fact be lower but the moisture level will be the same due to the relative part of relative humidity. I know it removes water and perhaps a mute point. Do you know of one that works in cold and hot weather? TY in advance!
Matt, Great Video... Since you install these in most of the homes you build, What is the average price you charge to install this unit. Just a round about number not holding you to anything. Thanks again....
Does this UltraAire unit include ERV functionality such that a separate ERV is unnecessary? I don’t see an UltraAire port for exhaust to outside for balanced ventilation.
Hey Roger, did you ever get an answer, I'm wondering the same thing?
Hi Matt, I was wondering how much these cost? I tried Googling Ultra-Aire and can find lots of literature, but no cost information. Even on the manufacturer's website. I figure its around $1500-2000, but not sure. The unit you show in this video was also featured a while back on an episode of This Old House.
For home in northern Alabama would you recommend a ventilating dehumidifier like the one in this video or an on ventilating dehumidifier with an E RV?
Do you have any info on running an ERV and a dehumidifier for a fully foam sprayed home in the south?
We're build a single story 2800 sqft home with a full basement, but we're concerned about air quality and humidity
What is a must have for tiny apartments/studio to keep the air feeling fresh without opening the windows?
Small AC window units. Don't oversize because the units will kick on and off too often and not circulate enough air thus not enough moisture removal. The other option is a couple of small dehumidifiers, but then you won't get any cooling.
I was looking for something less... tackly. I want the windows be be free of such clutter. Is there something that can be built in to the unit and hidden. I'm talking about for a new build, not after the studio has already been built. By the way thanks for the response.
John, No problem. I get what your saying and don't blame you at all, tacky and obtrusive is annoying. My brother has been doing HVAC his whole life and will ask him if he knows if he's familiar for what you are looking for. If there's anyone that knows a good suggestion for John, please chime in ! Good talking with ya John, if I hear of anything, you'll be the first to know. Thanks.
Thanks so much!
John - we do have an in-wall dehumidifier for apartments that will help if you are having a humidity issue. It is called the Ultra-Aire MD33 www.ultra-aire.com/dehumidifiers/md33/. Hope this helps!
I had one added to my older home in Houston, TX and it adds so much heat that my a/c unit now runs longer ! The air is drier and feels better but it actually made my electric bill go up. It’s basically just a small a/c unit in itself so now I have two units running at the same time. There’s no way I’m comfortable with it warmer either, I still like it below 74 for sleeping. I don’t believe that anyone will actually want their house warmer.
I live on the gulf coast. I know that a burden to Handlers in our area is that the coils rust out prematurely due to the humidity. Would this possibly help prolong the handlers by reducing humidity going into the system?
I think we need video on sizing a dehumidifier. Okay okay. I need one. Because my 1700s 6k sqft hotel is all rotted out, and when I'm finally done rebuilding it, It needs to last another 250 years 🤣
Great video!
We built our home 3 years ago. The builder built very tight and we have had humidity problems since the beginning. A whole house dehumidifier and a fresh air devise have been installed. Please advise as the dehumidifier cannot take take the level of humility down to the setting?
Matt: Update you links in description. Ultra-aire was bought be Santa Fe. Need new link.
I wonder how necessary dehumidifiers are in a climate zone 5 especially with air source heat pumps that can already dehumidify
If connected to the supply side of HVAC, what stops air from heading backward through the blower?
Is there another component that goes with this appliance? If the appliance is drawing air into the house from the outside, shouldn’t it also be a expelling air from the house to the outside? Does this appliance control an exhaust damper too?
Question:
Would you install this and the ERV and how the controls would function?
Matt, I’m a homeowner, adjuster and a huge fan. I watch all your videos. Question: What software do you use to estimate your projects? What do you think of Xactimate?
Why did you choose this one over aprilaire?
Just what I needed. We are currently building in Huntsville, AL and all but one builders looked at me sideways when I said I wanted a entire house dehumidifier. Can any HVAC guy/gal install this?
Amy Simmons Hi! I'm also located in Huntsville, AL where I operate a Spray Foam Insulation company (www.180insulation.com) with my brother. Not an expert on HVAC systems per se, but if you're in the market for high-performance building materials, Spray Foam offers some excellent air sealing + moisture/vapor resistance. Feel free to gimme a shout!
Jeremy Mock thanks Jeremy, can you spray foam a finished wall. Like drill a hole and foam it. I have a 3rd garage that I would like to insulate and has ac
Amy Simmons Do your research well before you hire an hvac company. Ask questions and expect competent answers. If you need help I’ll try to get a recommendation for you as I have hvac pro friends around the country.
Please recommend away!
those are some rubbish builders to not know what a dehumidifier is in the south
How is it any different than running a regular dehumidifier uf the warm exhaust still gets dumped into the heated space? Seems a mini split on dehumidification setting would be better.
Great advice
What about adding humidification in the winter?
Do you have any videos on from entrance doors, Anderson, Pella, Marvin is what I'm looking at
Nice you have nice information, thanks
I definitely see the value in this however, I live in a very dry (South Eastern Idaho) climate. Would this still bring value to home owners in this area or is there something else that would work better to change out the air?
If your area is dry, it probably will not be as much a help as a humid area.
Website link does not work ! the whole website not working .
What about retrofitting a house and installing in the garage? I've already got the HVAC return from the first floor going through the garage.
Can anyone recommend a micro version of this? I'm planning on building out of a forty foot cargo container and I will be moving it around every few years to different parts of the USA. I would really like to have this built in rather than have to run a separate unit that takes up living space.
Any chance to get your thoughts on Ultra-Aire MD33 model for condos, when renovating a triple decker in the northeast perhaps? Thanks!
Do they make smaller units to attach to your minisplit duct?
Over the years between my parents, my brother, and myself we have owned five of the Honeywell whole house dehumidifiers. The Honeywell rebranded UltraAire units appear to be ideintical. All have failed from R410a leaks within the first two years. There are some critical design flaws with these units.
How is their warranty? They boast a 6 year warranty.
So why not just make central units with a cooling coil and a heater in series so you can run it with both on just to dehumidify?
Can you pipe the dehumidifier output into the HVAC RETURN and send it thru the air handler to be conditioned, or no?
Hey Matt, do you have any videos out about what to do in a house with no vents?
I have no AC, my heating is done through baseboards on the windows, I live in the Mid-East.
Wall fan coil units, somthing like Mits Air ductless splits. You have can have multiple units hanging on walls indoors tied to one unit outside and you need to rough in refrigerant lines between them
They are called mini-split systems or VRF systems. You can still dehumidify with a standalone unit like the one he used in his perfect wall house.
I never saw a Condensing Unit (3-4 ton) run at 20-30 amps. Start-up yes, run NEVER, unless it is ready to die. 25 years HVAC tech.
Looks like they might cost between 2K and 3K for parts alone. Definitely want a Pro to handle that one.
Did Matt just Mathew McConaughey us?
What dampner do you use with these?
An HRV has both a fresh air intake and an exhaust. Is an exhaust required for this Ventilating Dehumidifier? My house is very tight, and I have a huge window moisture problem in winter. I'm thinking this unit would be a good way to go. I was going to install a whole home dehumidifier, but this ventilating dehumidifier may be a better option. I currently have a Venmar HRV, but it doesn't help the moisture much at all, and it's very noisy. ;-(
Thank you for the great video, Matt. I live in Austin TX and I am interested in putting one of these in my attic, do you know an installer that you would recommend? thanks.
@Jay, Did you find one? I am in Austin and also looking at this system.
@@rakeshyarlagadda2823 sorry no I did not. I ended up buying a portable dehumidifier from Costco. It sits in my laundry room and I only run it as needed during certain times of the year. The rest of the time the AC takes care of the humidity.
@@jaycito2000 Thank you.
@Rakesh Yarlagadda, did you keep looking for an installer? Another Austinite here looking to add this to my house. So far, it’s been tough finding hvac guys that have installed these before
How would this work in co junction with an ERV? Would you want both units pulling fresh air into the house from outside? Thanks.
I want that!
Dylan T , best thousand bucks you can spend on your house in the south
What is the reasons that the Ultra-Aire dehumidifier bring in fresh air and vent heated air into the house? What do you think about coupling a Energy Recovery Ventilation System to it?
I have the same question to some degree. I'm a big fan of ERV's on spray foam houses. THEY HAVE HIGH C02 levels. My variable speed AC handed Humidity fine. and the idea of taking air from outside and not also returning it to out side like a ERV does scares me a bit as you house will be under positive pressure from uncontrolled locations Vs controlled location as when using a ERV system to exchange indoor n out door air. I have highly technical REEF TANKS with corals and so forth and find indoor C02 from exhalation to be a very real problem in my 2015 current construction methods well sealed home. My bit of research says high C02 makes most people feel lazy drowsy. I believe it effect my quality of sleep for sure seasonally based on when its winter in FL my windows are open more and i have lower C02 levels my reef tank does better and i sleep differently than summer. i'm not willing to say better or worse but there is a difference in how long i sleep and how well i feel rested in the morning's. My second hand Carrier ERV lays in my attic still not installed BTW. Its on my some day project list right now.
should the fresh air intake duct be insulated?
I just bought a house in dallas. I set the temp to 75 and feels freezing in the mornings and at night. I don’t know if this would save me any money.
Can it bring the humidity up in dry climates?
Looks like I might still have to use evaporative ac to bring up humidity first then use something like this to regulate.
I am building a house with a sealed crawlspace, I am supposed to have dehumidifier. With this unit satisfy both the dehumidification in the crawl space as well as in the home itself? I’m building in the Charlotte North Carolina region, hot humid summers. House is going to be approximately 2100 ft.² ranch.
Yes, that has been our result. We chose to pipe the dehunidifier's water to a small sup pump under the house with a different discharge point than our main HVAC unit.
Mat so what type of Configurations, for a new home, if one wanted to make it, it's own system
Their website doesn't work.
what if your using a mini split system how does this work
I looked this up and you can have it ducted just with this system alone. You bring in outdoor air, it goes through humidification, and then distributes throughout the house. You have returns too back to the system. If you go to their website, there's a diagram showing this option I believe.
should use the proper hvac trade term "outside air" instead of fresh air...
I’m an HVAC tech. Your AC isn’t going to use 20-30 amps. The biggest residential AC when running will draw 12-16 amps at best if running properly
Where are the energy savings?
840 watts X 24 = 20,160 watts per day or 20.1 kWh per day as much energy as an efficient VRF AC.
On hot days, the energy consumed is now the energy of the Ultra Aire 120-H plus the energy of the AC - lot of energy.
I'm interested as well. I live in Central FL and know my in-laws (who don't live far away) added a whole house Dehumidifier when they replaced their AC. II'll ask if they have a means of identifying what % of their electric bill is from the dehumidifier vs the ac. I'm sure the overall is lower than the old ac unit. I also need to ask if they can set the humidity via the thermostat and what they have it set at as well as have they adjusted the average temp. Also need to find out how variable of a speed their AC unit is/how much its running at what amp draw vs the old unit. To me it sounds like a lot of moving pieces to determine whether it saves significant energy or not. I'm betting it would have to be plotted on a 3D map kind of like a fuel trim map for a car, to determine the optimal efficiencies for the various people's perception of "Comfortable."
Eric Kosak, My sister who lives in Fort Myers, Fla had one of these style of units added along to her central air. I told her that she was crazy since the central air already did the dehumidifying. 3 months later she informed me that her house was more comfortable overall and her electric bill dropped around 15.00 dollars a month. I understand that it will take forever to recoup what she invested, but when you're more comfortable, sometimes a person just doesn't care !
Great review. Though some D’s on that HVAC 😎
You can test one in my house
Hi, just letting you know that none of these links are valid! :(
From Mad Town, Madison Wisconsin
Greg - you should stop by our offices/factory! We would love to review your install options with you!
UltraAireDehumid what's the address
👍👊
Hey MATT,,it’s OUTSIDE AIR not FRESH AIR, GO ARGUE with MR WILLIS CARRIER ! Cheers from NJ
To ANNUNAMUS , what’s the difference?, simple OUTSIDE AIR IS NOT ALWAYS FRESH! I guess YOU WERE UNABLE TO FIGURE itOUT !!
Matt, any thoughts on how global warming is going to make every house you've built in Texas uninhabitable in 50 years?
can you elaborate please? I just built an air tight, super insulated home and would like to hear some legitimate concerns. most arguments I get are from old school builders who don't actually understand the benefits of modern building and are afraid of change. i'll admit, I am not a fan of all the new stuff but being an h.v.a.c. contractor for 20 years helps me understand a little better.
Global warming is a hoax
toolman how so?
Texas will be Fine it's the COMMUNIST'S in the so called Democratic party you have to worry about..
rocky jackson I think climate zones 2 and 3 will be pretty hard hit regardless of partisan affiliation, don't you agree?
Where I live my indoor digital thermometer shows the average. I'm right around 42% year round without any help. So this would be pointless for me -_-
Rethink indoor air quality with adadadhd.