Whole house humidifier

Started by DryinCO, November 30, 2020, 10:41:26 PM

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DryinCO

I live in Colorado where it is very dry. I have two furnaces, one in the attic for the upstairs and one in the basement for downstairs. There is a humidifier attached to the downstairs furnace but it does not run long enough to be effective upstairs. I have been advised not to put one on the furnace in the attic due the potential for leaks. Total square footage is 4500, built in 2002. Windows are good and house is generally well sealed. Portable humidifiers/ solutions are not a great BC of the size and the need to refill frequently. I'm looking for suggestions to increase humidity upstairs. Thoughts on a humidifier installation that will address the concern about adding one to the attic would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sergroum

I dont really understand the concept of 'potential' for leaks.


You most likely have two separate duct work systems. One for each furnace. Which means humidifier's affect on the area of the house it's ductwork doesn't reach would be minimal.  You would need to install a humidifier for the ductwork of the attic furnace. Which means a humidifer in the attic.

Is your attic furnace high efficiency? Does your attic system have it's own separate air conditioning? If so, then both of these are risks of potential leaks. Either the drain tubing of your high efficiency furnace will plug up and cause a leak, or your air conditioning coil will potentially ice up/plug up and cause a leak.   The solution to this is regular maintenance. A drain pan underneath the furnace/evaporation coil, and moisture sensors that would shut off the equipment/alarm you of a problem.

Plethora of people have humidifiers in the attic systems. They are more demanding of regular maintenance/considerations during install then the basement furnace. But that's not the reason to suffer.