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Post by bracknellboy on Dec 4, 2022 11:21:43 GMT
Following on from the Electric Auditing post....
Dehumidifiers: thinking of getting one to put in the 'laundry room'. Have been successful in managing to persuade the other half to not use the tumble dryer, but that is giving challenges in terms of getting washing dry/sense of damp in the room currently labelled "the laundry room" (CH not on sufficiently long to solve the problem).
So question is: is it worth getting a dehumidifier, from a cost/energy viewpoint. They are actually a bit difficult to get at the moment but are available. The power consumption range appears to be around 250W (albeit that depends on setting). They are also around £150 (a bit less worried about that as I'm sure we can find some other occasional uses for it, plus I'm sure it will last for a decent time).
Would we be better off just doing short 10-15min tumble dry before hanging out?
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littleoldlady
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Post by littleoldlady on Dec 4, 2022 12:21:18 GMT
The elementary physics I learnt at school a long time ago suggests that the energy output (heat) should exceed the energy input (electricity) due to the release of latent energy, so if the laundry room is otherwise heated by your central heating it will be very economical, plus the moisture will be tipped down the drain rather than condensing on any cold surface. If the capital outlay is less of a consideration then my advice is go for it.
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angrysaveruk
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Post by angrysaveruk on Dec 4, 2022 12:40:13 GMT
I would say it will 100% help. Basically it will take vacuum moisture out of the air and accelerate the drying. They do not use that much electricity.
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agent69
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Post by agent69 on Dec 4, 2022 12:49:02 GMT
The elementary physics I learnt at school a long time ago suggests that the energy output (heat) should greatly exceed the energy input (electricity) due to the release of latent energy, so if the laundry room is otherwise heated by your central heating it will be very economical, plus the moisture will be tipped down the drain rather than condensing on any cold surface. If the capital outlay is less of a consideration then my advice is go for it. I thought it wasn't heated, that's what's causing the problem.
PS: where does the latent energy come from that allows output to exceed input?
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Greenwood2
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Post by Greenwood2 on Dec 4, 2022 13:49:49 GMT
Following on from the Electric Auditing post.... Dehumidifiers: thinking of getting one to put in the 'laundry room'. Have been successful in managing to persuade the other half to not use the tumble dryer, but that is giving challenges in terms of getting washing dry/sense of damp in the room currently labelled "the laundry room" (CH not on sufficiently long to solve the problem). So question is: is it worth getting a dehumidifier, from a cost/energy viewpoint. They are actually a bit difficult to get at the moment but are available. The power consumption range appears to be around 250W (albeit that depends on setting). They are also around £150 (a bit less worried about that as I'm sure we can find some other occasional uses for it, plus I'm sure it will last for a decent time). Would we be better off just doing short 10-15min tumble dry before hanging out? Hanging out in this weather! Or do you have a covered area?
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Post by bracknellboy on Dec 4, 2022 14:19:30 GMT
Following on from the Electric Auditing post.... Dehumidifiers: thinking of getting one to put in the 'laundry room'. Have been successful in managing to persuade the other half to not use the tumble dryer, but that is giving challenges in terms of getting washing dry/sense of damp in the room currently labelled "the laundry room" (CH not on sufficiently long to solve the problem). So question is: is it worth getting a dehumidifier, from a cost/energy viewpoint. They are actually a bit difficult to get at the moment but are available. The power consumption range appears to be around 250W (albeit that depends on setting). They are also around £150 (a bit less worried about that as I'm sure we can find some other occasional uses for it, plus I'm sure it will last for a decent time). Would we be better off just doing short 10-15min tumble dry before hanging out? ! Or do you have a covered area? INSIDE. that's why I'm interested in a dehumidifier  
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Post by bracknellboy on Dec 4, 2022 14:23:54 GMT
The elementary physics I learnt at school a long time ago suggests that the energy output (heat) should greatly exceed the energy input (electricity) due to the release of latent energy, so if the laundry room is otherwise heated by your central heating it will be very economical, plus the moisture will be tipped down the drain rather than condensing on any cold surface. If the capital outlay is less of a consideration then my advice is go for it. I thought it wasn't heated, that's what's causing the problem.
PS: where does the latent energy come from that allows output to exceed input?
The central heating is on in the room, but of course is only on when the CH is on in general, which is not really sufficient, does make the environment damp/humid (and hence expectation that a dehumidifier could substantially reduce the drying time (and residual dampness in the room). Hopefully that makes sense.
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macq
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Post by macq on Dec 4, 2022 15:14:21 GMT
Following on from the Electric Auditing post.... Dehumidifiers: thinking of getting one to put in the 'laundry room'. Have been successful in managing to persuade the other half to not use the tumble dryer, but that is giving challenges in terms of getting washing dry/sense of damp in the room currently labelled "the laundry room" (CH not on sufficiently long to solve the problem). So question is: is it worth getting a dehumidifier, from a cost/energy viewpoint. They are actually a bit difficult to get at the moment but are available. The power consumption range appears to be around 250W (albeit that depends on setting). They are also around £150 (a bit less worried about that as I'm sure we can find some other occasional uses for it, plus I'm sure it will last for a decent time). Would we be better off just doing short 10-15min tumble dry before hanging out? Been using for about 15 years after inheriting an Unwanted One and would say get One - cheaper to run and also pretty long lasting as only bought a new One about 4 years back.We use in our box room and it works great for washing placed on a dryer in front of but only if you are willing to wait a few hours and also the room does not get damp (they are not said to work as well in cold rooms such as conservatory/lean to or garage etc) A very short time 15 - 20 minutes in a dryer maybe for very large loads or towels might be required. I would buy the biggest model you can and when not using for washing (if you have a portable model) try moving to other rooms during the day as an experiment and see how much water it pulls in from what you thought was a "dry" room - also find placed on a landing when not being used for its main job that it seems to make the place a bit warmer as your not heating damp air i guess and have also used in summer in bedroom to try to lower humidity for sleeping Also most good models come with a sensor to tell you if the room is to cold for it to work properly (normally very cold) so 10 minutes of CH on maybe required but they really need a closed room to work best i.e window & door closed
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michaelc
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Post by michaelc on Dec 4, 2022 15:41:21 GMT
I try to synchronise with putting the log burner on. So one is heating (and drying) the room, the other getting dry and adding some moisture to the room.
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Post by bracknellboy on Dec 4, 2022 15:47:26 GMT
Following on from the Electric Auditing post.... Dehumidifiers: thinking of getting one to put in the 'laundry room'. Have been successful in managing to persuade the other half to not use the tumble dryer, but that is giving challenges in terms of getting washing dry/sense of damp in the room currently labelled "the laundry room" (CH not on sufficiently long to solve the problem). So question is: is it worth getting a dehumidifier, from a cost/energy viewpoint. They are actually a bit difficult to get at the moment but are available. The power consumption range appears to be around 250W (albeit that depends on setting). They are also around £150 (a bit less worried about that as I'm sure we can find some other occasional uses for it, plus I'm sure it will last for a decent time). Would we be better off just doing short 10-15min tumble dry before hanging out? Been using for about 15 years after inheriting an Unwanted One and would say get One - cheaper to run and also pretty long lasting as only bought a new One about 4 years back.We use in our box room and it works great for washing placed on a dryer in front of but only if you are willing to wait a few hours and also the room does not get damp (they are not said to work as well in cold rooms such as conservatory/lean to or garage etc) A very short time 15 - 20 minutes in a dryer maybe for very large loads or towels might be required. I would buy the biggest model you can and when not using for washing (if you have a portable model) try moving to other rooms during the day as an experiment and see how much water it pulls in from what you thought was a "dry" room - also find placed on a landing when not being used for its main job that it seems to make the place a bit warmer as your not heating damp air i guess and have also used in summer in bedroom to try to lower humidity for sleeping Also most good models come with a sensor to tell you if the room is to cold for it to work properly (normally very cold) so 10 minutes of CH on maybe required but they really need a closed room to work best i.e window & door closed Interesting, thank you for the input. The intended room is relatively small (proabably about 12 m2). I've seen ones specified as being for 30-35m2 rooms, and another one at 15m2. Interestingly the latter is no cheaper than the former. The former has a higher dehumidifying rate than the latter. I was wondering whether it could be excessive but I'm wondering whether it might be better to in fact go with the "larger" one, and I might in fact find that the smaller room sized one might in practise be under spec for the job.
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littleoldlady
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Post by littleoldlady on Dec 4, 2022 15:57:41 GMT
PS: where does the latent energy come from that allows output to exceed input?
You have to put energy into a kettle to boil water because the steam holds onto the energy, until it condenses when that energy is released as heat. You should find more warm air coming out of a dehumidifier than can be accounted for by the modest electricity consumed. Of course if the washing is allowed to dry the same amount of latent energy will be released, but the steam will mostly condense on cold surfaces which are likely to be on outside walls or the floor so most of the heat is lost to the interior, whereas a dehumidifier blows out warm air.
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macq
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Post by macq on Dec 4, 2022 16:12:27 GMT
Been using for about 15 years after inheriting an Unwanted One and would say get One - cheaper to run and also pretty long lasting as only bought a new One about 4 years back.We use in our box room and it works great for washing placed on a dryer in front of but only if you are willing to wait a few hours and also the room does not get damp (they are not said to work as well in cold rooms such as conservatory/lean to or garage etc) A very short time 15 - 20 minutes in a dryer maybe for very large loads or towels might be required. I would buy the biggest model you can and when not using for washing (if you have a portable model) try moving to other rooms during the day as an experiment and see how much water it pulls in from what you thought was a "dry" room - also find placed on a landing when not being used for its main job that it seems to make the place a bit warmer as your not heating damp air i guess and have also used in summer in bedroom to try to lower humidity for sleeping Also most good models come with a sensor to tell you if the room is to cold for it to work properly (normally very cold) so 10 minutes of CH on maybe required but they really need a closed room to work best i.e window & door closed Interesting, thank you for the input. The intended room is relatively small (proabably about 12 m2). I've seen ones specified as being for 30-35m2 rooms, and another one at 15m2. Interestingly the latter is no cheaper than the former. The former has a higher dehumidifying rate than the latter. I was wondering whether it could be excessive but I'm wondering whether it might be better to in fact go with the "larger" one, and I might in fact find that the smaller room sized one might in practise be under spec for the job. I would guess bigger is better (no comments please!) as it would be better to have One that can collect more moisture then reqd rather then too little i.e a 20ltr is capable in the right conditions to be able to collect that 20l in 24 hrs (think thats how there rated but worth checking) also while most auto switch off when full its better to have a collecting tank of a good size.We bought ours mainly for washing and is a 12Ltr model which seems to work fine but a bigger One might be quicker? - a fair size load of washing such as shirts,jeans jumpers etc we can wash at say 9am and would be dry by about 3pm or bigger load/towels etc maybe 5pm or use a short tumble as well.Also run as the guide books say with things like keeping the room closed and blowing the dust off the filter every few weeks to work ideally p.s would also suggest after a while you will notice less condensation on windows in general due to how they work in pulling moisture in - but as mentioned i move ours into other rooms at times when not being used for washing to check those rooms
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travolta
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Post by travolta on Dec 4, 2022 16:20:47 GMT
I've been using one(s) for years and they are excellent for keeping down condensation and drying laundry
HOWEVER they do tend to expire within about 3 years ,especially the cheaper models and are very expensive to repair ...if it collapses you really do have to replace it
Its worth scouring the Net for the best deal on a good model.
I've two running in different places ,one in my back porch drying washing and its on almost continually ,during peak sunny hours to match my solar panel input . This time of the year thats pretty poor . The best make ,so far, is Meaco and its been reliable . Variable controls and timer .
Use Topcashback to get some money off purchases when you find a supplier.
Would recomend it.
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macq
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Post by macq on Dec 4, 2022 17:32:35 GMT
Also use and recommend a Meaco but the Ebac i used before was good as well
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Post by bracknellboy on Dec 4, 2022 17:35:01 GMT
I've been using one(s) for years and they are excellent for keeping down condensation and drying laundry HOWEVER they do tend to expire within about 3 years ,especially the cheaper models and are very expensive to repair ...if it collapses you really do have to replace it Its worth scouring the Net for the best deal on a good model. I've two running in different places ,one in my back porch drying washing and its on almost continually ,during peak sunny hours to match my solar panel input . This time of the year thats pretty poor . The best make ,so far, is Meaco and its been reliable . Variable controls and timer . Use Topcashback to get some money off purchases when you find a supplier. Would recomend it. Thanks. I had previously spotted that Meaco, certainly the models being sold by a couple of big name retailers, were 'out of stock'. Because they were the favourite brand at one of the retailers is a reason I went for a hunt for them....
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