Humidity in the House....Talk to me!

[Richie]

Yeah to this day the first thing my mom does every day is all windows in house wide open. Doesn't matter how cold it is outside. Open for a good hour then closed up and house reheated.

Once a week I will do this - open all windows for about 30 mins or so and allow an exchange of air. Daily, I will open thw windows of any bedrooms that were used that night, as well as the bathroom, to let any humidity out asd its amazing how much moisture the human body can release while sleeping in a sealed room for 7-8 hours.

Although I doubt its accuracy, my Nest thermostats are reading 62% for the living room and 65% for the main bedroom humidity right now so not too bad.

 

[SupraWez]

I feel like this is a bit con from big-dehumidifier. I don't remember my parents fretting about this nonsense nor having a billion relatively-expensive sensors dotted around

Certainly when I was a youngster we had metal frame single pane windows, drafts all over the place, no central heating and a fire in the lounge, things have certainly moved on.

The problem with modern living is homes are too warm and have no ventilation, plus squeezing more people into smaller and smaller spaces.

 

[danlightbulb]

Here's an example of what's wrong with my house, measurements taken just now.

There's only me in the house and Im not doing anything aside from sitting at my laptop. Windows and doors are all shut (but there are a lot of airbricks in my house so should be plenty of ventilation).

Inside temperature a steady 19.7 C, humidity 69%.

Outside 13.3 C, humidity 74%.

According to this calculator, 13.3 C and 74%, heated to 19.7 C, should give a RH of 49.6%. So I am 20% higher than what should be the case.

That is a hell of a difference. Where is the moisture coming from? Its been fairly dry for a week now outside, I don't believe its coming from the air outside. Its something else.

 

[Sinbad2000]

Here's an example of what's wrong with my house, measurements taken just now.

There's only me in the house and Im not doing anything aside from sitting at my laptop. Windows and doors are all shut (but there are a lot of airbricks in my house so should be plenty of ventilation).

Inside temperature a steady 19.7 C, humidity 69%.

Outside 13.3 C, humidity 74%.

According to this calculator, 13.3 C and 74%, heated to 19.7 C, should give a RH of 49.6%. So I am 20% higher than what should be the case.

That is a hell of a difference. Where is the moisture coming from? Its been fairly dry for a week now outside, I don't believe its coming from the air outside. Its something else.

There may be airbricks, but there's also been very little wind so how much air transfer has there been realistically over the past few days?
The humidity comes from you - you breathe out water vapour, you perspire a little... cup of tea perhaps? (as well as any retained moisture from any porous surfaces inside).

 

[danlightbulb]

There may be airbricks, but there's also been very little wind so how much air transfer has there been realistically over the past few days?
The humidity comes from you - you breathe out water vapour, you perspire a little... cup of tea perhaps? (as well as any retained moisture from any porous surfaces inside).

The dehumidifier has also been on overnight (off since this morning). Its also been on the past few days. Any retained moisture should be being pulled out of the fabric of the house by the prolonged use of the dehumidifier, but its not touching it as you can see from these figures.

 

[Scuzi]

I would also cross check with a known-good calibrated hygrometer. They can be notoriously inaccurate. When I kept cigar humidors, it wasn't uncommon for good hygrometers to drift out by as much as 20% in a short time.

Even if it is accurate outside, it does not mean it is accurate in the ranges that exist in your house.

 

[danlightbulb]

Ok Ive ordered 3x Govee bluetooth units from Amazon. I'll see how closely they match the simple display I currently have, then I'll put one outside and two in the house and start tracking properly.

 

[Scuzi]

Ok Ive ordered 3x Govee bluetooth units from Amazon. I'll see how closely they match the simple display I currently have, then I'll put one outside and two in the house and start tracking properly.

I’m interested to see your results. I love experiments like this. Must be getting old

 

[danlightbulb]

I tried to look into this a while back but now dlockers is also looking into it, I might actually get somewhere.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I have 3 hygrometers at upstairs, they are all within a couple of percent of each other, and then there is the one built into the dehumidifier. That makes 4.

I also have a 5th one which is not open in a box (just a sensor, need app), and a 6th one which is part of my security camera.

I think I have enough to get a good average lol