I have a Trion cm200 installed on my air handler up in the attic of my house. Toward the end of 2018 I had an entire electric system installed in my house (duct work, air handler and outside condenser ) . Did away with the old oil burning radiator system. I decided to have them install a humidifier while they were at it. Keep in mind all this was done while house was under construction. I was not living there at the time.
The first time I used the humidifier, i set it to roughly 40% because the humidistat has a guide on the front that says what percentage to set the humidity in comparison to the outdoor temperature. At the time was roughly 10-20° outside for a couple weeks. The next day my hallway ceiling was leaking. The humidifier ran so much that the air handler actually took water in and was just dripping non stop. I shut it off. cleaned it up then a couple weeks later I tried it again. Same thing happened. I did not call the installers back because they were friends of mine and (“ I got what I paid for”). Also I don’t think the installer was that familiar with installing a humidifier. However they did a great job with the rest of the system. I shut the humidifier off for the rest of the season.
Summer passed. AC worked great. This winter 2019-2020 is here and we been running the heat with no humidifier because I was nervous. About 3 weeks ago I decided to give it a try. I turned it up slightly to 10% on the humidistat And the humidity in the house changed slightly from 25% to low 30% after a few days. So after that I cranked it up to about 15% on the humidistat and let it go from there. I would gradually check my Nest thermostats. (I have 2 zones. 1 on first floor other on second floor). The house was hovering anywhere from 37%-42%. So I figured it was working properly. I noticed I been waking up the past few days with a very dry nose. The thermostats are reading 25% again…
So here I am no seeking help. It seems like I read elsewhere that the return vent is a good location for the humidistat. Mine is on the return but it’s after the humidifier in the flow of air. So it’s like this. (Return air —> humidifier —> humidistat—> air handler—> vents) I’m wondering if the humidistat is getting false readings because it may be after the humidifier but I don’t know if that’s why. Just a thought. Also another question is. Can I bypass the humidistat and run the humidifier off my nest? I do have spare wire running to the thermostat. I will attach a photo bellow. The arrows indicate air flow
Thank you in advanced for info
Best Answer
Two points. First, be sure you are using a humidistat and not a dehumidistat. With a humidifier you need a control (humidistat) that shuts off the unit when the humidity gets too high. When you have a dehumidifier or HRV you need a control (dehumidistat) that shuts off the unit when the humidity gets too low. From your description your control just keeps the humidifier going and going, like a dehumidistat telling the humidifier to keep running. Second, the humidistat should be in a location that reflects the actual humidity of the dwelling space. An open wall near the return vent would work.