This ONE thing can improve the health, comfort, and durability of your home!!

[@Evan_Adams]

As someone in SF Bay Area I am consistently amazed at these huge mechanical rooms. Lol that is a huge room to dedicate to a furnace

[@fliporhold]

Dan Fran? The coldest winter I ever experienced was an August day in San Francisco.

[@superspeeder]

Jordan, heating appliances do not dry air. The only way to dry air is to condense moisture out of it with a cold surface like the evaporator coil in an AC unit or dehumidifier. Gas, electric or heat pump, no matter the heating appliance it does not dry (remove moisture from) air. The relative humidity of the hot air drops as it is heated but it still contains the same amount of moisture. The more air-tight a house is the less humidification you will need in the winter and the less dehumidification you will need in the summer. This is because less air infiltration means less cold dry air infiltrating in the winter and less hot humid air infiltrating in the summer. The ultimate amount of humidification and dehumidification will depend on air-tightness, house size, number of occupants, type and frequency of humidity generating activities, location of ventilation system exhausts, sensible/latent split of AC equipment (for dehumidification), among other factors. A newly built tight house is unlikely to require humidification for the first year or two as moisture from building materials (wood, concrete etc.) evaporates. If that house is fairly tightly built, I'm guessing that humidifier is way-overkill for the application. Cool controls, though, and neat how it refers to outside temp for humidity setpoint. A tight house saves a lot of energy in the winter by avoiding heavy humidifier use. It takes a lot of energy to turn water into steam. Using that unit as an example, at 37 gallons of water per day it would consume about 88 kWh of electricity per day, or nearly $400 a month @ 0.15 c/kWh. Obviously that's an extreme example, but still sobering even if the average house only required an order of magnitude less humidification; 3.7 gallons/day would be about $40/month. The math is the same for an evaporative furnace mounted humidifier, but on a gas furnace the energy is likely cheaper so the cost to operate drops proportionally. Humidifiers can also reduce the durability of a house in the winter. Interior air leaking out through the building envelope will condense during cold weather, which can lead to rot and mold. Anyone using a humidifier would be wise to keep an eye out for such issues.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

Great comment! You taught me something. Thanks!

[@superspeeder]

No problem, Jordan! I’ve been researching the heck out of building science the last couple years in preparation for my own house build. It’s in a pretty cold climate so I want to get the details nailed down ahead of time. Glad I could pass something on!

[@davidkellers8152]

You are correct, it does not decrease the amount of moisture in the air. It does however suck the moisture out of your skin. This is because warmer air can hold more moisture than cold air. Any air change with the outside dry, cold air will dry up anything in the house when it gets warmed. So the heat doesn't dry the air per say, it does dry you.

[@davidkellers8152]

@@superspeeder Building a tight house means you have to vent. Have you decided on an HRV or an ERV? I know that many manufacturers have fixed the frost problem with ERVs with some type of defrost cycle and you will retain more moisture.

[@superspeeder]

David Kellers, if we look at a house as a sealed system with no air leaks and no moisture transfer from inside to outside, heating the inside to maintain a constant temperature will not decrease the relative humidity of that space. If a person is sitting close to a furnace duct while the furnace is running they will experience hot air with a lower RH which can dry their skin. If the conditioned air is cooling to room temperature before you’re exposed to it, it won’t dry your skin. I like the look of the Panasonic Intellibalance 100 ERV, but I haven’t decided for sure which way to go. We will use an ERV for sure, so we can recover the moisture as you mention.

[@fromtheburbstothetetons8826]

Another good video. If you are using an evaporating system (which is what I have), it is important to have a smart thermostat that has a "circulation" mode. Depending on the thermostat brand, it will circulate the air every half hour or on the hour to get rid of hot spots (or cold) in the house. My whole-house humidifier runs during this cycle too. That minimizes the effect of not getting moisture in the air unless the heater is running.

[@publicmail2]

Very good explanation, that's a review from you that actually knows how it works and can explain it. Sure it works well, but ongoing cost and electrical use is a factor. The most economic is a floor standing icemaker line feed wick type with humidistat, no boiler to replace. They use less than 50 watts and can humidify 3000' + sq'age. The wheel type were very popular in the 70's.

[@aayotechnology]

A D which model of this type would you recommend?

[@scorpio6587]

Good to know. I am very interested.

[@wjthehomebuilder]

17:50 "Condensation on the windows might be a pain." Good one Jordan!

[@trustbuster23]

I currently have one of the evaporation style whole house systems and I gave up on it because it wastes absurd amounts of water. Basically there is a metal mesh that gets continually soaked with water and a fan behind it blowing the moist air into the main plenum of the duct work. It only runs once the furnace gets hot, but even then the whole time it is on it is like leaving a faucet in the sink on. Probably only 1/3 of the water gets evaporated and the rest runs into the sump. And yes, I tried turning down the amount of water it gets to reduce waste and that doesn't really help. Yes you waste less, but you are also not getting enough humidity. We eventually bought one of those large, whole house cabinet style humidifiers. It has to be fed constantly which is a pain, and you need to replace the wicks and put antimicrobial stuff into it regularly, but at least we aren't pouring a ton of water into our sump every day. The downsides to this alternative include the electricity needed to boil all that water every day, and the cost of replacing that thing every year, which I am sure is expensive. Basically, as far as I can tell, there is still no maintenance free way to do this, and all the alternatives out there have really glaringly obvious downsides. Buy a wood stove and leave a pot of water on it all day if you want a maintenance free option.

[@carpnotes4607]

Dude, congrats - fantastic channel. Very informative, timely and relevant to the modern builder, who seeks to learn about quality, comfort and durability in the home building process. Keep the content coming, please.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

Will do! Thanks!

[@sonnysandhu5010]

Great Info I have just this unit installed in my house in Vegas, My question is do i need this unit running in summer months I have noticed when unit kick on rooms get real hot. Should i turn unit off and only run during winter months?

[@tysleight]

Love my home humidifier. We added mini splits with a large remodel now we have to run the humidifier even more to make up for the drying from the mini's.

[@superspeeder]

Heating air doesn’t dry it. The only way to dry air is to condense it out with a cold surface, like the cold evaporator coil in an AC unit or dehumidifier.

[@tysleight]

@@superspeeder my drain line sure has water dripping all winter. Not sure why but I can tell you that the RA in the addition is lower than the main house according to the portable weather station.

[@superspeeder]

@@tysleight, are you referring o the drain lines on your minisplits? There shouldn't be any condensate coming out of them when in heating mode, unless they go into defrost mode where they operate backwards (heating the exterior unit by cooling the interior unit), in which case you can have condensate draining in the winter. Gas furnaces have a condensate drain, but that's draining the moisture that's produced as a byproduct of burning the gas, not heating the air passing through the furnace.

[@tysleight]

@@superspeeder the company that installed it said it was normal and the owners manual on the Daikin also said it is normal so me NOT being a HVAC guy don't really know anything but that it is dryer in that part of the house

[@superspeeder]

Never Sleight, it could be that the drier area has got more air leakage? Just a guess. I’ve used a humidifier for years and agree it makes a WORLD of difference for winter time indoor comfort! Just gotta make sure you don’t keep it too humid.

[@KJSvitko]

The home looked like a great candidate for solar energy with battery storage. Lots of space for ground mount solar.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

It's definitely on the wish list. We will be going ground mounted system if we do. Too much dust to try to keep them clean on the roof.

[@matthewbono3273]

What are your recommendations for places that need a little bit of drying in shoulder seasons and humidification in winter. In Iowa the winter is cold and dry and out old school evap. Humidifier works well. However, the spring and fall we could use some dehumidification when the hvac isn’t running. Does anyone make a unit to do both, I’ve been unable to find one and my hvac repair guy didn’t know if one. Thanks. Great video, I’m aware of the benefits of humidifiers but knew nothing about steam prior.

[@59seank]

I had one of these Aprilaire steam humidifiers professionally installed. I would not do it again. We've had a lot of problems including keeping the top steam pipe connected to the cannister. My electric bill was twice my summer A/C bill. I've given up on it and gone back to a console humidifier.

[@thelankyjim]

59seank wow good info.

[@Osnosis]

Haven’t had that problem at all, but it does increase winter energy use.

[@zzman5306]

@@Osnosis how much?

[@Osnosis]

@@zzman5306 About $20 electric running two units.

[@zzman5306]

What would the avg cost to run be on a monthly basis say on a 2500 sq foot house?

[@flyzipper]

Would have liked to hear more about the negative durability aspects (introducing too much humidity)... does the building envelope need specific characteristics to handle injecting extra humidity into the conditioned space? Asking as a Canadian in a 130 year old masonry-walled structure.

[@robertmontgomery7158]

Who is this guy? Where is Jordan? 😜

[@thelankyjim]

Any whole house humidifiers that can be plumbed in without a forced air HVAC system? We have water/glycol filled baseboard heat. And freestanding humidifiers but would be interested to know if there are other products out there.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

Absolutely. Follow the link in the description and find Aprilaire's ductless versions: the 360 and 350.

[@Ilove3SGTE]

You need to be careful adding to much humidity in the winter. Especially if you have a leaky house. Water can condense in your walls and or freeze and build up. You better have an inboard vapor retarder.

[@aayotechnology]

It’s too bad you can’t clean the canister every year instead of getting rid of it. Are the materials at least recyclable? The reservoir looks plastic. The electrode metal. What else is in there?

[@Osnosis]

I think you can clean the electrodes, but it takes effort (steel wool), and maybe some chemicals.

[@Berry_MaCocknher]

Since it is removable I would think you should be able to fill it with Vinegar, let it set for about a day or so and then rinse it out. That should dissolve any of the "Hard Water Build Up" inside the canister.

[@b4804514]

JOrdan Nice job on the infomercial and looking good without the beard

[@eugeniustheodidactus8890]

Pianos get tuned twice a year no matter what!

[@prescottkemler8420]

Call your electrician and have them greenfield those exposed wires!

[@roblamont8756]

He has nice hair

[@JF-fx2qv]

Kind of sad how far we come. That is to say; how did people exist before today's aids. Are we evolving into fragile beings?

[@dunlaoghaire1000]

Terrifying stuff about drying mukos. If all of air is filtered inside the house, what about breathing outside of the house?

[@gused82]

Hi Jordan , I'm a big fans of yours from Houston Tx, I have some questions I need help with on the planning of my home build , how can I contact you, I kind of look online but I cant get to a number of email to contact you . Thanks Jordan Ed with eagle home services

[@scorpio6587]

height ends with a t. Cool video.

[@ryanroberts1104]

There is no such thing as "220", you cannot wire it for that. This is one of my biggest pet peaves. There has never been 220 or 110 volts provided by anybody in North America. If you are in a home and you measure anything other than 120v or 240v you need to call the power company and have them fix it. "220" does not exist except for parts of Europe. 110 never existed, anywhere, ever.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

I said 220 for the benefit of the Europeans. This is the same unit Aprilaire sells worldwide.

[@stevecotes301]

I work a fair amount with 208v, in North America. Although usually it is 3-phase.

[@vansage2691]

Tldr was expecting a video on the install not the science on how to make steam

[@codywohlers2059]

what thing? just put it in the title instead of clickbait