I hate force hot air heat -
Anyone have – or better still solve a similar problem: I live in a old farmhouse (built approximately 1880’s) the house has been insulated (probably not as well as it should be). As previously mentioned I have forced hot air heat and hate it. It is either too hot or too cold. And it is…
Anyone have – or better still solve a similar problem:
I live in a old farmhouse (built approximately 1880’s) the house has been insulated (probably not as well as it should be). As previously mentioned I have forced hot air heat and hate it. It is either too hot or too cold. And it is always very dry in the house. I know better insulation will help, I have also invested in a humidifier but other than that – anyone else battle forced hot air and won???
I do understand that most home owners do not like forced hot air. I live in New England were most of us have a forced hot air system the biggest problem with forced hot air are mostly two things 1 is to balance a system the second is insulation Lets start with insulation the first thing I would do is Call Energy star witch will give you a free evaluation of your home ask for them to use the infrared camera they will always do a air pressure test make sure they test all exhaust fans too.2nd Balancing a system starts with making sure we have proper air return inadequate air return can cause a system to over work. the next is the supply adjusting the supply to each room for a more even heat through out your home takes time to do an easy way is to place a thermostat in each room and adjust each register accordingly.
A well balanced system with proper insulation, you should never have to adjust your thermostat and should be a very comfortable environment with heat. Now we come to your humidity problem that is another important system that most people do not use. In the basement area we want to keep are humidity below 49% that will stop all mold from growing As 30% is are comfort zone selecting a good humidifier for your dwelling is important you want something that is going to filter the water so we can stop any microbes that may be in your water from entering the air I do not recommend pushing humidity threw your duct system it tends to rust the ducts. As for me I prefer a an air to air heat exchanger witch pulls fresh air from outside and also cleans the air. they do start around 500 for a system and tend to run up to 1200 for the unit and installation. They are not very difficult to install if you are very handy. i do also recommend a good thermostat to. good luck on your quest
I have not won. My cracked lips and knuckles, my sinus headaches, and the absurdity of waking up feeling hung over when I am not is all due to dry forced air. I have a humidifier but it does not work well.
My base boards and moldings are cracked and pulled off the wall and the floor boards in my hall are even buckled. (I know this is due to dry air because by June the wood will puff back up and you wont see even a crack.)
I am with you. I feel your pain. I bought a townhouse with radiators and cannot wait to move in.
“anyone else battle forced hot air and won???”
Yeah. I moved.
You need to put a bucket of water by your heater or put something filled with water on top.
For the too hot-too cold…I know what you mean. In my building the heat was set to 72. It would come one for 20 minutes then go off. …an hour later it would come on for 20 minutes then go off. it was never over powering and always kept the place nice.
…THIS YEAR…my building was bought by “new people” (I dont feel like getting into it now). They set the thermostat at 73. The problem is that the building can maintain nice at 72…but to stay at 73 means it has to be on way too long….this means it is on 1-2 hours at a time…by the time it shuts off, the next cycle is sceduled and it comes on again. The building is not all that greatly insulated because the building will not stay at 73…always 70-72. So this results in way too hot nights…and during the day they lower it so low that it gets freezing.
I think the trick is to find that “magic” temperature and set it there…one degree higher will result in weight loss.
and forced hot air hates you
I love my forced air – I have a humidifier similar to 8:02 so dryness is never a problem. When the heat comes out it quickly brings the temp up to the desired range and maintains very even heating all of the time.
Also, the fact that my floor and wall space is not occupied by some ungly metal grate and pipes is such an added bonus.
I defiantely recommend getting a digital thermostat and install a humidifier directly to the system. Should work ou fine for you.
About a year ago my 40 year old mechanical thermostat stopped working and I replaced it with a modern electronic digital one. It evened out the heat a great deal. The old thermostat (before it broke) didn’t go on until the heat was a couple of degrees below the set temperature and stayed on until it was a couple of degrees higher. The new one keeps an even temperature, which makes a great difference. I still don’t like hot air heat all that much, but I do appreciate how simple maintanance is–and my cat likes to sleep on top of a hot air register.
Basically, I think the only way to beat forced air heat is to install radiators instead.
For your system you need a General 800 Plate Style Humidifier I have one on mine and it works great.