Home Improvement

Thaloc

Molten Core Raider
73
63
Had a new trane ac unit installed at beginning of this past summer. Did an awesome job of cutting my power bill and also was able to keep up with cooling in Florida summer. Kept humidity in the 40s.

Fast forward to now. My AC is now running 2-4 hours a day instead of 7-8 as was summer. My humidity inside has skyrocketed to as high as 65%…

Is this just because my AC isn’t running as much? Is it worth having AC ppl come look at it? Help..
The ac dehumidifies as it runs which brings down humidity levels, with more moderate temps it runs less and home humidity rises. Couple things you can do:
Drop the temp a couple of degrees
Install a whole home humidifier
Leave the blower in auto instead of on
If you got a variable speed unit you can have it set to dehumidify when humidity is above a certain setpoint but the thermostat is satisfied.
 
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Sanrith Descartes

Veteran of a thousand threadban wars
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The ac dehumidifies as it runs which brings down humidity levels, with more moderate temps it runs less and home humidity rises. Couple things you can do:
Drop the temp a couple of degrees
Install a whole home humidifier
Leave the blower in auto instead of on
If you got a variable speed unit you can have it set to dehumidify when humidity is above a certain setpoint but the thermostat is satisfied.
Beat me too it.
 

The_Black_Log Foler

Stock Pals Senior Vice President
<Gold Donor>
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The ac dehumidifies as it runs which brings down humidity levels, with more moderate temps it runs less and home humidity rises. Couple things you can do:
Drop the temp a couple of degrees
Install a whole home humidifier
Leave the blower in auto instead of on
If you got a variable speed unit you can have it set to dehumidify when humidity is above a certain setpoint but the thermostat is satisfied.
Hard to drop it lower than 68-69 at this point but yeah that noticably does help decrease humidity.

I have a nest - not sure there’s an auto mode? Also not sure if I have a variable speed unit? Any other nesters chime in?
 

Thaloc

Molten Core Raider
73
63
Hard to drop it lower than 68-69 at this point but yeah that noticably does help decrease humidity.

I have a nest - not sure there’s an auto mode? Also not sure if I have a variable speed unit? Any other nesters chime in?
Nest is garbo. home owners love them, hvac guys hate them. newer generation nest is much better than the first.
Give us the model# on the indoor unit , trane vs units will have a V in them.
 

The_Black_Log Foler

Stock Pals Senior Vice President
<Gold Donor>
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Nest is garbo. home owners love them, hvac guys hate them. newer generation nest is much better than the first.
Give us the model# on the indoor unit , trane vs units will have a V in them.
Suggestion for nest replacement? I really just like being able to control from phone.

Ok let me get it and circle back.
 

Thaloc

Molten Core Raider
73
63
Suggestion for nest replacement? I really just like being able to control from phone.

Ok let me get it and circle back.
Lot of people like ecobee, similar to nest. wont control the variable speed blower like a proprietary stat would though.
 

Intrinsic

Person of Whiteness
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I like the interface and look of the new Sensis I put in but their temperature sensor in it varies wildly from an external thermometer I can mount directly next to it. The Sensi will read 70 and the thermometer reads 74. Which is fine because in the app you can offset. But then it drops at night and they're 4 degrees off again. So not sure if it is a calibration issue or what. The only way I "calibrated" the external thermos was by sitting them side by side at various spots in the house and making sure all 3 sync up. That doesn't even address the issue of the huge differences in temperature throughout the rooms in the house. Managing the heating / cooling in the new place has been a nightmare.
 

The_Black_Log Foler

Stock Pals Senior Vice President
<Gold Donor>
43,836
40,793
Nest is garbo. home owners love them, hvac guys hate them. newer generation nest is much better than the first.
Give us the model# on the indoor unit , trane vs units will have a V in them.
Indoor unit model number.

1F5EFF81-3D84-4842-916A-3F4097DFA1BC.jpeg
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
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Hard to drop it lower than 68-69 at this point but yeah that noticably does help decrease humidity.

I have a nest - not sure there’s an auto mode? Also not sure if I have a variable speed unit? Any other nesters chime in?
All thermostats have an on, off, auto mode. You should have it on the On setting at all times. It circulates your air, evens out the temperature through your house, even when your ac or furnace are not running. I haven’t turned my hvac blower off in 15 years. Step 1. Turn it on and leave it on.
 

Thaloc

Molten Core Raider
73
63
All thermostats have an on, off, auto mode. You should have it on the On setting at all times. It circulates your air, evens out the temperature through your house, even when your ac or furnace are not running. I haven’t turned my hvac blower off in 15 years. Step 1. Turn it on and leave it on.
While this is correct it will also add humidity back into the air. Any moisture left on the coil will evaporate back into the air stream, raising overall levels in the house.
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
60,725
133,977
garage day
finally got off my ass and insulated the garage door
20211215_091320.jpg


the difference is astronomical, sometimes i sleep in the loft above the garage where i have my office and at 4 to 5am i get woken up cuz its like 60 in there, now the temp doesn't change.

i have no idea why the previous owner had a hook fetish
20211215_091825.jpg


just hooks and hooks everywhere

this one area it looks like he was manic and just started drilling in holes for funzies
20211215_091937.jpg


this wasn't drilled into anything, just holes, imma whip up some drywall compound and fill em in now.
 
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Fucker

Log Wizard
11,566
26,172
garage day
finally got off my ass and insulated the garage door
View attachment 387937

the difference is astronomical, sometimes i sleep in the loft above the garage where i have my office and at 4 to 5am i get woken up cuz its like 60 in there, now the temp doesn't change.

i have no idea why the previous owner had a hook fetish
View attachment 387938

just hooks and hooks everywhere

this one area it looks like he was manic and just started drilling in holes for funzies
View attachment 387939

this wasn't drilled into anything, just holes, imma whip up some drywall compound and fill em in now.
My garage was the same way. Shit on the walls everywhere. Different types of screws and bolts too. Took me a long time to pull all that shit down.
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,304
42,376
garage day
finally got off my ass and insulated the garage door
View attachment 387937

the difference is astronomical, sometimes i sleep in the loft above the garage where i have my office and at 4 to 5am i get woken up cuz its like 60 in there, now the temp doesn't change.

i have no idea why the previous owner had a hook fetish
View attachment 387938

just hooks and hooks everywhere

this one area it looks like he was manic and just started drilling in holes for funzies
View attachment 387939

this wasn't drilled into anything, just holes, imma whip up some drywall compound and fill em in now.
What did you use for the insulation? Most insulated jobs I’ve seen look like shit so I’ve never done it. That doesn’t look bad though.
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
60,725
133,977
What did you use for the insulation? Most insulated jobs I’ve seen look like shit so I’ve never done it. That doesn’t look bad though.
it was 4 rolls (1 per panel) of r8
03cf4e2952aed0f06f5249bf0166310b.png


this looked like the cleanest install, cuz usually they sell the ones where you gotta cut it to fit in each window thing
79f162aecfb2794ea936073563282ba8.png


it's not bad, the double sided tape is practically no useful cuz i just used the hinges themselves as big washers to hold it in place.

there was a bit more material so i let it over lap each panel, so far it "doesn't" seem to hinder the doors, but if it does it's just a simple run a knife along the edge and it easily falls off (i'll probably do that anyway, i don't like the overlap much)
 

lurker

Vyemm Raider
1,361
2,790
I bought 4x8 sheets of 1 inch rigid foam with a foil backing and cut them, with a circular saw, to fit in the spaces in my garage door. I left it out of areas where the door moves on it's hinges. I attached them to the door with six dabs of Liquid Nails per panel. They've been on there for 5 years to far. I had to replace one because I damaged it with a ladder and that was easy.

2021121510272774-2954142242969925168-IMG_2284-M.jpg


Cutting with a circular saw against a guide gives you super smooth edges that don't crumble but do it outside with the garage doors shut and wear a mask. It creates a ton of fine dust. Like Lanx said, it makes a huge difference. I move plants into the garage over winter and stays warm enough in there where before it didn't.
 
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Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
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it was 4 rolls (1 per panel) of r8
03cf4e2952aed0f06f5249bf0166310b.png


this looked like the cleanest install, cuz usually they sell the ones where you gotta cut it to fit in each window thing
79f162aecfb2794ea936073563282ba8.png


it's not bad, the double sided tape is practically no useful cuz i just used the hinges themselves as big washers to hold it in place.

there was a bit more material so i let it over lap each panel, so far it "doesn't" seem to hinder the doors, but if it does it's just a simple run a knife along the edge and it easily falls off (i'll probably do that anyway, i don't like the overlap much)
I like how a one pack is $118 while a four pack is $832. Great bulk pricing there Amazon.
 
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GuardianX

Perpetually Pessimistic
<Bronze Donator>
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I bought 4x8 sheets of 1 inch rigid foam with a foil backing and cut them, with a circular saw, to fit in the spaces in my garage door. I left it out of areas where the door moves on it's hinges. I attached them to the door with six dabs of Liquid Nails per panel. They've been on there for 5 years to far. I had to replace one because I damaged it with a ladder and that was easy.

2021121510272774-2954142242969925168-IMG_2284-M.jpg


Cutting with a circular saw against a guide gives you super smooth edges that don't crumble but do it outside with the garage doors shut and wear a mask. It creates a ton of fine dust. Like Lanx said, it makes a huge difference. I move plants into the garage over winter and stays warm enough in there where before it didn't.

Wait, the foil goes towards the dwelling?
 

lurker

Vyemm Raider
1,361
2,790
Wait, the foil goes towards the dwelling?
If you were installing this stuff as roof insulation under shingles, you would install it foil side down towards the house. Also, if you want the room to be warmer you would install it foil side in so as to reflect heat back in. I think in this application it could have gone either way, but taking those two points and the fact that the other side of this stuff is hideous, I installed it foil in.

Link about this.
 
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