Humidity Issues

Okay, in my never ending quest to reduce power consumption, I am trying to reduce or eliminate the amount of time I actually HAVE to run the dehumidifier.

At my old house, I had a bathroom "fart fan" that ran 24/7 and it seemed to work ok, but I would like to refine that a bit at my new place. I have a couple of ideas:

Use a duct fan like this one, connected to a Dehumidistat like this and then outside via a louvered dryer vent. (I know that is a 6" fan, but for the difference in cost I would use it and reduce it to a 4" before the vent.)

This would, in theory anyway reduce humidity by removing air from the basement to be replaced by outside air, which in the winter time should work like a charm, however what about summer?

My other option is to use the same duct fan, but just tie it into the existing ductwork, and have it force basement air upstairs thru the existing ductwork. This would spread the high humidity air throughout the house, which again in winter with the furnace running, is not a bad idea, but what about summer? (There has to be a draw back to this too.)

3rd option is to cover the sump as tightly as possible, to reduce evaporation in the basement. This is not my favorite option, because I count on evap to add kalk to the tank, via an ATO.

Am I missing a fourth option?

Thanks!

(Sorry my links are swiched. )

 

The option I chose was to install an HRV so that I had air exchange plus ability to recover heat instead of having to reheat any incoming cold air. In the summer, it's the reverse as it will transfer outgoing cooler temps to the incoming hot air of summer.
It is expensive and it takes up space, but depending on how bad the problem is, sometimes it's the best remedy.
As newer standards have been applied to building codes, the newer the house, the less natural air exchange there is, to the point there are areas that have building codes that specify mandatory HRV use in new, tightly sealed homes.
Mine is a double core unit due to the amount of open water in my basement.

 

I knew someone had something really nice setup, thanks for sharing Ray

 

I have always had a really dry house in the winter until I made my tanks grow to 300 gallons. Now my basement is humid. I have a gas forced air furnace which I have drawing most of its incoming air from the basement (Where my tanks are) and spreading it throughout the house. I like it a lot better with the tanks year round in house.

 

RayJay, that certainly does look like a FOURTH option. I will have to check into that, but my first thought is it looks like a lot for a townhouse that I am renting.

 

There are smaller, floor models at Home Depot.
I opened a basement window, cut a panel to fit exact, with two openings, one for in and one for out. When I go, the unit goes with me.

 

If you are running fans over the tank or sump then you are adding moisture to the air. Just remember when you start to evacuate air from the house you will need to bring supply air in from somewhere. If not then it will finds it way in from windows, bathroom vent...etc.

 

I'll look into that! My biggest problem is NO basement window!

This is true, I would need to allow air in from somewhere close, so that it didn't come in upstairs in the living quarters.

 

Well, they can be put anywhere in the house if you're not bent on hooking up to the furnace, but they do take up some room, depending on the size chosen.
Mine is not hooked to the furnace but it is in the basement where all my tanks are.
I didn't do anything about the humidity in time and ended up replacing all the windows and doors in the house. The ceilings still need to have mold cut out and replaced with new drywall. Have to wait until I retire in a year or two to do that.