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From what I understand, this isn’t correct advice if you live (as I think the author said he lived?) in a humid area. Modern building practices aren’t very comp

From what I understand, this isn’t correct advice if you live (as I think the author said he lived?) in a humid area. Modern building practices aren’t very compatible with introducing a lot of humidity from the outdoors. This is something I’m currently trying to get a handle on in my home. Most the times, it’s completely pleasant, but there are parts of the year where it seems impossible to get the indoor humidity under control.

derbOac 3y ago
I was confused by this as well. Are they suggesting to run central AC with open windows? I had a conversation with an HVAC company lately that was the first one that made any sense to me. They basically said you need strong AC with adequate circulation throughout the home so there's no big humidity or temperature differentials. So, similar to the article but without opening things up to the outside, where the humidity is coming from. I've had trouble getting advice on stuff related to this as well. It seems most contractors don't actually know what's best and are operating under speculative theories, and/or are used to taking advantage of unchecked spending due to serious disaster involving insurance company payment.
- jstarfish 3y ago
  > Open doors between single-window rooms to help establish gradients. Do this even with the air conditioner on, or the heater come winter. Yes, it’s less energy efficient, but even one cracked window will slowly replenish stagnant air. Two cracked windows help the air better figure out how to move. > Are they suggesting to run central AC with open windows? Central HVAC needs backpressure to function correctly. Opening windows compromises that, and will lead to condensation and mold in the vents since air isn't flowing all the way through the system. Never do this. Air-conditioned grocery stores around me always put the produce at the front of the store, where the "window" is the door constantly being held open, and the ones that don't use air curtains always have moldy fruit. He's talking about Japan though-- he's probably in a house from the 40s, and they like using split system ACs over there to avoid expensive retrofits. Those are nowhere near powerful enough to circulate all the air in the room, so I think his idea is opening windows across the house to stir up the dead zones with a crossbreeze. This only works if you're living somewhere in the path of a constant breeze-- this won't help you in swampy Atlanta, Rome or Kyoto. One open window will provide fresh air but no other benefit-- ingress needs an egress, and his guy is correct that they should not be the same point because it will create a vacuum that sucks in the hot air it just pushed out (your mouth and your anus are on opposite sides of your body, same as your car's air intake and exhaust; both designed to avoid contamination, so follow that model). Also make sure any portable/window units' window hardware is properly sealed and consider using duct tape to seal gaps. I'd argue against the open-window stuff while using air conditioning, because this is how unlucky families end up contracting fucking Legionnaire's disease. A ceiling fan should achieve the same ends of displacing stale air with less energy waste; failing that, any fan that oscillates. When you're at the point where your AC is never given a rest because it's constantly trying to refrigerate an endless supply of outside air, your energy bill will be astronomical, you will accumulate moisture buildup in the unit itself, and the condenser is eventually going to freeze-- and always on a miserably hot day when you need it most. (source: not an HVAC specialist, just a hot and frustrated homeowner)
dzhiurgis 3y ago
> if you live in a humid area That also depends if it's hot and humid (I agree) or cold and humid (I disagree) - absolute humidity is lower in cold climate (i.e. 100% humidity at 15C equals 70% humidity at 22C)

derbOac 3y ago

I was confused by this as well. Are they suggesting to run central AC with open windows? I had a conversation with an HVAC company lately that was the first one that made any sense to me. They basically said you need strong AC with adequate circulation throughout the home so there's no big humidity or temperature differentials. So, similar to the article but without opening things up to the outside, where the humidity is coming from. I've had trouble getting advice on stuff related to this as well. It seems most contractors don't actually know what's best and are operating under speculative theories, and/or are used to taking advantage of unchecked spending due to serious disaster involving insurance company payment.

jstarfish 3y ago
> Open doors between single-window rooms to help establish gradients. Do this even with the air conditioner on, or the heater come winter. Yes, it’s less energy efficient, but even one cracked window will slowly replenish stagnant air. Two cracked windows help the air better figure out how to move. > Are they suggesting to run central AC with open windows? Central HVAC needs backpressure to function correctly. Opening windows compromises that, and will lead to condensation and mold in the vents since air isn't flowing all the way through the system. Never do this. Air-conditioned grocery stores around me always put the produce at the front of the store, where the "window" is the door constantly being held open, and the ones that don't use air curtains always have moldy fruit. He's talking about Japan though-- he's probably in a house from the 40s, and they like using split system ACs over there to avoid expensive retrofits. Those are nowhere near powerful enough to circulate all the air in the room, so I think his idea is opening windows across the house to stir up the dead zones with a crossbreeze. This only works if you're living somewhere in the path of a constant breeze-- this won't help you in swampy Atlanta, Rome or Kyoto. One open window will provide fresh air but no other benefit-- ingress needs an egress, and his guy is correct that they should not be the same point because it will create a vacuum that sucks in the hot air it just pushed out (your mouth and your anus are on opposite sides of your body, same as your car's air intake and exhaust; both designed to avoid contamination, so follow that model). Also make sure any portable/window units' window hardware is properly sealed and consider using duct tape to seal gaps. I'd argue against the open-window stuff while using air conditioning, because this is how unlucky families end up contracting fucking Legionnaire's disease. A ceiling fan should achieve the same ends of displacing stale air with less energy waste; failing that, any fan that oscillates. When you're at the point where your AC is never given a rest because it's constantly trying to refrigerate an endless supply of outside air, your energy bill will be astronomical, you will accumulate moisture buildup in the unit itself, and the condenser is eventually going to freeze-- and always on a miserably hot day when you need it most. (source: not an HVAC specialist, just a hot and frustrated homeowner)

dzhiurgis 3y ago

> if you live in a humid area That also depends if it's hot and humid (I agree) or cold and humid (I disagree) - absolute humidity is lower in cold climate (i.e. 100% humidity at 15C equals 70% humidity at 22C)