wrote in message
oups.com...
I see daestrom's point from a Physics point of view, but in
practicality I agree with Nick. With months of heating season ahead,
you have damp air in your house. What can happen to that air? It can
be ventilated, exhausted from the house (and, in most climates,
replaced by drier air) and the vapour energy is simply lost (to the
homeowner). The only way to keep the energy is to condense the vapour
inside the house, and the best place for the condensed vapour is down
the drain (or in houseplants), thanks to a dehumidifier. Not in your
books or insulation or constantly on your windowpanes.


The only problem with that here in NY is, we don't have a lot of 'damp air'
in the house in the winter time. Quite the opposite, because of low outside
temperatures, the house can be quite dry and we have to run a *humidifier*,
not a *dehumidifier*. Not for any sort of energy, but just for
comfort/health.

The only time we need to run a *dehumidifier* is in the basement area in the
summer time. These units cool the air to remove moisture, then re-heat the
air from the condenser section of the vapor-cycle. Net result is it warms
up the basement slightly.

But I guess I can see where in some climates, where the winter temperatures
don't get too low, the dampness can be a bother. But seems like if it gets
down to say 40F outside , then when you warm your home air up to 70F you've
got just the right humidity, not too damp at all.

daestrom