On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 11:30:01 -0400, Jim Wilkins wrote:

"Winston" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Jun 2012 07:01:56 -0400, Jim Wilkins wrote:

...
...Very little modification is necessary to take advantage of this
"dehumidifier".

Still it doesn't match a window A/C unit that dumps the condensor's
heat
outdoors.

I didn't say it did. It *will* allow the user to save some amount of
energy going to the window A/C unit because the dryer air will be
perceived as cooler to the user. On milder days, some users would not
even feel the need to turn on their A/C.

--Winston

Air conditioners remove humidity very well too, that's the condensate
that drips from the outside (if they tilt that way).

Yup.

Their plumbing is
sized to keep the evaporator (cooling coils) above freezing which
greatly improves efficiency; freezing water takes a LOT of energy that
you don't get back if the defrost heater melts the ice. Refrigerators
have to give up some efficiency to keep the freezer compartment frozen.

Air conditioners are likewise inefficient.

Yes, a spare refrigerator will dehumidify, but it also heats the indoor
air, so you don't gain much comfort.

A spare refrigerator? No, I'm saying that the *only* refrigerator in
the house condenses some amount of moisture out of the air as a
function of doing it's job. The pity is that we allow the fridge
to push that moisture back into the ambient as water vapor.
My point is that we can leave the condensate as deionized water and
use it for non-critical applications rather than allow the fridge
to humidify the house with it, as is the present case.

There will be no significant heat added to the house envelope as
a function of re-purposing the condensate.

Better than nothing, maybe.

Indeed. A lot. For almost No Money.

I've fixed a few old apartment fridges that had door gasket leaks that
let in more humid air that the evaporator design could tolerate, and ice
built up until it jammed, stalled and burned out the fan.

Yup. It happens.

--Winston