On 10/20/2015 8:20 AM, trader_4 wrote:


The dry air issue on forced air can be solved with a humidifier that
will maintain humidity at whatever you like. I've never understood
the claimed issue with forced air heat being "dry". The issue would
seem to be that any air that is heated will have a drop in relative
humidity. The air gets heated the same whether it's forced air,
baseboard or radiant.

In theory, forced hot air can be filtered, humidified, ionizied,
odorized, de-farted, radiated, and anything else you may want to do with
it. But is not usually done right.

I think the real issue is combustion air and the intake and venting. No
matter the fuel, if you are sucking combustion air in through the
leaking windows and doors, burning the heated air and then venting up
the stack, it is going to be a dry climate.

We have HW baseboard and had to run a humidifier in the winter for
comfort. When the boiler was replaced, the new one draws combustion air
from outside directly to the burner leaving the rest of the air in the
house alone. It is more comfortable as the humidity drops less by
comparison.

The forced air may also feel dryer as it is blowing around. Never did
any measuring though, but people's perception, real or imagined, is that
hot air heat is dryer. It does not have to be.