Question:
I have a LOUD knock when the Solenoid valve closes sometimes. It is happening more often now. I have had Arrow Heating who installed the unit out but they were unable to stop the noise. They turned down the water flow but we still have the problem. The valve closes OK sometimes but other times it makes a loud knock when it closes which can be heard in the whole house. I understand there will be a small knock when it closes. Is there something I can do?
Answer:
A humidifier may cause a "click" or "bang" sound for one of two reasons.
1) Water, as it moves through the solenoid of the humidifier, can build up pressure and create noise. Usually water hammer is a repeated bang. To see if water pressure is the issue, turn off the water to the solenoid. If the noise stops install a "pipe silencer" or extra coiled water supply line to the humidifier to reduce the noise generated by the pressure.
2) The solenoid itself will create an audible "click" as the humidifier turns on and off. This "click" may be magnified to sound like a "bang", by the ductwork or the proximity of the humidifier to the living space. Usually a solenoid will create only one "bang" when the solenoid opens and one "bang" when the solenoid closes. Isolating the solenoid from the ductwork with foam insulation or remote mounting the solenoid will be necessary. Please note; If the solenoid does produce a repeated "bang" when it opens or when it closes, the wiring should also be looked at to eliminate the repeated opening and closing of the solenoid.
Aprilaire is going green one step at a time. Indoor air quality is the key focus at Aprilaire with our whole-home air cleaners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and other whole-home product, but we also feel it is very important to protect the environment. ENERGY STAR and energy-saving products are just the start, we also make environmentally concise decisions for our
company's energy use. Let's all find new ways to save energy!
Do you live in a small condo or townhome? Are you tired of high humidity levels in your home? Do you have a portable dehumidifier sitting in the middle of your home because you thought there was no whole-home solution? Are you tired of the constant maintenance that portable dehumidifiers require? If you answered yes to any of these questions, Aprilaire has your dehumidification solution.
The Aprilaire 1730A whole-house dehumidifier
The Aprilaire 1730A dehumidifier has a large 65 pint capacity. That's enough moisture removal power for a 3,600 square foot tight home. Its compact size means that it can fit in spaces where others won't. It also works in conjunction with your home’s HVAC system to quietly and efficiently remove moisture from every room of your home, with only annual maintenance required. And its Energy Star rating means you remove that moisture without blowing up your electric bill.
Call your Aprilaire dealer and schedule the installation of your whole-house dehumidifier today. Your dealer can also recommend other quality Aprilaire products that will improve the quality of the air in your home.
Aprilaire - Fresh ideas for indoor air!
Having a programmable thermostat installed in your home is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to save energy and save money.
Some estimates predict that a programmable thermostat can save you up to 30% on your monthly energy bills. The idea behind a programmable thermostat is that you’re only heating or cooling your home when it needs to be. When you’re gone for the day at work, or sleeping you set temperature higher or lower so you’re not wasting energy conditioning an empty house. You then set it so when you return or wake up your house is comfortable.
Aprilaire’s newest programmable thermostat,
the 8400 series, offers additional benefits. It has the ability to report the outdoor temperature as well as cycle your HVAC fan for air cleaning.
The best part about a programmable thermostat is that once you have it set up for your needs you really never have to mess around with it. You can set it and forget it and you will save energy automatically.
We received a question from Jinho regarding his Aprilaire humidifier:
"Looking at the wiring, it appears the R - C and W/G - Cf wires go to the respective furnaces R - C(ommon) and Humm - C(ommon) connections. Is there any way to wire it so that it comes on any time there are necessary relative humidity changes?"
Aprilaire response
The wiring configuration you have limits the humidifier to operating only during a heat call. There are a couple of options your dealer can look at to increase your humidifier run time and corresponding level of relative humidity.
One is to wire the control through the EAC terminals (if your furnace has them). EAC terminals are 120V, requiring your dealer to wire through a transformer. This would allow you to humidify any time the HVAC blower is operating. So, if you wanted to humidify outside of a call for heat, you could flip your thermostat fan setting from "Auto" to "On" and the humidifier would operate, provided there is a call for humidity.
Another option is to install the Aprilaire Blower Activation Relay, part number 4851. With this device installed, the HVAC blower is automatically activated on a call for humidity, with no thermostat interaction on your part.
Thank you for the question, Jinho, and thanks for choosing Aprilaire!
It's hard to believe with all the cold weather we've experienced this month that spring is less than two months away. Soon, the furnace will stop running and we'll be in that waiting period before the air conditioning season begins. This is the time when your home’s indoor relative humidity (RH) begins to rise and gets to levels that are not only uncomfortable, but could also be damaging to your home.
Since dehumidification is a natural byproduct of air conditioning, you could turn on your air conditioner to remove this moisture. But to do this, you must turn your thermostat down to levels that are too cold for comfort. You could purchase a portable dehumidifier, but then you have to constantly empty and clean the tank. And don't forget to turn up the television, because you need to hear it over the sound the portable makes. Bottom line, neither of these are good solutions to your moisture problems.
Aprilaire is your whole-house solution
Aprilaire has a complete line of whole-house dehumidifiers that work in conjunction with your home’s HVAC system to quietly and efficiently remove excess moisture from every room of your home. Aprilaire is also user-friendly, with no tanks to empty and only annual maintenance required. Not only will your home be a more comfortable place to live, but you will also prevent damage caused by mold, mildew, and more.
Call your Aprilaire dealer and schedule the installation of your whole-house dehumidifier today. You'll be glad you did.
Aprilaire - fresh ideas for indoor air.
A very long question from Sam:
"Thank you for all of the information you are sharing. I have the Aprilaire humidifier, which works in conjunction with home’s heating system. It had been working for few years and recently a solenoid started to fail and would not ever shut the water off. It was detected that the Relay is bad and it was replaced. Under the normal configuration the humidifier’s solenoid should release the water whenever the HVAC’s blower starts. Well it does, while the humidity level is below the set value and then it interferes with the entire system. Here is what happening: 1. Set the Humidifier to 35%. The unit is installed with a Manual Mode. 2. Whenever HVAC air blower starts, I can hear the solenoid open and water flows into the humidifier. The solenoid shuts the flow as soon as the blower stops. So far as it should be. Problem starts in a few hours (and my guess is whenever the humidity level reaches the set value): 1. The HVAC furnace starts and I can see the gas burning inside the furnace for about a minute. 2. Then I can hear a signal/attempt (to start) to the blower. 3. This fails, the air blower does not start and then furnace stops too. 4. Within 2 seconds, it goes into the same cycle and this continues until (my guess again) the humidity level drops below the set value (35%). The HVAC thermostat upstairs always set to 68, but now shows 66. This is supposed to start the heating cycle, sends the signal to HVAC, it fails to start blower and so on. 5. I then turn off the Humidifier, power cycle the HVAC and everything back to normal. I tested this for few days now and results are consistent. No Humidifier – everything works fine. As soon as I turn it to 35% - within hours it does as described above. Any idea what could be wrong? Thank you."
Basically, Sam is wondering if his humidifier could be affecting the operation of his furnace. The simple answer is no. Aprilaire humidifiers detect the operation of the furnace or blower and will then operate if, and only if, humidification is required. After Sam answered some additional questions, we determined he needed to contact his dealer to have his furnace repaired.
Thanks for the question, Sam, and thanks for buying Aprilaire!
Question from Rick:
"From what I read, it says to hook up to hot water? Is this for all installations or just the fix when not getting enough humidity using the blower activation relay? My solenoids fail after a couple years and will not flow. Appears there is a build up within the solenoid. Anything I can do to prevent this from happening? EXPENSIVE replacement for every couple years."
Aprilaire Replies
Thanks for the question, Rick. You need three things to humidify your home: water, air flow and heat. Plumbing to hot water is not generally required if you are running your humidifier in conjunction with your furnace, as the air is typically 120 degrees or higher. To give a little extra boost, we do recommend you plumb to hot water if you have a heat pump, which provides air temperatures of 90 to 100 degrees. Also, plumbing to hot water is required if you are using the blower activation relay to operate the HVAC outside of a call for heat. With no call for heat from your HVAC system, you need to heat the water to provide humidification. As long as your installing dealer sized your humidifier correctly, any application will provide you with all the comfort and protection of proper humidification throughout your entire home.
As for your solenoid valve issues, certain water conditions can lead to a shortened life. Plumbing to softened water can help lengthen the life of this device. Another solution is to contact your plumber and ask about an in-line filter that captures any particles that may be causing the failures.
Thanks again for your question, Rick, and thanks for buying Aprilaire!
Commented on by Robert F. at
1-6-2010 10:33 PM
My Model 700 just doesn't seem to be doing the job on my 2700 square foot house here in Louisville KY. My furnace man came out yesterday and pronounced it in good working order and observed that he didn't think it would ever get my house to 30% or above with the current outdoor temps of low 20s. Is that true? There is no way to get my humidity up to the proper level with your product? Thanks for any info or help you can provide. PS. 20 year old well insulated house with a new furnace and humidifier and your air cleaner also. No condensation on the windows and I have about 4 different hygrometers working since they all read a little different anyway. They are currently reading in the 20-25 % range.
Robert
A model 700 CAN deliver over 30% RH to a home your size and larger. But there are a ton of factors that may be affecting this. If it's colder than 20, it might be a challenge for the humidifier to maintain above 30%. And even though you say the house is well insulated, since it is 20 years old it may be a bit "looser" than newer homes; perhaps not using the latest insulation and maybe looser windows and/or doors. This could affect the capacity to deliver higher degrees of RH.
Take a look at the info in our
owners manual for more info about the settings on the control. You might be able to adjust the setting slightly to increase the RH.
It might also help to use hot water to flow to the humidifier. Not essential, but it is more efficient to the evaporation process. This, along with running your blower more often than just when there is a call for heat, will increase vapor through your ductwork.
Comments for
Larry,
If it is on the supply side, it is most likely installed correctly since either a power or bypass humidifier would be installed there.
A bypass humidifier gets its air movement through the Water Panel® by the differential pressure between the supply (hot air) plenum and the return (cold air) duct. The supply plenum is under positive pressure and the return duct is under negative pressure.
One of the advantages of a bypass humidifier is that it can be installed either on the supply plenum or on the return duct with equal effectiveness. No matter which duct the unit is mounted on, the airflow always goes from the supply to the return through the humidifier.
If your unit is a power humidifier, it would be correct to be mounted on the supply side.
Hope that helps.
I just learned from a customer in South Carolina that they saw a new benefit to dehumidifying their air properly. ODORS! These folks are smokers and I just received this testimonial from them. Here's an excerpt. It's for real. No Bull....
Mr. T. Cadorette- a Homeowner in Sun City shared his story:
“We are looking for Comfort. We did not like the smell in our home. We would clean and odors would remain. We tried potpourri. Our carpet was feeling wet or damp when you walked on it. At night I would get sweaty and would have trouble breathing. We also kept our thermostat in the low seventies during air conditioning season.
“Yes, we smoke in the house and now it is hard to tell. I feel it is because Prestige (our HVAC contractor) installed an Aprilaire Dehumidifier. Our carpet feels drier and I do not have night sweats anymore. In fact we have been able to be comfortable in our home with the thermostat set in the high seventies during the summer. Our home does not smell anymore either.”
The Aprilaire Humidifiers are evaporative humidifiers. Aprilaire humidifiers are available as a bypass or power model. A bypass humidifier gets its air movement through the Water Panel® by the differential pressure between the supply (hot air) plenum and the return (cold air) duct. The supply plenum is under positive pressure and the return duct is under negative pressure.
One of the advantages of a bypass humidifier is that it can be installed either on the supply plenum or on the return duct with equal effectiveness. No matter which duct the unit is mounted on, the airflow always goes from the supply to the return through the humidifier.
A power humidifier gets its air movement through the evaporative Water Panel® from an internal fan. The fan in a power humidifier draws air from the supply plenum into the unit, through the water panel. The humidified air is then discharged out the slots on each side of the base of the unit and back into the supply plenum, where it is distributed to the home by the HVAC blower through the ductwork of the system. The power humidifier is designed to be installed on the supply plenum, however may be installed on the return duct provided a hot water supply is used.
Aprilaire humidifiers are designed to operate in conjunction with your furnace blower motor. Most installers wire a humidifier to operate when the furnace is calling for heat. Each Aprilaire unit uses the same high-quality components. As a result both the bypass and power type humidifiers will effectively humidify the same home. We offer both types due to the square footage of a home, type of heating and cooling system, along with the space available for installation.
Your licensed heating and air conditioning contractor is the best person to recommend which Aprilaire is best for your application is since they have first-hand knowledge of your heating and cooling system.
Do you have an Aprilaire 2200 or 2400 air cleaner? If so you’re probably familiar with the Aprilaire 201 and 401 replacement filters. The 201 and 401 filter is a great product that has been around almost 30 years; many manufacturers have tried to duplicate the performance of the 201 and 401 without much success. The numerous knock off’s are low quality, which means they have a short life, put stress on your HVAC equipment and don’t capture the amount of particulate as the original.
Recently Aprilaire came out with an upgrade to the original 201/401 media. The new MERV 13 media uses new technology that holds more dust, captures nearly twice as much particulate and restricts less airflow throughout its useful life. We use the new style media in our 2000 and 4000 series air cleaners, but the greatest thing about it is you can upgrade your current Aprilaire Air Cleaner to use the improved media without having to buy a whole new air cleaner. We have an
upgrade kit that slides into your older air cleaner and allows it to accept the new media. You only need to purchase the kit once and then you just replace the new media just like you did the 201 and 401 filter. You can get the upgrade from your normal heating and air conditioning contractor; if you are interested in capturing more dust and more particulate out of your homes air just tell your contractor you want to upgrade! You can even do it yourself it takes about 2 minutes and you don't need any tools.
Ron asks:
I have a York heat pump with backup propane furnace. There is limited space in the furnace closet, what is the best Aprilaire to use?
That's a great question, Ron. However, before recommending the right Aprilaire whole-house humidifier for you, we need some more information. We first need to determine the humidification capacity required. For this, we need to know the square footage and age of your home. Also, do you have any devices that would leak a high amount of outside air such as a wood burning fireplace? Once we have determined the amount of humidity required, we can take a look at the limited space you have to mount the humidifier.
An Aprilaire bypass style humidifier can mount on either the supply or return plenum. This comes in handy on installations where there is not much room on the supply due to all the pipes that go to and from the furnace. You can usually find enough room on the supply to run and connect the 6 inch bypass duct. If you absolutely do not have room on either duct, Aprilaire also offers the Models 350 and 360 humidifiers, which can be mounted in the wall or in the floor joists.
Your best option is to call your local Aprilaire dealer to take a look at your particular situation. Your dealer will come to your home and provide an expert opinion and recommend the product and type of installation that will meet all your humidification needs.
Thanks for the question, Ron, and thanks for choosing Aprilaire.
Did you know....Marilyn vos Savant has been writing the popular "Ask Marilyn" column for PARADE since 1986. Her column has elicited responses from elementary school level to post-graduate Ph.Ds. She is the author of several books, as well as short stories and essays.
Marilyn explains how humidity affects comfort
In her December 6, 2009 column, Marilyn answers a question from Valerie in Riverton, Utah, who asks why she is not comfortable.
"My house has central heating and air-conditioning, and it’s well insulated. But if I set the thermostat to 72°F in the winter, I feel too cool. And if I set it to 72°F in the summer, I’m too warm. Shouldn’t I feel comfortable at that temperature in one of those seasons?"
—Valerie Sorensen, Riverton, Utah
Marilyn answers
"Not unless the relative humidity is right. When the air is dry, the same temperature feels cooler than it does when the air is moist. So if it’s 72°F and the air is dry (as in winter), many people feel too cool. But if the air is moist (as in summer), they feel too warm. This is why we often use humidifiers in winter and dehumidifiers in summer."
As usual, Marilyn is correct. To achieve the optimal level of humidity in your home, call your local Aprilaire dealer who can recommend the whole-house product that will increase your comfort and protect your valuable possessions. Call today.
Aprilaire - The number one choice for whole-house comfort!
The cold weather has come and it’s going to continue to get colder and colder. That means your heating system is going to be running more and more. Now is the time to make sure your HVAC filters have been changed to insure your heating system runs at peak efficiency this winter, and that it’s in tip top shape when the cooling season rolls around.
It doesn’t matter if you have a 1” filter or you have an Aprilaire whole home air cleaner make sure your filter hasn’t past its useful life.
If you only use a 1” filter you should seriously consider having an Aprilaire whole home air cleaner installed. 1” filters have 3 major problems with them. First, they are either low efficiency (Meaning they don’t capture much particulate out of the air.) or they are high efficiency, but also have a high pressure drop (Meaning they restrict the air going through them. Picture a brick wall it would make a great filter, but no air could get through it.) high pressure drop wastes energy and puts more stress on your HVAC system meaning it shortens the life of your system. The final drawback to a 1” filter is cost; a $12 filter that lasts 30 days will actually cost you $144 a year. An Aprilaire replacement filter lasts 1 year and will cost you less then half the amount of replacing 1” filters plus you’re getting a better performing filtration system that requires less maintenance.
For the benefit of your HVAC system and your family’s health think about ridding your life of 1” replacement filters and make the move to an Aprilaire whole home air cleaner.
Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Do you feel cold and clammy, even though the temperature seems to be at the right level? Do you have musty odors or smells in any areas of your home? It could be that your home’s relative humidity (RH) is high.
Excess RH can cause all of the above and more. The old saying "it's not the heat, it's the humidity" rings true in many ways. Excess RH can cause discomfort, trigger health issues such as allergies and asthma, and cause severe damage to your home. Experts in Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) agree that maintaining your RH between 30% and 60% is optimal to control or eliminate problems associated with excess moisture in the home. The question is, how can you do this? The answer is, with a whole-house dehumidifier from Aprilaire.
Aprilaire is your whole-house solution
Unlike portable dehumidifiers that only remove moisture from the room they're in, Aprilaire works in conjunction with your home’s HVAC system to efficiently remove moisture from every room of your home. Maintenance is also a breeze with Aprilaire, as only periodic cleaning of the air filter is required. No messy, heavy tanks to empty and clean on a daily basis, which is what you have to do with the portables.
Call your local Aprilaire dealer and schedule the installation of your whole-house dehumidifier today. Your dealer can help you choose the model that is right for your home and make it possible for you to sleep better tonight.
Aprilaire - Protecting you and your home for over 50 years!
Did you know....Whole-house evaporative, or flow-through, humidifiers are designed to work in conjunction with your home’s heating system to provide controlled humidification throughout your entire home. These humidifiers typically operate whenever your thermostat is calling for heat and your humidifier control indicates a need for humidification. However, what if you live in a mild climate where there is not much call for heat, but your air is still dry? You need a way for the humidifier to turn on your HVAC blower so you can be protected from all the ailments of dry air.
The Blower Activation Relay to the rescue
The Aprilaire Blower Activation Relay (part number 4851) is an easy to install device that enables you to turn on your HVAC blower on a call for humidity. The installation of this device enables you to enjoy all the benefits of proper humidification regardless of a call for heat. Your local Aprilaire dealer can install the Blower Activation Relay in a matter of minutes. The only other requirement to get adequate capacity is to make sure the humidifier is plumbed to hot water.
Call your Aprilaire dealer and schedule the installation of your whole-house humidifier today. And if you're concerned you do not get enough heating system run-time, ask about the Blower Activation Relay. You'll be glad you did.
Aprilaire - Protecting you from dry air, with or without heat, for over 50 years!
In the heating and air conditioning world zoning referrers to adding conditioned air to only specific areas of the house.
Most homes have one
thermostat on the ground level of the home. The thermostat takes a temperature reading of the air from the wall it is mounted on and determines whether or not the whole home needs heating or cooling. This works out ok for homes that are small and only have one level, but it does work for multi level, split level, etc. homes. In most homes you can walk around from room to room, floor to floor and notice a wide range of temperatures. It is common to have a two story home where the second floor is hot, basement is cold, and the first floor is at the desired temperature. How does the thermostat on the first floor know what the temperature on other floors and other rooms is? It doesn’t.
Some homes are zoned by using multiple, smaller heating and air conditioning systems through out the house. This works fine but can be very expensive. A more
cost effective way to zone the house is with the use of multiple thermostats and motorized dampers in the ductwork. You put
thermostats in each zone (example one on the first floor, second floor and basement) and when one thermostat calls for heating or cooling it sends a signal to a zone panel, the zone panel turns the heating or cooling, closes the dampers to each zone that is not asking for heating or cooling and only conditions the zone that is asking heating or cooling.
Zoning keeps your home at a more even temperature and saves you $$ by only conditioning the areas of the home that need it.
Commented on by Lynne Benoit at 11-17-2009 3:46 PM (UTC)
We have been told we need a unit in the condo and it cannot go in the attic because of freezing. The cost is prohibitive. What alternatives do you have?
Lynne, I couldn't tell if you were inquiring about a DEhumidifier (to take moisture out) or a Humidifier (to add moisture when heating your home dries out your air).
If you need to DEhumidify, Aprilaire offers a stand-alone high capacity unit that can be used in any room and doesn't require ducting. You just need a floor drain, or if you want to drain it to the outdoors, possibly add a condensate pump.
If you need a humidifier, Aprilaire model 350 or 360 are self-contained units that draw air from one room, say a laundry room or utility closet, humidifies it and sends it through the wall into living space.
Your best bet is to call a local Aprilaire dealer to assess your spedific needs.
As a last resort, if these alternatives don't work for your condo for some reason, then you should consider portables. They are not as efficient and they do require extra maintenance, but are better than nothing.
Thanks for asking!
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