It's March 11, 2010 in Madison, Wisconsin. The outside temperature is a seasonal 43 degrees, with an expected high of 53 degrees. Not bad. What is bad is that the relative humidity (RH) is a whopping 93%. Wow! That's what's going on outside. How does that translate into what's going on in your home? Chances are your indoor RH is rapidly rising, leaving you very uncomfortable and putting your home at risk from the dangers of mold, mildew, bacteria, viruses and more. What can you do to eliminate these risks and concerns? Install a whole-house dehumidifier from Aprilaire.
Aprilaire is your whole-house solution
An Aprilaire whole-house dehumidifier works in conjunction with your home’s HVAC system to efficiently remove moisture from every room of your home. Also, unlike portable units that only remove moisture from the room they are sitting in, Aprilaire dehumidifiers have no messy tanks to empty and clean. Aprilaire truly is the best dehumidification solution.
Call your local Aprilaire dealer and schedule the installation of your Aprilaire whole-house dehumidifier. End the suffering; call today.
Aprilaire - protecting you and your family for over 50 years!
Did you suffer from the ill-effects of dry air this winter because you don't have a whole- house humidifier? Did you have dry, itchy skin or get jolted by static shocks? Did the woodwork in your home shrink and crack? One more question; do you have a tax return coming this year?
Spend your tax return wisely
If you're tired of suffering every winter and you have a tax return coming your way, suffer no longer. Aprilaire is the industry leader in residential indoor air quality (IAQ). Not only do we have products that ensure proper levels of relative humidity (RH) throughout your entire home, we offer the best in whole-house air cleaners, thermostats, ventilation, and zoning. Aprilaire is also viewed as the best IAQ value in the industry. So much so that after you've paid for your Aprilaire humidifier, you'll probably have enough tax return dollars left over to buy that techno-gadget you've had your eye on.
Call your local Aprilaire dealer and schedule the installation of your whole-house humidifier today. Getting your Aprilaire whole-house humidifier installed now will give you peace of mind going into next year’s heating season.
Aprilaire - protecting you and your family, and providing peace of mind, for over 50 years!
My humidifier is not sending water to the panel. Water is flowing to the valve but it seems to be shutting off the flow.
Aprilaires' response:
There are three components that govern the valve. The humidistat sends the activation signal to the valve when the furnace is running. The second part is the transformer or power source that the humidistat uses. The third would be the solenoid valve itself. If it has a signal to open and voltage and it doesn't, the issue is the valve. You may need to call your installer to have them check over the system. They can verify which part, if any, needs to be replaced.
Is it possible to upgrade the efficiency of the pre-filter from the current MERV-8?
Aprilaires' Response:
Thank you for contacting us with regards to our Model 1750 Dehumidifier. We do not offer a high-efficiency filter for this model other than the supplied MERV 8. However, if this unit were attached to your HVAC system and its intake positioned downstream of your HVAC filter, that could potentially have a higher efficiency than MERV 8. In that situation, the internal filter would not be needed as all air it uses would be pulled through your HVAC filter. For example, our Aprilaire whole-home air cleaners begin at MERV 10 and go higher from there. The two could work together to give the 1750 cleaner air than the dehumidifier could create on its own.
We appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance.
Do you remember last spring when all the snow was finally melted and it got warm enough
outside to go without a jacket? Do you also remember that it wasn't warm enough to turn on the air conditioning, but you still felt uncomfortable? This happens every spring due to the high levels of relative humidity (RH). The phrase "it's not the heat, it's the humidity" is all too true. High RH levels can make it feel like it's 5 to 10 degrees warmer than it actually is. One way to combat this is to turn on your air conditioner, as moisture removal is a natural byproduct of air conditioning. But in order to remove the excess moisture, you need to cool the air to a level that makes you too cold. 
Aprilaire to the rescue
A whole-house dehumidifier from Aprilaire works in conjunction with your home’s HVAC system to remove excess moisture from every room of your home. Unlike air conditioning that is designed primarily to cool your home, Aprilaire removes moisture when AC is not required, efficiently removing moisture and providing the comfort you deserve. Maintenance is a breeze with Aprilaire as well. Unlike portable dehumidifiers that require you to empty and clean a tank on a daily basis, Aprilaire dehumidifiers only require an annual filter cleaning. Hassle free convenience and comfort; that's what Aprilaire is all about.
Contact your Aprilaire dealer and schedule the installation of your whole-house dehumidifier today and avoid all the discomforts you felt last year. Your family will thank you for it.
Aprilaire - fresh ideas for indoor air.
I am having a similar problem. I just installed a 600A humidifier and the control is set at 7. The 600A humidistat says that the air is at 42% RH, but I have two other humidity meters in the living area that read 33%. Does the 600A humidistat need calibration?
Aprilaires' Response:
Thank you for contacting us with regards to your model 600A Humidifier. The humidistat for this unit does not require calibration. It does, however, only update its display when it detects activity in the furnace, typically the heating mode. If the display constantly shows 42%, regardless of humidity changes in the home, the control may not be wired correctly. If the control does change its display, but stays around 9% apart from the other gauge, then the issue is just a discrepancy between devices. Most gauges will be accurate within 5% to 10% of actual humidity. With the humidity reading at 42% on the humidistat and the control setting at 7, we would expect that the humidifier will be running with each heat cycle of your furnace as long as outdoor temperature is 20°F or higher. If this unit is operating in the manual mode, it should run under these same conditions regardless of outdoor temperature.
Do these units work independently from your current heating system.
I have a forced air unit located in a closet accessed from the outside.
This is in the mountains of Colorado where freezing is a problem. Cannot
connect humidification systems directly to the furnace for that reason.
Would this unit be hooked up to a water supply so it would work all the time or
does one need to add water when it is needed
Aprilaires' response:
Our models 350 and 360 are independent units. They do not connect to the HVAC System at all.
They do connect with a hot water line. Simply tap into a hot water line from your house so that they can get water as needed. They also need a drain line connected to them and an outlet for power.
They come with a manual control humidistat that gets mounted on a wall in your living space.
I am interested in installing a whole house humidifier. Primary reason is to reduce crackin
Our house is 18 months old and has a conventional A/C system with ceiling mounted air vents. At the moment they are closed and covered with magnetic vent covers for the winter.
For heat we have a gas fired boiler providing hot water for an in floor radiant heat system "warm board".
Question: Would an Aprilaire system work in conjunction with this type of heat? I assume system would relay on using A/C ducts with a continuous air flow/fan to distribute moist air.
Aprilaires' response:
Thank you for contacting us regarding your interest in the Aprilaire humidifier product line. We are happy to assist you with questions relating to a humidifier recommendation for your application. Based upon the information provided it appears that your heating application consists of hot water radiant floor heat with no duct work required for that system. This type of heating application would typically require the use of one of our self contained humidifiers such as the 350 and 360 models. However, in your application it appears that you do have an air conditioning application that is currently utilizing duct work. Since you do have an air conditioning application in the home the air handler and duct work from this application could be utilized for the use of an Aprilaire whole home humidifier. When utilizing one of our duct mounted humidifiers on an air handler of an air conditioning application, it would require that the humidifier be utilized with hot water at all times and to work in conjunction with the fan operation of the air handler. This type of installation of the application will still allow the humidifier to provide optimum levels of humidification into the home during the driest time of the year. We have listed several questions below that will assist us in identifying the best humidifier for your application at this time.
1.The square footage of the home?
2.The ceiling height within the home?
3.The age of the home?
4.Any new renovations to the home such as windows, siding, and/or insulation?
5.The number of heating systems?
6.The type of heat?
7.Is there access to a drain?
We would be glad to further assist you regarding a recommendation for your application. Upon receiving further information regarding your application, we can determine which product would be best for your application. However, the best individual to make the final decision on a product for your application is a Licensed HVAC contractor. If you could please reply to this email at your earliest convenience, we would be delighted to assist you further.
I installed a 600A 2 weeks ago in my house. The unit runs for the entire heat call from my thermostat, but my house is having trouble maintaining even 30% humidity. It did raise the RH from around 15% to 30%, but I believe it is trying to go to around 40%. I think I need to increase runtime to get more humidity. I plumbed it to hot water. The way it is currently wired, the R and C are continuously powered and W/G and Cf are tied to the thermostat connection when the thermostat calls for heat. If I were to wire R, C, W/G, and Cf all to constant 24v and then the H outputs to the C and blower terminal on my thermostat connection on my furnace would this cause the humidistat to turn on the blower when more humidity is required? Would this cause a problem with my furnace?
Aprilaires' response:
The way that you describe the current wiring for your humidistat is correct. Please do not change it.
What you are describing below not only will disconnect communication to the humidifier itself, but will damage both the furnace and humidistat controller.
The humidifier will only create the amount of humidity selected on the controller. If you have it set for 30%, then that is the goal it will aim to satisfy. It will not continue to humidify past the selected level.
If you would like to achieve more than 30% humidity, simply select a higher setting. If 30% seems right for your home, you may leave it there.
I won't do that. Even our Model 5000, the best whole house particulate removal product, will not deter the harmful affects of 2nd hand smoke. It WILL help clean your air of all kinds of nasty stuff; virus-sized particles, allergens and other contaminants.
It's best just to properly ventilate, or maybe just don't smoke in the house. Go outside with the other 2nd class citizens!
What's the difference between a Model 1750 and Model 1750A
Aprilaire's response:
Thank you for contacting us with regards to our Aprilaire Dehumidifiers. The difference between these two models is primarily the type of refrigerant system used. The 1750 uses an R22-bases system, and the 1750A uses an R410A-based system.
I have what I was told is an April Air (looks like the 700) that came as part of my high end Carrier central AC/heating system a few years ago. We had an Aprilair before and like this one, but, it's humidity is tied to the heating /AC and the wood in the house (and one guitar) are suffering from it being too dry in here. Everything is set right (humidity maxed out on the thermostat), I hear it go on all the time, and it works right, but we don't have your digital controls to get it up to about 50%. How can I upgrade your system to get more humid air? Luckily Fender fixed my guitar but I was told dry air caused the damage and it has never left this house and a new hygrometer puts the humidity at less then 40%. If I need a new and better AprilAir fine. If this one can be upgraded, that is even better.
Thank you
Aprilaires' response:
Thank you for contacting us regarding the Aprilaire product line. We are happy to assist you with questions relating to the operation and performance of your humidifier. Our humidifiers are designed to provide and control up to 45% relative humidity. Our humidistat controls will only allow the humidifier to provide 45% humidity into the home before it will no longer initiate a call for humidity. If you are trying to maintain more than 45% humidity in the home, we would recommend working through your heating and cooling contractor for a 3rd party control that has a higher limit in regards to humidity control.
In order to get optimum levels of humidification within the home, we would recommend utilizing the humidifier with hot water as the water source, and also to allow the humidifier to operate with the fan operation of the heating system. By utilizing the humidifier with hot water as the water source this will help increase the evaporative capacity for the model 700. You will also get optimum use of the model 700 by wiring this unit to operate in conjunction with the fan for the heating application. What this allows you to do is to humidify the home essentially 24 hours a day. Basically, when putting the fan to the on mode you will be able to provide humidity into the home even though the actual heating system is not actually producing heat at the time. The heat from the water will provide the heat that is needed in the evaporation process. By utilizing the application with hot water and fan operation you will be optimizing the performance of our product and be providing a higher level of comfort within the home.
We would be happy to further assist you with any questions relating to the operation and performance of your humidifier. If there are any further questions regarding your application, please contact us at your earliest convenience.
What are the main differences between the #56 and #58 humidistat? If I want
to use a 6504 zone controller with a #58 humidistat how would I wire it
since there is no + & - terminals? Will the 6504 only work with the #56
humidistat? Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Aprilaires' Response:
The Model 56 and 58 humidistats both work the same way. They are both automatic humidistats that use an outdoor sensor to automatically adjust the indoor humidity level as the outdoor temperature changes. A couple of years ago we added the digital display, a "call dealer for service light", and a "humidifier on" light. These three things are the main differences between the two humidistats.
If you have a 6504 zone controller you would need to use the Model 56. The 6504 firmware hasn't been upgraded to recognize the Model 58.
I hope this answers your questions. Please let us know if you need anything else.
We are a contractor operating in Toronto, Ontario Canada. We recently
installed an Aprilaire 700 Humidifier for a customer. Our customer prefers
the model model 700A. Can his 700M !!! be upgraded to 700A, without having
to replace the whole unit?
Aprilaires' Repsonse:
The 700M may be converted to the 700A by replacing the manual humidistat (part #4655) with our automatic digital humidifier control (part #58). The only difference between the 700M and 700A is the control. Since they are one in the same it will also use the same Aprilaire water panel number 35, also refered to as a replacement humidifier filter.
Do you ever wonder why your basement has a stale, musty smell? Or why the temperature is only 70 degrees, yet you're sweating and uncomfortable? The answer is high humidity. Too much moisture makes you feel miserable and can lead to damage to your home from mold and mildew, neither of which is acceptable. Do you ever wonder if there is a solution to excess moisture?
Aprilaire is the answer
A whole-house dehumidifier from Aprilaire solves your excess moisture problems. It works in conjunction with your home’s HVAC system to quietly and efficiently remove excess moisture from every room of your home. Maintenance with Aprilaire is also a breeze. Unlike noisy portable dehumidifiers that take up space in your living room, Aprilaire dehumidifiers have no messy tanks to empty and clean. Simply wash or replace the air filter on an annual basis. That's it. We call it "out of sight, out of mind."
Call your local Aprilaire dealer and schedule the installation of your Aprilaire whole-house dehumidifier today. Your family and your home will thank you.
Aprilaire - fresh ideas for indoor air.
Question submitted to Aprilaire:
The humidifier is installed such that when the humidistat calls for humidity, it turns on the furnace blower, even though the furnace is not calling for heat. As a result, during dry weather, the furnace blower runs almost continuously in response to the humidifier. This results in cool air coming from the vents, except when the furnace is on. Since we keep the temperature low, this is most of the time. Is this the correct setup, or should the humidifier only run when the furnace is calling for heat? Hope this explanation is clear....thanks
Aprilaires' Response:
Thank you for contacting us with regards to our Model 600 Humidifier. The behavior you describe indicates that your unit was installed using a Blower Activation Relay. This relay allows the humidifier to activate the furnace fan whenever humidity is low. For this to work properly, the humidifier should also be fed by hot water, up to 140°F. All of this is not to say that your installation was correct or incorrect, but this is one set-up option to provide you with the most humidifier run time. If you would prefer that it run only with your heat, you can speak to your contractor about that option as well. Keep in mind that this may mean that with less humidifier run time, the humidity will not rise as quickly in your home. Once your home reaches the set point on your humidistat, the humidifier should turn off. It would only turn on as much as is needed to maintain that level.
Last season, the humidifier worked great, no problems. This season, the water just runs through the water panel without distributing out and wicking throughout the whole panel. I've replaced the panel, replaced the distribution tray and still the same thing. Is there something else that can be done? Please advise.
Aprilaires' Response:
The way the humidifier works is; when the furnace comes on, the humidistat calls for humidity and the humidifier turns on. The water solenoid valve opens, water comes up the plastic feed tube and falls into the water distribution tray. Then if the humidifier is level the water will fill up in the distribution tray and will go down the six holes in the tray equally. Then water goes down through the center of the water panel and any water that wasn't evaporated goes down the drain.
The water panels are made out of multiple sheets of slit and expand aluminum. The slits in the aluminum are angled to funnel the water to the center of the water panel. So the water panel should be wet in the center and almost dry on the outside layers.
If you have lack of humidity you may need to increase the humidifiers runtime. The most common reason for lack of humidity is lack of run time. If the humidifier runs every time the furnace comes on, runs whole time the furnace is on, and gets forced to turn off when the furnace goes off, it is added as much humidity as the furnace is allowing it to. If the humidifier could run longer it would. So if the humidifier is wired to run with the furnace fan, and if the humidifier is connected to hot water (140 Max) it can add up to 18 gallons of water to the air per day. You can turn your furnace fan on at the thermostat, let run your furnace fan continually and let the humidifier run as many hours a day as it needs to.
I hope this helps, please let us know if you or your HVAC contractor need any other assistance.
Outside temperature sensor was not installed because the required wiring was not installed. Will 600A unit still operate correctly? What do I need to do because the sensor is not installed?
For normal operation in Winter?
For shut off in Summer?
Response from Aprilaire:
Your 600 should be operating in manual mode. To know this there should be a blue "Manual Mode" clip hanging below the humidistat. When in manual mode, the unit will operate to the setting it is set at until changed. There is a reference guide to show what humidity should be present at a certain temp.. (you will want to look at pages 6-7)
Please review the guide as it will be helpful. When you use the manual mode, all adjustments will be done by you. If you ever decide to change it to automatic mode, the sensor adjusts the indoor humidity in accordance to the outside temperature.
In the summer, simply turn the damper to the "summer" position on the unit to close off air flow.
Springtime is just around the corner. Soon all of us will be able to turn off the furnace, open the windows, and let some fresh air in the house. Or will we? The outdoor temperature seems inviting, but how's that humidity? When you open those windows, do you also open up the potential to bring in lots of moisture that can make you uncomfortable as well as damage your home? You could keep the windows closed and turn on the air conditioner in an effort to dry out the air. But now you’re too cold...and frustrated.
Aprilaire has your dehumidification solution
Aprilaire has a full line of whole-house dehumidifiers that provide all the health and comfort benefits that come with proper levels of humidification. Aprilaire dehumidifiers work quietly in conjunction with your home’s HVAC system to protect every room of your home from the downfalls of excess moisture. This includes your health and comfort, as well as your personal property. Maintenance is a breeze with Aprilaire as well. There are no messy tanks to empty and clean. Simply clean the filter once a year and you're good to go.
Contact your local Aprilaire dealer and schedule the installation of your whole-house dehumidifier today. You'll immediately feel the difference.
Aprilaire - fresh ideas for indoor air.
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