My Aprilaire 550 is running every time the furnace comes on and we are not getting an improvement on the low humidity. Our house is about 1200 square feet. Any suggestions? We have installed an energy efficient furnace recently.
Aprilaires' response: Thank you for contacting us with regards to your model 550 Humidifier. The energy efficient furnace may be running less than the previous model. By limiting the run time of the 550, it's performance over an hour will drop. Is your humidifier fed by hot water or cold water? The 550 will perform better with water temperature as close to 140°F as possible. This will also give you the added benefit of being able to run the humidifier with just your furnace fan. You may need to speak to your contractor to ensure it's properly wired to run with the heat and with the fan, but if it is, you can turn your thermostat's fan switch to the On position, the water provides the heat, and you can get humidity 24 hrs/day or until your desired set point is reached.
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!
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 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.
I am installing this unit (500A) on a heat pump system, can I install the unit on the return duct, with the 6" pipe running from the supply to the unit?
Aprilaires' Response:
This unit is reversible and can be installed on the supply or return and configured for right- or left-side bypass. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.
I have an 8346 that runs the heat pump in my home. It works well, but I desire to have control over the temperature offset when the backup (electric) heat comes on. Ideally, I'd like the electric backup to come on only if the actual temperature was more than 3 degrees off of the set temperature. I don't mind the temperature swing and I'd rather save the money.
After talking with someone from Home Depot, this weekend I purchased an 8366 to replace the 8346 and have control the secondary stage offset. However, when I got home, it appears the terminal board for the 8366 is not the same as the 8346. Can you tell me what wires go to which? Or is the 8366 not able to control a heat pump?
Aprilaires' response:
The Model 8366 is not a heat pump thermostat so you will not be able to use it.
The Model 8346 is a heat pump thermostat and you can adjust the differential from 1, 2, and 3 degrees. If you set the differential to 2 degrees the heat would need to fall 2 degrees below the set point before the heat pump would come on. Then it would have to drop another 2 degrees before the electric heat would come on.
The directions for changing the differential are in the operating instruction. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
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.
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.
"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!
"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!
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.”
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.
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!
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.
Aprilaire’s new 8400 Thermostat is a great way to control your heating and cooling system. It has a large easy to read screen, fan circulation mode for improved indoor air quality and because it’s programmable it will save you up to 30% off your energy bills! Learn more here.
Here's a shameless copy and paste of a customer review on Amazon. I hesitate to show this, because it's from a do-it-yourselfer.
We DON'T RECOMMEND installing these units yourself. We get all kinds of complaints from homeowners who tried and failed. IT'S NOT WORTH IT! Spend the extra money and call a qualified HVAC contractor! It's a one-time deal. Don't cheap out!
Besides, if you install one yourself, it NULIFIES THE WARRANTY!
Anyway, the point is ENERGY SAVINGS! With proper humidity, IT'S FOR REAL!
Easy to install and automatically adjusts to keep house comfortable while preventing too much moisture and condensation from forming on windows. With proper humidity control we were able to reduce thermostat setting by 3-5ºF and pocket the fuel savings.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Spend your tax return wisely
Aprilaire response
Marilyn explains how humidity affects comfort
ling system. It has a large easy to read screen, fan circulation mode for improved indoor air quality and because it’s programmable it will save you up to 30% off your energy bills! 
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