Quote:
Originally Posted by jason604
Sounds expensive lol. I think ima go with a dehumidistat and a quiet bathroom fan
|
Potentially yes, if you bought new and had a professional install it.
I bought mine second hand for less than a new low sone bath fan at home depot and installed it myself. But being a journeyman sheet metal worker and having installed hundreds of them, it wasn't a big deal.
It is "generally" considered the best way to fix the problem you've described. Any other method described using bath fans are just trying to imitate what an HRV does, albeit for less initial money but without re-couperating any heat you've already paid to heat by some other means. And if no make up air is provided, creating negative pressure in a home which could be dangerous.
An average of 50 Canadians die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning, not to mention the hundreds who get sick from it and are permanently disabled.
Only reason I harp on this one thing, is I'm also retired firefighter/EMT and have seen and dealt with the effects of CO poisoning more than once. It is a definite risk when installing exhaust fans and not providing make up air in homes with gas fired appliances.
This post isn't specifically directed at you, Jason604, I know often times funds and manpower are often deciding factors of what we would like to do over what we CAN do. I've seen this question asked over and over here and on RC and the $60 bath fan wins out many times over. And that's totally fine as long as you can also provide some fresh air vent that allows the rooms air pressure to balance. But it appears generally people greatly underestimate the danger of CO poisoning. I can't tell you how many homes I've been to where people have plugged up their combustion air pails by the furnace and hot water tanks with towels because they always feel cold air coming in. It just makes me shake my head. Anyway... I've said my peace, I won't say anymore.
De-humidifiers do work, but at the cost of adding heat and a much greater use of electricity.