I live in an area with a high water table, and my basement gets quite humid; it recently flooded when the sump pump failed. The basement area is about 1300 to 1500 sq ft, and is divided into rooms, though only two of those rooms (one of which is a store room that also houses the sump) have doors. There is also a small room housing the gas furnace and hot-water heater. I used to have a small, inadequate dehumidifier (built into the partition between the main room and sump room) that ran all the time and did little good. One satisified owner in a similar locale has recommended the Wave Home Solutions ventilation unit, which should certainly use less power than a large dehumidifier, but I'd like other opinions. Anyone here have experience with it? Any suggestions on what to look for in a regular dehumidifier?
All the Wave does is vent the basement, just put a fan in a basement window and there is your expensive "wave". It wont do much, ive tried my own homemade setup and it didnt help me. My Energy Star humidifier uses about 4-5$ a month on a 600 sq ft basement and keeps my humididty low, if its below around 68 in the basement when you plan on using it get a low temp model, consumer reports has reviews online.
I have a damp basement split into three rooms. I used to run two dehumidifiers down there, then learned that setting up a fan on a timer in one of the rooms allowed me to get just as good results with only one dehumidifier. I have the fan run three times a day for two hours each time. It uses a lot less electricity than a second dehumidifier, and moves the air well enough that one dehumidifier can work efficiently. It'd be a cheap thing for you to try out and see if it works for you. Note: I use a box fan set on the floor, because the dampest air is down by the floor, and I figure anything smaller than a box fan wouldn't cut the mustard.
One satisified owner
I looked into the Humidex, which is essentially the same thing under a different brand. It was expensive, so I ginned up a homemade version using six-inch ductwork running up the wall from the floor and venting out a basement window. I placed a six-inch fan on the floor right into the duct, so it would draw the damp floor air up and out the window. I turned off my usual dehumidifier/fan combo and gave this setup a three-day test, allowing it to run constantly. I quit after three days, because the increase in humidity in the basement was _very_ noticeable.
A couple things to note - a basement dehumidifier gets a big boost when central a/c is running - but I'm in a climate where I run central air only occasionally, so my basement dehumidifier usually doesn't get that assist and does fine anyway. I did not have the central air on when my DIY device was running, and frankly, just exhausting the basement air (which is all it does) wasn't sufficient to keep down the humidity. This concept probably works a lot better when central a/c is running, because the central a/c ends up doing the dehumidifying. So if you run a/c most of the summer, it might work out better for you. I expect the commercial version probably works a bit more efficiently than my DIY version, but given the results of my DIY version, I ended up disconnecting it and going back to my usual dehumidifier/fan combo.
Frankly, I was disappointed. I'd hoped I'd be able to get away from running the dehumidifier altogether. Nope.
In June I had a Wave system installed in my ranch home for $1500. I am not handy so I didn't dare try to build the system detailed in this forum.
In installer thought our basement door was too nice to cut in a vent so we just leave it open. The late June and July weather was like august. High heat and humidity. The central air ran continuously.
My concern was the cost of electricity for this system and using the air conditioned air. Well, I just received my electric bill and it was about the same as last August where the AC was always on.
AND, my basement is dry and there is no mildew smell. Up until now I used a dehumidifier but it never dried out the basement and there was always a damp like smell. Also it cost about $35-45 a month to run.
So, the bottom line is that the Wave works. I know it was costly, but it works much better than a dehumidifier and uses much, much less electricity.
My Wave System continues to do the job but I wanted to add something.
When it was first installed I noticed that it constantly cycled with the fan turing on and off every few seconds.
I c contacted a service rep who was very helpful and assured me the unit was operating properly and was getting itself adjusted.
A week or so ago he called me back and explained that because they had received many calls similar to mine, they looked into the matter and developed some better software to control the unit. He told me they were sending me a new control panel unit, at no cost. I believe the man's name is Ron and he was very friendly and helpful. He was wonderful to deal with.
The next day I received the unit. All I had to do was remove four screws, unplug the circuit board and install the new one. A five minute task. I then returned the old one in a Fedex mailer they provided.
The unit no longer goes through the constant cycling. It gets the atmosphere to me desired setting (55%) and maintains it. When it drops below my setting, it runs at a very low speed.
Now that is what I call great customer service. I just wanted to share this info because it is nice dealing with a company like this.
replying to Jim, nowave wrote: I have had the Wave now for 4 years. It has not done what it was intended to do. Dry out the basement. I was told that the unit needs to be installed in the furthest corner of the basement (2500 sqft) and the draw will large enough to pull the humidity for the entire area. I also asked if it mattered that the basement was finished and they said no sweat. My basement has been as wet as ever along with mildew. It was essentially junk. I am now looking for a true dehumidifier system, even if I have to pay more money per month to run the system. What am I saving? More dollars for a problem never solved? I believe I was mislead by sales on the capacity the unit could handle, along with the knowledge of a finished basement. Stay away from this product! Do more research for a dehumidifier vs. Wave. Trust me.
Hi Jim, what type of wave system or company did you use for the wave installation? I would like to look into this further and maybe even consider giving the route you took a try... Thanks..
IMO, the big problem with Wave is that they only tell you part of the equation. They tell you that it works by drawing fresh air into the basement, while exhausting the air that's there. And that it costs a lot less to run than a dehumidifier. That last part apparently is based on how much it costs to run the Wave fan. What they ignore is the rest of the story. As it blows air out of the basement, the make up air is brought in from upstairs, from the conditioned house air. So, in summer, you're pulling AC cooled air into the basement, then pumping it outside. The makeup air for upstairs comes from outside. So, you're paying to cool that air with your AC unit, it just doesn't show up in the electricity number for the Wave unit.
In principle, it seems like is should work. Essentially, AFAIK, it's just an exhaust fan on a humidistat. I could make up similar from off the shelf parts for not much money. IDK what they charge for a Wave, they won't tell you on the website, which IMO, is never a good thing. The real question is how efficient is it versus a dehumidifier and how much it costs versus one.
replying to trader_4, Wink Knudge wrote: That seems to be the concept, just an exhaust fan with a humidity sensor controlling when it turns on. If the humidity is above a threshold, it switches the fan on, otherwise, it's not needed and turns off. If you don't have an AC in the house, it'd actually end up pulling outside air into the house, and if it's humid outside, makes things worse in regard to humidity. The radon and pollutants would be helped, but if humidity is the main purpose, the dehumidification has to be done either by the separate AC system, or if it's dryer outside to get a benefit.
And if you have AC upstairs, it's pulling outside air into the house through cracks, window seals, door seals, etc, cooling it, sucking it into the basement, then pumping it outside. I've never seen the Wave folks talk about the energy loss, extra AC involved there, only how little it costs to run their unit with the little fan. Maybe we're missing something, but I haven't seen anyone explain what it is.
The radon and pollutants would be helped, but if humidity is the
+1
One benefit for sure is you're getting fresh air into the basement, so I don't doubt it will make it smell better, reduce typical basement odor, etc.
i find that simply opening the basement windows ONLY on those days that the sky is blue and the outside humidity is low and running a circulating fan 24/7 works pretty well.
I do run a standard dehumidifier if there is a long spell of humid days.
replying to Ivan, jill wrote: it does not work and then no resonse after the installation . No answered emails or return follow up . a scam and I fell for it and did not trust my intuition . They say to set it on 30 percent. after three days nothing but a basement still at 70percent humidity which I bought a meter at the hardware store . No response back from DALE.
Is it only drawing air from upstairs in the house? What's the temp and humidity there? It won't be lower humidity than that and if it's say
78F temp upstairs and 60F in the basement, then the humidity in the basement will be higher than that upstairs as the air cools. The system relies on pulling conditioned air from upstairs into the basement while pushing basement air outside. It also depends on how it's installed. I would think that if you had the exhaust on one end of the basement, the air coming from upstairs at the opposite end, it would work well. If you have the exhaust at one end and the air from upstairs coming down close by, it will just be sucking air from upstairs and pushing it outside, not doing much to change the humidity in the rest of the basement.
Drew, the sales guy, promises the moon and fails to deliver. Sounds like ha lf snake, half used car salesman. When sending email correspondence he only answers some question and seems to have problems communicating.
After the sell, you'll get no response until you open a card dispute. Then, they demand pictures proving their ideal install. They will make you jump through fiery hopes to return the item and then will charge you a restockin g fee.
This device, just so you are aware, is a very large PC style fan in a large empty box. Weighs ~1 pound. All it will do is provide so ventilation. You can buy a much more powerful squirrel cage fan for 10% of the cost. They cl aim it will take multiples SEAONS for humidity to go down lol. Does nothing but push air (A very small amount).
Told this con artist my outside humidity is higher than inside, but still p romised it would work. When trying to do a return you get routed to another company - because they are only white labeling the use of this product. I use this word sparingly, but it's a brilliant scam. You've been warned.
half snake, half used car salesman. When sending email correspondence he on ly answers some question and seems to have problems communicating.
n, they demand pictures proving their ideal install. They will make you jum p through fiery hopes to return the item and then will charge you a restock ing fee.
ge empty box. Weighs ~1 pound. All it will do is provide so ventilation. Yo u can buy a much more powerful squirrel cage fan for 10% of the cost. They claim it will take multiples SEAONS for humidity to go down lol. Does nothi ng but push air (A very small amount).
promised it would work.
It will work with outside humidity higher. It pulls air OUT of the basemen t, with return air coming from upstairs, inside the conditioned airspace. Say it's 85F outside, high humidity. So, you have the AC running in the house. This thing blows basement air outside, with the replacement air coming into the basement from the conditioned air upstairs, that is low humidity. That upstairs air in turn is made up by outside air entering through cracks around doors, windows, etc. So, you're pulling high humidit y, hot air into the upstairs with the house AC cooling it and removing the humidity. They tell you it costs little to operate the fan, but ignore the AC energy upstairs that has an increased load due to constantly pulling in outside hot, humid air. AFAIK, that's how it works. So, I can see how it works, but it also sounds like the true cost shows up in the AC electric usage, which will be higher. There is no free lunch.
I came to your conclusion from looking at it years ago. Like you say, it's just a fan with a humidistat control. You could put that together for what, $75 in parts?
When trying to do a return you get routed to another company - because the y are only white labeling the use of this product. I use this word sparingl y, but it's a brilliant scam. You've been warned.
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