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I am considering bringing down in my container several dehumidifiers. I lived in Florida, of course with the a/c on 24/7 no problem with mold/mildew. Any thoughts or anyone have them and how is it working out. Gracias in advance,
Dehumidifiers need an enclosed space to work well. If you are planning on using them in a house where you keep windows open for breezes they will not work well.
they are essential for here, otherwise there is no way to get the humidity below 70%. we usually open all the doors and windows in the morning when the humidity levels are low, then when the clouds roll in, as they are about to do now, we close everything up and turn the dehumid on for 4 – 5 hours. there are times during the dry season where you will not need it at all, but they’re a must have in the green season otherwise everything feels a little damp, especially things like down pillows and down comforters.
We’re at 4,100 feet above sea level and get along fine without dehumidifiers. Our windows are open all day, year ’round. If possible, I’d avoid the costs of purchase and operation and the maintenance. Electricity here is not as expensive as in some places, but it’s on an upward sliding scale. The more you use the higher the rate. And something like a dehumidifier, with its constantly-running compressor, will draw a lot of kilowatt hours over the course of a month.
Informative forum. We are currently living in Pennsylvania, with no need for dehumidifiers. We just bought a home in CR, near the beach, I will have to add dehumidifiers to my list of things to bring to CR. Thanks to everyone, for the heads-up.
soldier, is your home near the beach air conditioned? If yes, then the primary function of an air conditioner is to dehumidify, so why bring separate units to do the same task?
David: Our land is outside San Ramon at about 3300′. So you think that we will NOT need dehumidifiers? I was considering a couple, but am intrigued that you are NOT using them. Costa Rica seems to be the land of 1000 microclimates! I was also considering purchasing an electric towel warmer, just to have a nice, crispy, warm towel and to have a toasty bathroom in the morning. Many of these units now come with a timer and a thermostat – what do you think??
i live outside San Ramon and you are going to need a dehumidifier! We get lots of fog around here, and except for a few months in the dry season, i run my dehumidifier a few hours every day. i live at 3662 feet. every one i know up here has a machina, some even have two! i also monitor the humidity in my house. mold forms above 70%, so when the RH goes higher than 75%, the machina goes on.
sueandchris, my opinion, based entirely upon one person’s experience, is that where we are we don’t need dehumidifiers. Our windows are open 24/365 and we have no significant humidity problems. Our towels don’t quite dry overnight in the rainy season. Our answer is to change them more often. That is much less expensive than dehumidifying the bathroom or heating either the towels or the bathroom electrically.
My bias is toward using the least energy possible and to spending as little as [u]reasonably[/u] possible to live comfortably. If you do as maravilla relates and ventilate the house every morning, then close it up and dehumidify it, you’re dehumidifying an entire houseful of air every day. Bring your checkbook. If you propose to warm your bathroom with an electric resistance heater (your towel warmer), bring your checkbook. Remember, Costa Rican homes typically are not well insulated and are hardly airtight, so there will be significant infiltration losses.
My understanding of ICE’s rate structure is that your cost for any one kilowatt hour depends on the total number of kwh you consume in a billing period. That is, the more electricity you use the more each kwh costs beginning with the first one. Heating anything electrically is expensive but heating an uninsulated space that’s not airtight (will your bathroom be airtight?) will be much moreso.
Dehumidifiers operate by blowing air across a cooling coil and catching the water that forms on that coil. In the process, heat is generated, just as it is in a refrigerator. Refrigerators and dehumidifiers are the same thing put to different purposes. Once again, you’re generating heat electrically. And if you don’t keep the house buttoned up tight then you’re dehumidifying newly introduced humid air every time you turn the dehumidifier on.
Were it mine to do, I’d look for another alternative. In our setting, at least, the combination of lots of cross ventilation and electric ozone generators has eliminated virtually all the problems. I know some are concerned about the fact that ozone is a respiratory tract irritant. We have not been affected, but if we were we’d simply use the O3 generators only at times when we weren’t using the space, in the living room overnight, for example. In fact, we’ve just bought two new ozone generators for exactly that purpose. What ozone generators will not do, however, is disperse the dampness that maravilla feels on her down pillows and comforters. I don’t have a fix for that.
The foregoing is one man’s opinion and worth every colon you’ve paid for it.
DavidCMurray,
Thanks for the insight and ICE’s rate structure information. Our home is air conditioned on both floors, we have four air conditioning units for the whole house. My wife and I are very energy conservative, and with my European background, I still open windows every morning for air circulation; even here in Pennsylvania.
Maravilla: Can I inquire about the general San Ramon area in which you live? I understand that just a few hundred feet of elevation in San Ramon can make a big difference as to micro-climate. Also, can you tell me why you have chosen down bedding as opposed to a thermal cotton, etc.?
As always David, a great detailed response. My friend there has also told me that opening up the house to cross-ventilation is really key. I am in the building planning stages now and will carefully plan for that need. Thanks! Sue
Hmmm . . . I just reread maravilla’s comment dated 11/2 in which she talks about reducing the relative humidity to below 70%. Everyone’s tolerances are different, of course, but I just noticed that our relative humidity inside the house is 70% and outside it’s 71% and to me, it’s perfectly comfortable. I wouldn’t pay a colon to reduce it further.
Again, just one opinion.
sueandchris, changes of a hundred feet or more in elevation can make a considerable different anyplace in Costa Rica, not just around San Ramon. Other variables include sun and wind exposures.
(Later) I lied. The [u]temperatures[/u] were in the low 70s. The [u]relative humidities[/u] were in the low 80s, and still it’s comfortable.
last year when i was gone for three months, i ran only the fridge and dehumidifier, and my ICE bill was only C12,000. i don’t really think that little unit sucks that much juice compared to a lot of other appliances. it is typically drier in the mornings, so by cross-ventilating your house, you bring in the drier air. humidity levels shoot up in the afternoon and evening. that’s when i run the machina but usually never more than 4 or 5 hours a day. mold forms above 70%. that’s my big concern, but when it is below 70% outside, then the humidity in the house also drops. my house is as tight as it can be. but that doesn’t stop the humidity levels from shooting up late in the day when it is raining. as for bedding, yes, at my altitude down comforters work really well, the lightweight ones, of course. i am approximately 6 clicks north of san ramon. i don’t have or need air conditioning. but i really hate clammy sheets and musty smelling clothes, so i’ll spend $10 a month to keep the humidity down. i was in a house in san ramon last week, and saw what happens after years of high humidity levels. the walls in the back part of the house, on the inside, were black with mold. this can’t be good for you. and this morning when i retrieved my passport which i had stashed in what i thought was a dry place, it was covered in mold and it had been inside a leather cover. so if you have RH levels above 70% there’s going to be mold, even if you can’t see it.
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