simonsi

The laws of physic and chemistry dont agree.

Burning gas creates CO2 and Water, simple as that, you then need to get rid of the water, it isnt magically attracted to your bowl, that also evaporates into the air in the house.

Agreed you get more condensation (and more risk) if you dont ventilate properly but you cant get around the fact that an open gas flame (inc a gas hob), is putting moisture into the air in the house, so if you have a condensation issue its going to make it worse.

This is one of the reasons portable gas heaters are expensive to run, you need to use so much ventilation to get back to square one you dont have much heat left in the room.

Deley

Hi,
Can anyone tell me what is HRV????


Regards

MrsFychan

Google is your friend

http://www.hrv.co.nz/

Home ventilation

MrsFychan

think we might just put up with the weepy windows, open them as soon as up and wipe down as much as possible. Really don't want to be spending out lots of money on something that we might not need in another 6 weeks.

sparkie down under

Unless physics has changed (er, no)! you can neither create nor destroy matter you simply change it's state. So when you burn a kilo of hydrocarbon (gas) you will change it's state via combustion into water. Our atmosphere is absorbent and can absorb warm water vapour, thus increasing it's humidity, and it can retain that humidity until either the air temperature decreases or it comes into contact with cooler surfaces which then causes it to release it's moisture content in the form of condensation.

OK lesson over, Simple answer - don't use gas heaters

simonsi

love30stm

nice idea but how much does it cost???

sparkie down under

Warning Will Robinson, Warning!

Have a look at my previous posts on HRV and the like. For everyone that works there are as many that don't, (and that excludes the running costs).

Beware and approach with caution

Water Lily

Our previous rental property had 5 bedrooms and one large open plan room that contained the kitchen plus dining and sitting areas, and had exposed ceiling wooden beams. In the colder months we woke up to windows covered top to bottom in condensation in every single room, and we found mould growing on the wooden beams, and on the back of every piece of wooden furniture. Any clothes that didn't get used and washed regularly smelt musty. Yuk! I had to use my asthma inhaler in the house on a few occasions, when I usually only need it for emergencies (I can have a strong reaction to some cats).

The owners had the ceiling cleaned and treated professionally and a DVS ventilation system installed throughout the house. Goodbye condensation, goodbye mould and there goes the inhaler back in the drawer. When we buy a house, we will be very tempted to put some money aside to have the same thing done that's for sure.

Our new rental property only has a noisy heat pump downstairs and about 3 weeks ago we started getting condensation. So we bought a dehumidifier which is doing a great job. At the moment we have to empty it every couple of days, so I suspect it'll be daily in the winter - it's unbelievable the amount of water it collects!

So I'd also recommend investing in a dehumidifier like others have pointed out.

I also make sure the house is ventilated for a couple of hours in the morning, but that's just me liking fresh air in the house rather than have anything to do anything with getting rid of condensation, though apparently it helps too

P18PPS

you should still invest in a dehumidifier - even with the double glazing, hrv, heat pump, etc etc - they are still a friend in any nz home.... at worst you can put it in the garage and dry your washing next to it when the weather outside isn't condusive... much cheaper than the tumble dryer.

Genesis

Totally agree, Mistubishi Oasis is the best one IMO. I found the condensation so awful that I had the house double glazed..that got rid of it, but the dehumidifiers are the cheaper option..they will provide an ambient heat source too.

theghostofdustybin

i wouldnt get one to heat a house, but if you want to increase the air circulation (the number of times the air in your house is replaced by fresh) and even out the temperature of your rooms, they seem to work well IMHO.

Like most other things relating to having a comfortable home, alot will depend on how well insulated your house is.

sparkie down under

I'd never say don't get a HRV, but I would say get one from someone who actually knows about ventilation, and most HRV or any similar type system, salespeople haven't a clue on ventilation. (and are on commission).

I've been to several homes with poorly installed systems which do bugger all, except cost the owner money and anyone with just a basics in air dynamics could see that from the outset.

theghostofdustybin

point taken

adotie

help please! This has sparked some debate in our house! Hubby has been told by friends at work that if we have a heatpump we shouldn't need a de-humidifier, and now thinks we haven't been using it properly - cycling through the 'heat' and 'dry' settings respectively, rather than leaving it set to 'dry' for hours. The windows are streaming and everything is starting to feel damp. I actually saw steam coming out of our printer from the damp paper in it!! Should we be getting a dehumidifier as well? Or should the heatpump (properly used - what is 'properly'?) be doing the job?