Neptune Aquatics

Indoor condensation

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Gablami

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Speaking of winter, I am getting a good amount of condensation on my windows. To the point where there is some water damage to some wood shelving under one window.

This is a new construction so it's pretty airtight. This is our second winter and while I noticed some condensation last year, this year it is worse. It seems a waste to crack a window open to the cold air and have to run a heater more often. But when faced with running a dehumidifier, would cracking a window and running heat be more energy efficient and simpler? I think we might have this problem anyway without the tank, but the tank doesn't help. I go through about 10g/week on my ATO.

I really don't want to cover my rimless. Any tips/advice or dehumidifier recommendations?

Additionally, there are dehumidifiers that can empty into a floor drain. We have a floor drain in the laundry area for emergencies that pretty much drains into the crawl space. I've been wary of adding moisture to the crawl space, thinking it might damage some support etc. Is this a legitimate worry?
 
Gablami said:
Speaking of winter, I am getting a good amount of condensation on my windows. To the point where there is some water damage to some wood shelving under one window.

This is a new construction so it's pretty airtight. This is our second winter and while I noticed some condensation last year, this year it is worse. It seems a waste to crack a window open to the cold air and have to run a heater more often. But when faced with running a dehumidifier, would cracking a window and running heat be more energy efficient and simpler? I think we might have this problem anyway without the tank, but the tank doesn't help. I go through about 10g/week on my ATO.

I really don't want to cover my rimless. Any tips/advice or dehumidifier recommendations?

Additionally, there are dehumidifiers that can empty into a floor drain. We have a floor drain in the laundry area for emergencies that pretty much drains into the crawl space. I've been wary of adding moisture to the crawl space, thinking it might damage some support etc. Is this a legitimate worry?
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Is the condensation on all the windows or just ones near the tank?
 
All the windows. It's not that big of a house to begin with.

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I cracked open some windows and turned on the vent fans in the laundry room and our bathroom. I could just leave those on 24/7, move humidified air out of the house and let the central heat take care of the temp. Or I could get a 70L dehumidifier on Amazon.
 
I don't think that should be happening even with a tank. Running your heater should dry out the air. When the air is sucked into the heater the air is heated and any moisture condenses in the unit and is drained out the condensate line.
 
If you run the heater and the humidity goes up I would suspect something wrong with where the condensate is draining. Either it's plugged up or they have it draining into the house somewhere. That would be my best guess. I'm not an HVAC guy though.
 
I cover my rimless at night, using something that resembles plastic foam board- I think it was from TAP Plastics. It's a bit of a pain each day, but worth it considering the amount of water captured in a single night. Combine that with opening the windows during the daytime, and you should see some improvement.
 
If it's possible to reduce your tank temp even a degree or two, or move the circulation pumps further down so you don't have as much top-current, that could help. Keep the room doors open. In my experiences the evaporation from tanks is a welcome substitute for humidifiers in the winter but it shouldn't be causing condensation...


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They are double pane low-e. The bulk of the condensation is happening on the window closest to the bedrooms in a hallway. The central air intake is at the end of the hallway. I think that when the heat runs, it pulls air from the bedrooms through the hallway. The warm humid air from the bedrooms hits the cold metal frame of the first window and condenses.

Thanks for the tips guys. I ran two fans in a bathroom and laundry room, and turned up the heater (it was cold last night so it was running most of the night). Minimal condensation this morning. I might try a dehumidifier in that corner right in front of that window. Further water damage would be crappy in our new remodel.

I could cut down the temp of the tank too, right now at 78-79. Would hate to cover (though I'm sure it would help) since I've got moonlights going, and when baby starts crying in the middle of the night I like taking him out to the great room and we stare at the tank together.
 
wait double pane with a metal frame? Please tell me that metal frame is just on the inside part of the house, because they makes no sense to have double pane with a metal frame as that's going to be the main area that leaches heat out.

That said, wipe it down every morning is a cheap way to address the situation during the colder months. A more costly solution is to have your tank enclosed in a fishroom or something to prevent that humidity from doing it.
 
Gablami said:
Would hate to cover (though I'm sure it would help) since I've got moonlights going, and when baby starts crying in the middle of the night I like taking him out to the great room and we stare at the tank together.
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Ahh, I remember those nights. I'd usually watch reruns of Lost or some other show I'd seen a bunch of times.
 
sfsuphysics said:
wait double pane with a metal frame? Please tell me that metal frame is just on the inside part of the house, because they makes no sense to have double pane with a metal frame as that's going to be the main area that leaches heat out.

That said, wipe it down every morning is a cheap way to address the situation during the colder months. A more costly solution is to have your tank enclosed in a fishroom or something to prevent that humidity from doing it.
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Yeah aluminum. I guess there's a thermal break inside? When we were choosing windows I didn't think about this condensation issue and the aluminum looked better than the plastic.

https://www.milgard.com/windows/aluminum
 
Lower the tank temp. Save on electricity, diminish evaporation (save water). No need to be so high. I run 76 no problem. Stable temp much more important than the number
 
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