Need Solution For Condo Humidity

[JayBird]

I have a Condo in Pattaya with built-in Air-Conditioning units.  They support FAN and COOL mode (no dedicated dry mode).

When I set the temperature low enough (usually 25c or 24c) I can hear the condenser kicking in.

 

I have a small widget that shows the temp/humidity, and the humidity does indeed decrease.

 

The problem is: I do not wish to run the Air-Con at 25/24c all the time (that is far colder than I require, and would be much happier at 28c).  However, setting air-con at 28c will result in the humidity hitting 80%+.  Setting air-con to fan only mode will result in humidity hitting 80%+.  Turning off air-con will not raise humidity (but then it gets stuffy in here without air flow).

 

So far I have been offered two options:

 

1) Have a 'vent' installed in the other end of the room.  I think the assumption is that this will allow better airflow and therefore moisture will be removed.  I have no idea if this is accurate or if just a wild-guess.

 

2) Buy a stand-alone dehumidifier.  I've not seen one anywhere but Lazada, and am unsure how effective this would be.

 

I have tried those little boxes you can get from the supermarkets (Pink/Black ones).  They do remove some moisture, but not nearly enough or fast enough to make an impact.

 

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Thank you.

[KittenKong]

I run my air-con constantly, set to around 27/28 degrees. I also have two ceiling fans running constantly at the lowest setting. I find that this keeps the humidity down and the air movement pleasant.

 

I once used a stand-alone dehumidifier in Europe to dry out a room with wet plaster and it did work very well. Never needed one here though.

[VocalNeal]

Been experimenting in my office/study in BKK.

 

22C = 64% humidity

24c = 85% humidity

 

At least today and yesterday. 

 

Conclusion: Thailand is a tropical country and it is humid. Buy some floor fans and sip a beer as you look at the palm trees!

Edited July 29, 2017 by VocalNeal

[JayBird]

it's possible your condencers do not kick in unless you lower the temperature.

 

I'm hoping to find a reliable person who can indicate if an air vent would help or is just folly

[VocalNeal]

I have a suspicion that the free-standing AC units common here might simply be de-humidifiers. They might be worth a look. Lots of them at BIG C, PowerBuy etc..

[Gumballl]

On 7/28/2017 at 11:17 PM, VocalNeal said:

Been experimenting in my office/study in BKK.

 

22C = 64% humidity

24c = 85% humidity

 

At least today and yesterday. 

 

Conclusion: Thailand is a tropical country and it is humid. Buy some floor fans and sip a beer as you look at the palm trees!

Exactly.  I have been thinking the same thing, to avoid the same issue that the OP is reporting.  Not that I have gone shopping yet, but a Tower Fan (e.g. from Home Pro) may fit what I need.

[lopburi3]

On 7/29/2017 at 10:17 AM, VocalNeal said:

Been experimenting in my office/study in BKK.

 

22C = 64% humidity

24c = 85% humidity

 

At least today and yesterday. 

 

Conclusion: Thailand is a tropical country and it is humid. Buy some floor fans and sip a beer as you look at the palm trees!

Sounds as if your airconditioners are much larger than required.  If my humidity in bedroom is 80% (fan drawing outside air) the 9k Panasonic for 26 sq meter will quickly lower humidity about 20% or more.  Makes a huge difference and never use temp below 28c.

[ksamuiguy]

The "Dungeon Effect" A/C does not run long enough to remove humidity from the air. The 1st job of an A/C unit is removing water from the air, cooling is secondary. yes probably the A/C you have is to big for the space being cooled .

 

[Gary A]

I agree that your unit is oversized. I had that problem in my condo bedroom. It had the original 14,000 BTU unit. I had mold and fungus growing on all the wood in the bedroom. The old unit finally died. I had the aircon guys check it out and they wanted 8,000 baht for a new compressor. They then suggested that I should buy a new bigger unit. I asked them to leave. I bought a new regular 10,200 BTU LG. The compressor on that unit runs enough to remove the moisture and I am happy. I think a 9,000 BTU would have been big enough. I don't like it hot but I also don't like to feel cold. For some reason the Thai aircon people like to oversize the aircons. 

[JayBird]

So, short of buying a new Air con, any other suggestions? Like, air vent? Would that actually do anything? Or just buy a big dehumidifier?

[Belzybob]

Not uncommon to find de-humidifiers in Singapore hotels in the wettest period and I also found one in the apartment I rented in Darwin during the rainy season. In both cases the internal bucket filled in less than 24 hours, probably 15 to 20 litres capacity at a guess. So no doubt they work.

[Cereal]

Air conditioners work by removing moisture from the air in the room. By doing their job they cool the air; wet air is hotter than cool air. I'm sure you know this. Measure the room for cubic meters and install the proper unit for that size. Find a comfortable temperature and let it run, you'll save money in the long run over turning an air con unit off and on as the needs arise.

[csabo]

On 7/29/2017 at 1:19 PM, JayBird said:

it's possible your condencers do not kick in unless you lower the temperature.

 

I'm hoping to find a reliable person who can indicate if an air vent would help or is just folly

This is some special vent that allows humidity to pass one way through it? 

[Morakot]

On 7/29/2017 at 1:19 PM, JayBird said:

it's possible your condencers do not kick in unless you lower the temperature.

 

I'm hoping to find a reliable person who can indicate if an air vent would help or is just folly

 

If the unit is oversized, a large air vent would compensate for this by increasing the volume of air to be cooled.

 

Not the most effective way to run A/C in the long run though.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Morakot

[Gary A]

Lazada has dehumidifiers. The best way is to install a smaller aircon but if that is not practical, a dehumidifier will help a lot.

[Gary A]

http://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=dehumidifier

[bazza73]

9 hours ago, Gary A said:

. For some reason the Thai aircon people like to oversize the aircons. 

Could it be they make more commission on selling a bigger unit?

[Gary A]

55 minutes ago, bazza73 said:

Could it be they make more commission on selling a bigger unit?

Could be but I think it is more likely that they want to cover themselves thinking people would like a temperature that would allow them to see their breath. 

[KittenKong]

5 hours ago, Gary A said:

Could be but I think it is more likely that they want to cover themselves thinking people would like a temperature that would allow them to see their breath. 

 

+1

 

(I would have used the "like" button but the new version offers only options that dont apply at all: thanks, happy, sad, confused. I am none of those.)

[Morakot]

8 hours ago, KittenKong said:

(I would have used the "like" button but the new version offers only options that dont apply at all: thanks, happy, sad, confused. I am none of those.)

 

Just move cursor over the the heart on the grey circle and click. This will give a "Like" in form of a white heart on a blue circle.

[KittenKong]

4 hours ago, Morakot said:

Just move cursor over the the heart on the grey circle and click. This will give a "Like" in form of a white heart on a blue circle.

 

Thanks. Yes, that was explained to me earlier elsewhere. I didnt find it obvious for some reason, probably because I was overwhelmed by the choice.

[JayBird]

On ‎8‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 3:39 AM, csabo said:

This is some special vent that allows humidity to pass one way through it? 

I believe it's a Vent/Fan combo (like you get in the bathroom near the shower).

[lopburi3]

1 minute ago, JayBird said:

I believe it's a Vent/Fan combo (like you get in the bathroom near the shower).

That works for showers in the bathroom because the humidity being drawn in as replacement air is much less than that in the bathroom after a hot shower.  Will not work in general when the humidity is about the same inside and outside.

[sometimewoodworker]

On 01/08/2017 at 2:08 PM, Cereal said:

Air conditioners work by removing moisture from the air in the room. By doing their job they cool the air; wet air is hotter than cool air. I'm sure you know this. Measure the room for cubic meters and install the proper unit for that size. Find a comfortable temperature and let it run, you'll save money in the long run over turning an air con unit off and on as the needs arise.

Hummm, no they don't.

 

They work by cooling the air. 

Wet air at 28 degrees is the same temperature as dry air at 28 degrees.

you just feel more comfortable in dryer air.

 

the AC typically needs to run for about 15 minutes before it starts dehumidifying the air. So if your room cools down in 20 minutes you get little moisture extracted before it switches the cooling off.

[Katia]

Since I was coming here to ask just this... can anyone recommend a dehumidifier brand (I'm looking at Lazada because I'm not sure I've even seen dehumidifiers in stores)?  Brand names I "recognize" are significantly more expensive than ones I don't.  I don't want to buy some crappy no-name brand that will break or catch on fire, but I also don't want to be silly and spend more than I need to just because I'm unsure of Thai brands and which ones are good.  Thanks!

 

(I don't run my air conditioning higher because I refuse to freeze in my own home {I, too, prefer to keep it at 27-28 which means my condenser doesn't run all that often}, but mold on my belongings and an apartment that reeks of mold with 80-85% humidity is also unacceptable.)

[sghkt]

On 16/10/2017 at 8:54 AM, Katia said:

Since I was coming here to ask just this... can anyone recommend a dehumidifier brand (I'm looking at Lazada because I'm not sure I've even seen dehumidifiers in stores)? 

I have a Bionaire dehumidifier that I purchased at Power Buy and I am very happy with it. Be aware that you will have to empty the tank at least once per day, unless you have a drain somewhere nearby, in which case you can use the supplied drainage hose instead of the tank.

[Katia]

10 hours ago, sghkt said:

I have a Bionaire dehumidifier that I purchased at Power Buy and I am very happy with it. Be aware that you will have to empty the tank at least once per day, unless you have a drain somewhere nearby, in which case you can use the supplied drainage hose instead of the tank.

Thanks. I'll check out that brand.

 

Yeah, unfortunately, no drains anywhere near where I'd need to put these things.  But, I expected to have to empty once a day or more.  Does yours have an auto-shutoff when the tank gets full?

[Cereal]

On 10/11/2017 at 8:14 PM, sometimewoodworker said:

Hummm, no they don't.

 

They work by cooling the air. 

Wet air at 28 degrees is the same temperature as dry air at 28 degrees.

you just feel more comfortable in dryer air.

 

the AC typically needs to run for about 15 minutes before it starts dehumidifying the air. So if your room cools down in 20 minutes you get little moisture extracted before it switches the cooling off.

Then why do AC units have a hose that drips water outside? Where's the water coming from. Humid air is hotter than cold air. If you don't believe me, spend 2 winters in Canada, one in Vancouver and one in Calgary. -20C in Calgary feels way warmer than +2C in Vancouver.

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, Cereal said:

Then why do AC units have a hose that drips water outside? Where's the water coming from.

 

Water in the air inside the room condenses on the cool heat exchanger fins. It drips into a tray at the bottom of the indoor air-con unit, and then down the drainpipe to outside.

 

This reduction in humidity is a large part of the perceived cooling effect and is very important for the overall comfort level.

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, Cereal said:

Then why do AC units have a hose that drips water outside? Where's the water coming from. Humid air is hotter than cold air. If you don't believe me, spend 2 winters in Canada, one in Vancouver and one in Calgary. -20C in Calgary feels way warmer than +2C in Vancouver.

I don't believe you and neither does anyone who was awake in physics class. Please do learn basic physics. And stop speaking from an orifice not designed for conversational use.

 

The humidity of the air does not affect the temperature.

 

Humidity affects the way you feel. 

 

High temprature low humidity feels more comfortable because your sweat can evaporate, drop the temperature from high by about 5 or 10 degrees and raise the humidity over 90% and, because your sweat can not evaporate, you will feel uncomfortably hot.

 

Conversly cold dry air generally feels more comfortable than a bit warmer humid air 

 

high humidity makes you feel colder when the temperature is below 11.6 degrees, and warmer when the temperature was above 11.6 degrees.

 

Some of the water exhausted by AC comes from the fact that cooler air holds less moisture than warmer air, some comes from the dehumidification function of the AC unit.