RFD Home Owners, please help! A few Q's from a home owner noob.

[gman]

New homes are especially wet when brand new, because construction materials are still drying out, but even when they are, a humidifier is probably not needed. With newer houses being so sealed up, just living in the house, showering, cooking, breathing, it produces more than enough humidity.

The reason older houses need them is because they are full of air leaks, so all that dry winter air gets in all the moist indoor air gets out.

Having central humidifier does not mean it will be turned on all the time. A central humidifier is not expensive. The installation may be expensive though. Since one is installing an A/C, one can make them to throw in installing an humidifier. I guess if it is more cost effective to install the humidifier with the A/C, it can save money to do that with AC instead of later.

[stevethewheel]

since we are somewhat on the topic (sorry if i'm stealign the post), but i'm in the midst of constructing my first home. I've decided not to have central heating/air for now, but is it cheaper in the long run for me to have the vents/piping put in now, or wait until the future when i'm ready to have central system?

It's much cheaper to have the vents done now. Running vents later will mean busting up walls etc, and trust me you don't want to pay for that. And I just have to ask if you don't have central heating what kind of heating are you thinking of?

Other comments on the thread. Both a furnace and an air conditioner should be 'right-sized' for your house or you are wasting energy. Ideally your furnace runs 24 hrs. a day on the coldest day of the year. Think about it like your car - the most economical is the one that will only go as fast as 120 km/h, and only slowly....of course we all want to zip to 120, and have room to spare, but at the same time we're paying through the nose for the bigger engine that we're not really using. There is nothing sexy about a furnace no matter how many NOX stickers you put on it and adding an apple juice exhaust will only make the neighbours wonder about you.

Humidifier - good idea, a house feels warmer in the winter if the humidity is up a bit. DO NOT under any circumstances buy the 'drum' type, you will totally regret it later.

Air purifier - not sure what exactly you are thinking of, are you talking about getting the house to HEPA standards, or is that just a fancy name for an electrostatic or folded paper filter. A real purifier is a waste in my mind, but a good electrostatic or folded paper filter is a plus....should cost about $200-$300 installed.

[redsilk]

[QUOTE=stevethewheel]It's much cheaper to have the vents done now. Running vents later will mean busting up walls etc, and trust me you don't want to pay for that. And I just have to ask if you don't have central heating what kind of heating are you thinking of?

i'm gettign electrical baseboards

[Capt. Canada]

I appreciate all the discussion on this topic... keep the info coming guys

[stevethewheel]

It's much cheaper to have the vents done now. Running vents later will mean busting up walls etc, and trust me you don't want to pay for that. And I just have to ask if you don't have central heating what kind of heating are you thinking of?

i'm gettign electrical baseboards

Wow. Electric is very expensive heat, unless you seriously plan on having a woodstove or two and only using electric as a supplement. If you have natural gas in your area change your plans RIGHT NOW.