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Furnace Humidifier Filter
QUESTION:I have a question about which Aprilaire product to purchase. We have a
furnace that needs a humidifier installed on it. The house is 1600 sq
ft. It is poorly insulated and is located in Cleveland Ohio. I plan on
doing it myself as I am fairly adept and was an electrician by trade.
The problem with the installation is that this furnace has no return
air duct. It draws its air from the basement through the exposed
filter on the unit. It is called a "lakewood downdraft system"
according to local heating guys. Again, there is no ductwork for the
cold air return. It seems odd to me but many houses in this area have
this type of system, so this is not unusual. It draws its air from the
basement ... the cold air return is a pretty large grill in the floor
near the furnace but NOT directly connected. So because of this, I was
told by a local contractor that I may need to get the Aprilaire power
humidifier (700 or 768). They work without any kind of bypass from the
cold air duct.
My question is ....Would it be more cost effective for me to add some
kind of extension on the existing furnace filter in order to be able
to use a bypass humidifier? I see the bypass humidifiers cost less and
do not have as large as capacity as the power humidifiers. It seems
like a model 768 is overkill because of the size of the house.
ANSWER: It would be more cost effective to properly insulate the house. With the
money you save you could pay a contractor to service the furnace and install
a humidifier.
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