Sandals. Watermelon. Beach. Lemonade. Vacation.
These are words that come to mind when thinking of summertime. Perhaps heat and humidity come to mind, too, depending on whether you are relaxing by the pool or stuck in traffic with no air conditioning, but either way it’s probably doubtful you are thinking of phrases like “basement dehumidifiers” and “home ventilation systems.”
But really, now is exactly the time to think about these things. For those who want a break from all that heat and humidity, addressing and alleviating the problems that arise in the household, especially during the summer months, can help homeowners sit back, relax and enjoy the chilled air indoors when seeking respite from the hot sun and damp humidity. The last thing anyone wants is to feel hot and clammy inside their own home—or to have to deal with the high humidity-related issues that often arise in the household as a result.
Traditionally, dehumidifiers are what many homeowners have turned to in order to alleviate these problems, but new technologies in home air ventilation systems in recent years have provided a superior alternative to the “old” dehumidifier.
Here are 5 good reasons why you should scrap the water pails and the filter changes and instead ride the “WAVE” of the future…
1. Indoor Air Quality
WAVE Ventilation expels the toxins, pollutants and gases that naturally build up in the house by providing a continuous air exchange all day—anywhere from 6-10 times. Dehumidifiers do not provide any air exchange—they simply recycle the same polluted air. The affects of these pollutants, i.e. mold spores, dust mites, mildew and toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide, on your health can be wide-ranging—anywhere from asthma and respiratory ailments to allergies, among others. Divesting your home of these potentially harmful contaminants requires ventilation, which the WAVE system primarily utilizes to bring in healthier, fresher and drier air, and dehumidifiers do not.
2. Energy Savings
WAVE uses less than 40 watts of electricity, approximately $2-$3 per month, opposed to dehumidifiers, which can run up several hundreds of dollars worth of wattage per year, ranging between $40 and $70 per month—with some models even costing upwards of $100 per month. The savings generated are enormous, totaling hundreds of dollars a year. Additionally, only one WAVE unit (except in rare cases) is needed to serve the entire house, while several dehumidifiers are often needed to cover the same area.
3. Structural Protection
By drawing fresh air into the basement or crawl space and circulating over the surfaces, moisture that is saturated in the walls, beams, floors and concrete as a result of inadequate ventilation is drawn out. The unit extracts the tons of water that have been absorbed within the structure, which can cause serious damage to beams, floor buckling, rust and other structural problems. Keeping the wood drier also reduces termite activity. Dehumidifiers do not provide the circulation necessary to dry out the structure.
4. Ventilation
As mentioned above, air ventilation is key to flushing out the toxins that invade the home. Stagnant, moist air nourishes biological grown of mold, musty odors (the gaseous byproduct of mold activity), mildew, dust mites, infestation and other biological growth. WAVE creates a constant air flow which deprives these biological groups of the moisture they need to flourish. Dehumidifiers do not create airflows over maximum surfaces, thereby there are often untouched pockets of moist air.
5. Maintenance
With WAVE, there is no need to worry about emptying buckets of water, changing filters, frozen coils or overheating. Parts are warrantied for 10 years, unlike dehumidifiers which average only three months for parts.
So...Interested in a WAVE Ventilation dehumidifer alternative yet?
If you like lugging heavy pails of water on a regular basis, enjoy throwing away money, and the noisy sound of a dehumidifier is like music to your ears, go ahead, keep on doing things the same way they’ve been done forever. Hey, look how great that worked out for VCRs, film cameras and record stores?
Hi. I usually spend hours on the net reading blogs on various subjects. And, I really would like to praise you for writing such a fabulous article. Thanks for the Article.
Posted by: Ventilation | September 07, 2011 at 11:32 AM