Tag: Low Temperature

Sani Dry Dehumidifier

The Sani Dry dehumidifier is made by Therma-Stor exclusively for a company called Basement Systems. Basement Systems is a company that supplies and installs dehumidifiers with their own licensed contractors. They also offer basement finishing and repair services.

The Sani Dry dehumidifier model called the XP Dehumidifier works well in a large area up to 2,500 square feet. It can remove 109 pints of water, per day, from the air of your home making your home much more comfortable to live in and reducing the amount of damage that can be caused by excess moisture.

This unit is also capable of functioning at low temperatures down to 40 degrees. What this means is, if your basement is cool the coils have an auto-defrost feature to keep the unit from freezing up and shutting itself off. It will continue to operate at these low temperature and keep your home moisture free.

The unit can either be used as a free standing unit or can be installed directly into the ductwork of your home. If you are the handy type you could probably manage the installation on your own but if not then they will install it for you.

The XP is Energy Star rated so it is energy efficient and will not increase you energy bill by any significant amount.

The convenience of the unit is also a plus. There is no bucket to empty every day, the XP drains directly to a floor drain. If there is no drain in the floor, you will need to drain the water up and out by purchasing what is called a “compensate pump” separately and installing it in the unit.

The XP has an adjustable “humidistat” as well, allowing you to set the desired relative humidity of your home anywhere from 20% to 90%. Those settings are most extreme and you most likely will set the XP unit in the range of 35% to 50% to be comfortable in your home.

If you suffer from allergies you will notice a big difference in the severity of your symptoms once the XP is installed and begins to remove the excess moisture in your home.

Once the XP is installed, it will run until it achieves the level of humidity in your home that you have set then it will maintain that level by cycling on and off. It might take 24 hours or more to reach the level you want for your home.

Once the XP is programmed by you with specific data for your home, it will always remember it. Even if there is a power outage the XP will restart automatically and remember the settings you programmed into it.

As I stated earlier, the unit can handle up to 2,500 square feet. So, if the entire square footage of your house does not exceed that number then you can install the unit directly into the ductwork of your home and dehumidify your entire house.

The Sani Dry dehumidifier is solely capable of maintaining the moisture in your home to reduce allergens and keep the excess moisture from causing structural damage.

Dehumidifier Specs

Dehumidifier specs differ from one model or brand name to the next but all dehumidifiers are relatively the same. They all will help reduce the moisture level in your home and make your home more comfortable to live in and save you money on heating and cooling costs.

The first dehumidifier specs you need to know before you buy one is the amount of square footage the unit will cover. Measure the size of the room or area that needs moisture reduction and keep that number in mind when you go buy the dehumidifier.

Next, check the range of the humidity the unit can remove. A good range should be around 35-70 percent. You should be able to manually program the unit to an optimum 45-50% humidity in your home. Find a unit that, once set, will remain at that setting, and turn itself back on, even if the power goes out.

Also make sure at what temperature the unit will start to freeze up. If your basement area is the area of your home that needs dehumidification and temperature of the area is below 65 degrees you need to buy a unit that will operate under these conditions.

If the temperature of the area goes below the specified maximum operating temperature of the unit, the unit will freeze up. The coils will condense and this condensation will freeze up due to the refrigerant used to draw the moisture from the air.

A low temperature unit will maintain maximum operating efficiency at temperatures down to 40 degrees before frost forms on the coils. Once frost does form on the coils the unit must be shut down and allowed to defrost before starting up again.

Another aspect of buying the right dehumidifier is the size of the bucket. How much water does the dehumidifier hold and will it shut itself off when it gets full. Measurement is usually in pints and can range from 40 pints to 65 pints to over 100 pints depending on the size of the unit.

Some units can be hooked to a hose or come with a drainage pipe that can be run to a floor drain so there is no need to empty a full, heavy bucket of water everyday. If you are not able to buy a unit like this then you will be subjected to lifting that bucket out of the machine every day to empty it. The unit will shut itself off when the bucket is at capacity.

If the square footage allows, you can buy a model that can be ducted to other rooms so the humidity level can be managed throughout your home and not just in one area.

You may need to take the weight of the unit into consideration if you are planning to place the unit on anything but the floor. An average unit may weight as much as 90 pounds or more at full capacity. Do not ever place the unit on anything that cannot safely hold this kind of weight.

These dehumidifier specs should help you buy the right type of unit for your specific needs.