Homeowner in Central FL area here. Purchased a two story house (3400 sqft, 5 bed 3 bath) a few years ago that has 3 heat pumps of varying levels of age (home built in 2004, one unit is original). I'm going to have to get into replacing those soonish, but I've noticed (using Ecobee thermostats) that our our humidity levels really are poorly managed and I'd like to start with dedicated dehumidifier(s) as a long term solution.
Theres a few things working against me in my current setup I think. I had an energy auditor come in when we moved in and they measured a 5 ACH50 with ~5% duct loss on each of the 3 systems (I need to get another duct loss ran though, I'm not sure I trust those numbers). We only have a single return for each unit (so 3 total), located in the open living area. The living area is dominated by a very large volume of open space in the center, with a split floor plan to the sides. Apologies for my drawing but heres my hacked together floorplan:
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1st floor on left, 2nd floor on right. The side profile is something like this
So on the left we have a 1-story wing which is the master, spare bedroom, and garage. In the middle is ~20ft high living room. On right 1st floor is kitchen/dining room and the 2nd floor is the other 3 bedrooms and additional bathroom. The systems are zoned as follows:
1. Master wing + living room
2. 2nd floor + living room
3. kitchen/dining room
I'm thinking I would want 2 dehumidifiers in this setup. One for master wing, and one for upstairs wing. I'm not sure how to size those though, and also want help in figuring out install strategy (should I run dedicated returns, or just pipe into ductwork). Id love to hear any thoughts. Note that I'll likely be redoing HVAC and probably reducting the master side within the next few years, and I'd like to do the same on the 2nd floor as well a few years after that. The kitchen wing is in decent shape, I believe that system is the youngest at ~7 years.
Theres a few things working against me in my current setup I think. I had an energy auditor come in when we moved in and they measured a 5 ACH50 with ~5% duct loss on each of the 3 systems (I need to get another duct loss ran though, I'm not sure I trust those numbers). We only have a single return for each unit (so 3 total), located in the open living area. The living area is dominated by a very large volume of open space in the center, with a split floor plan to the sides. Apologies for my drawing but heres my hacked together floorplan:
1st floor on left, 2nd floor on right. The side profile is something like this
Code:
______
/ _____\ <-attic
/ | |__| <-2nd floor
attic-> /__| |xx| <- interstitial
master-> | | <- kitchen1. Master wing + living room
2. 2nd floor + living room
3. kitchen/dining room
I'm thinking I would want 2 dehumidifiers in this setup. One for master wing, and one for upstairs wing. I'm not sure how to size those though, and also want help in figuring out install strategy (should I run dedicated returns, or just pipe into ductwork). Id love to hear any thoughts. Note that I'll likely be redoing HVAC and probably reducting the master side within the next few years, and I'd like to do the same on the 2nd floor as well a few years after that. The kitchen wing is in decent shape, I believe that system is the youngest at ~7 years.
