My husband and I miss your show terribly since we've moved from Saint John, New Brunswick to St. John's, Newfoundland. However, we do remember your e-mail address. So, we bought a split-entry house here on the Rock that's six years old with an air exchanger. We find the house is extremely humid. There is no vent to bring air in from the outside and the house is quite airtight. One morning last week we woke up to a temperature of 2 degrees C. The thermostats were all set to 15 degrees. However, there was heavy condensation on several windows. I don't fully understand how they work, but I would think they should have an incoming air vent. What should the air exchanger be set at? I've gotten several conflicting answers. Is the solution as 'simple' as adding an incoming air vent?
Answer:
An air exchanger with no inlet is called a vacuum and doesn't do a whole lot for you health. Interior humidity levels should be somewhere between 35 and 50%. I'd try adding the intake vent and see what happens from there but you may also be in need of something that picks up the cold air from the basement floor rather than from three feet up as your equipment is doing now. Do not drop your present system to the floor or it can foul and you don't want to be paying to rectify that.
