How to Connect a Dehumidifer to the Central HVAC
Connecting a dehumidifier to your central air-conditioning system is one way to remove excess water from your basement and the air in the rest of your home. Connecting a dehumidifier is a fairly straightforward task that you can accomplish with basic hand tools and a selection of specialty parts from your local HVAC supply store, including fiberglass flexible duct, and of course the most important part, the dehumidifier. A central air dehumidifier system typically costs more than a room dehumidification system, but it can dehumidify the air circulating through your home, not just the air in one room. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Install the duct collars. Cut into your duct work in the appropriate places according to the instruction manual for your dehumidifier. In most cases, the plenum where the air is pushed out of the furnace and into the ductwork is one cut that must be made, and the cold air return is the location of the other duct collar. Then you can install stick-on metal duct collars of the appropriate diameter, usually 6-8 inches to attach flexible duct to.
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Install the flex duct. Flex duct is a lot like the vent for your clothes dryer, only with fiberglass inside it. Run flex duct from the duct collars that you installed on the hot air plenum and the cold air return portion of your duct work to the appropriate in-and-out collars on your whole-house dehumidifier. Affix the flex duct to the duct collars using large duct ties, which are similar to electrical zip ties, only much larger in diameter.
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Install wiring for the dehumidifier control panel. Most whole-house dehumidifiers include a digital control panel that installs using thermostat wire to an area near the thermostat in your home so you can easily check temperature and humidity and make changes to the system. Run the wire according to the instructions provided with your dehumidifier and install the panel with screws.
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Run wiring to power the dehumidifier. You may need to run an additional electrical outlet or direct circuit branch line to your dehumidifier in order to provide it with sufficient power to run properly. Some brands can plug into an outlet, while some need to be hard wired.
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