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The terrible twins of heating – dehumidifiers and unflued gas heater
Many households in Christchurch are currently using unflued gas heaters to keep warm. Unfortunately the disadvantages of these heaters far outweigh the instant heat they provide. They cost roughly the same to run as a conventional electric heater, and they release up two kilograms of water for every kilogram of gas burnt. Moisture will rapidly build up in the room being heated, leading to the growth of moulds and dust mites, impacting on the health and well being of people living in the house.
A common response to increasing levels of dampness in a house is to run a dehumidifier in the same room as the gas heater. The problem with this strategy is that running the dehumidifier in tandem with a gas heater is a ‘hidden’ cost of keeping warm. Dehumidifiers are expensive to run – they cost between $0.14-$0.42 per litre of water removed. Many households are therefore paying a higher, unnecessary cost to stay warm and dry. In addition dehumidifiers can help reduce air moisture but they do not solve the underlying problem, which (apart from an unflued gas heater) is likely to be caused by very damp soil conditions underneath the house itself.
Les Norris assesses the levels and types of insulation in houses for Community Energy Action, and has visited thousands of homes over the last six years. Every week he sees gas heaters and dehumidifiers running together in the same room, and encourages householders to think again about how they keep their homes warm and dry. Electric heaters cost the same as portable gas heaters, are 100% efficient, and are a much healthier heating option than unflued gas heaters.
If it is necessary to run a dehumidifier in your house, read the manufacturers instructions to find out how to use it in a way that is cost effective and does a good job of removing moisture from the right places. Dehumidifiers are best run in a room with all the doors closed. If they are placed in a hallway, they will extract moisture from draughts coming through external doors at a high cost to the user.
Community Energy Action does not recommend the use of unflued gas heaters for the day to day heating of a home. For more information on the dangers and disadvantages of unflued gas heaters, plus how to deal with excessive condensation in a home, click on the following link;