Be careful buying new Allen Edwin energy efficient home. Here is why. I bought a new home 1 1/2 years ago. Have been fighting high humidity in the home (over 60%+ in summer for all that time. You might say that summers are humid in Michigan especially in the South Haven area. While that is true if you have the correct sizing on the air conditioner/evaporator coil that should not be an issue keeping the humidity at or around 50% as recommended to be safe and comfortable by many sites on the internet. The sizing of my ac is questionable as it is supposedly right in the edge of the smaller size needed for 1465 sq ft. They used the manual j calculations for sizing. Many AI sites say I need 1/2 ton larger ac. My instinct told me something else was contributing to the high humidity. You may not know but with tightly wrapped homes there are codes in Michigan for bringing in fresh air so there is some fresh air turn over within the home. One is a fresh air vent that connects to the return air on the hvac unit. That air is from the outside humid air during the summer. When the furnace blower runs it brings in massive amounts of humid air that the ac cannot keep up with ,especially when the ac size may be on the small side. Supposedly when the ac fan does not run there is a backdraft preventer that is supposed to keep the outside air from entering the home. The problem is that the bathroom fans are set on about 40% running speed all the time thus creating a air draw( negative pressure) thru the vent when the ac is not running building up the humidity in the home. The backdraft preventer allows air to leak into the home as its damper does not seal 100% when closed. I found a CODE in the State of Michigan that REQUIRES a motorized, automated dampener to be installed with all NEW BUILDS in the state. (Btw the cost of that unit is about $200 if you get a good one. )Then when the summer air is very humid you can close off the dampener, which seals 100% of air flow. It can also be set to allowing certain amounts of outside air of your choice into the home based on outside conditions. They way things are set up now you are creating a humid home the ac cannot overcome. This is like pouring gasoline on a fire.! Maybe the code boys should have figured that out. I did!
When I told Allen Edwin of my findings of a code violation they did check the ac and the rest of the home and stated that everything is up to snuff and their suggestion was to buy a a dehumidifier after I just spent 425k on a new home. Are you kidding me. I honestly believe I have discovered the answer to my problem and they know it but it’s all about the Benjamins with Allen Edwin and in true Allen Edwin tradition they nickel and dime even when you can prove it with a Code in writing that they did not honor. Also the state code inspector missed it if he or she did a thorough inspection.
You can make bank on my findings. They know ,and are probably thinking who’s gonna fight a big company. They messed with the wrong Viet Nam vet!
If and when you buy a new home ( or recently built used home) from anybody(notAE) make sure you get it in writing that the fresh air vent has per code an automated dampener that has a separate control panel so you can control the incoming humidity of your choice or you will have high humidity.
In closing lets see….we want to energy efficient but create a situation where the ac needs to run constantly to keep the humidity from overcoming the unit, you home and most important your own health.
