Is this amount of condensation right for new sash windows?

DiyNutJob said:
Electromagnetic based solution would mean silence. I have no experience of it or know if or how exactly it works. It should work on principle. It will use electricity to create a cold piece of metal that condenses.
Click to expand...
I'm afraid it's a peltier device.
As a solid state heat pump, it only has an efficiency of <10%.
This means that the fans involved are often overdriven (and noisy) to try and help remove as much heat as possible from the peltier.
Peltier devices have their uses, such as in portable mini fridges, but their inefficiency means we don't use them for our household fridges.
 
RandomGrinch said:
I'm afraid it's a peltier device.
As a solid state heat pump, it only has an efficiency of <10%.
This means that the fans involved are often overdriven (and noisy) to try and help remove as much heat as possible from the peltier.
Peltier devices have their uses, such as in portable mini fridges, but their inefficiency means we don't use them for our household fridges.
Click to expand...
For this application, it is not inefficient. All the waste will be the much needed heat that the OP wants. In fact the waste heat will help more moisture to get airborne. You are welcome to speculate a noisy fan. I speculate a reasonably quiet fan. Someone needs to buy it to settle this. Perhaps we should volunteer freddiemercurystwin for this task and put him to some good use, rather than for him to sulk in the corner?
 
Last edited:
A dehumidifier would indeed help with excess moisture but in no way would it solve it unless running 24hrs a day and at current electricity prices...



Ventilation has always been the recognised way of dealing with excess moisture, coupled with heat and trying to reduce the causes of excess moisture
 
JohnD said:
A fool and his money.
Click to expand...
Of the experience I already described, it was the best piece of gear we could have had. It turned what was effectively an ice rink into a sports hall. When machines and technologies are correctly applied, they could do wonders. Despite the high energy prices, most people wouldn't dream of turning off their boiler or the fridge. Somethings are just too good to not to have.
 
I had a dehumidifier running 24 hours a day to try to combat excess humidity and condensation. It was better with the dehumidifier than without it but it wasn't completely successful. This year I have switched off the dehumidifier and increased ventilation. This has reduced electricity costs and completely eliminated the condensation problem.
 
Simply put a dehumidifier treats the symptoms but not the cause, turn it off and the condensation comes back, don't think a dehumidifier is the long term answer
 
crank39 said:
Simply put a dehumidifier treats the symptoms but not the cause, turn it off and the condensation comes back, don't think a dehumidifier is the long term answer
Click to expand...
You don't need it to be long term, just the winter months.

The cause is a cold window. The cold is caused by the hollow modern window that allows the exterior temperature to move as close as possible to the interior. It's a design flaw that cannot be treated quickly and cheaply. Hence treating the symptoms is a good alternative.
 
pcaouolte said:
This has reduced electricity costs and completely eliminated the condensation problem.
Click to expand...
If you vent the moisture laden warm air out, you would have increased gas consumption, assuming you heat with gas. A dehumidifier would make an efficient closed loop where the heat is retained and moisture is removed.
 
Last edited:
JohnD said:
Are you a person who dislikes ventilation?
Click to expand...
I don't have a condensation problem.

I do have a little condensation on the metal windows in a flat. It's a flawed design as I described earlier. So, I cloth it, as it is an expected problem. Metal is a good thermal conductor. The interior side of it achieving the external temperature is to be expected, even if the hollows are properly sealed. In contrast, I don't believe the uPVC window hollows are sealed. The timber windows for the house I live in have no hollows. So, the barrier to exterior temperatures is substantial. The double glazing works as expected, and not cold enough to condense most of the time. It does condense in the kitchen during cooking time, then clears.
 
Last edited:
I did state that dehumidifiers do help

If its any help, Because of people not ventilating properties I now have to put Trickle Vents in all windows I fit..do you know why? Because Government doesn't accept a dehumidifier as a good alternative so the windows I fit would fail... does this tell you anything about what experts in the glazing industry and government think of dehumidifiers?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top