Dehumidifiers

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Newspapers are full of pseudo-scientific articles promoting humidifiers as part of the current energy conscious world however their is little solid reasoning and I don't know if dehumidifiers are worth it for people without respiratory illnesses. I get a bit of damp in my house, which is especially noticable if we go away for a few days. In winter we dry clothes for a household of four in the utility room. We get mould appearing in corners of the house. I am keen to reduce tumble drier usage but we are at air drying capacity in the house and I don't want any more damp. Will I reduce energy usage if I buy a dehumidifier or am I just adding to my electricity bill to get an air quality improvement? I assume it would be a refrigerant one. Thanks.
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2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 2.5kw inverter. 28MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.
But I would stress we have PV, so a lot of the time we are running this for free (so to speak). I think the dehumidifier is about 200W, but you get that back as internal heat gain.
But clothes aside, if you have damp and mould, then as others say, you need to do something, and a dehumidifier (if airing to outside isn't suitable) would help.
I may be wrong, but if there isn't a 'real' damp problem, such as issues with a wall, or damp proofing, then typically, damp/condensation in a house will be a result of our activities releasing more moisture inside such as showers, cooking, clothes airing, etc, than the house can air.
For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 2.5kw inverter. 28MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.
I dry my washing with it during the winter months, I put clothes on hangers on the landing or in the spare room and it's amazing how quickly they are dry.
It's not expensive to run at a fraction of what a tumble dryer would cost. Wouldn't be without it.