Ask HN: Anyone Using Peltier Dehumidifiers? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Anyone Using Peltier Dehumidifiers?

1 pointelectricant5 comments

Hi HN. I'm currently battling with high humidity levels and mold in my bathroom. Since the room is quite small (~5sqm) I was thinking of using one of those pelier-cell based dehumidifiers. Any experience/thoughts?

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The way I know is to crank up the heating and open windows a bit over longer periods (weeks). Yes this sounds wasteful but any solution is going to consume energy one way or the other. If I had a closet or small room with no window I'd dial up the radiator in that room and dial down other radiators, leave the door open and use the damp room to heat the rest of the place (maybe after applying some fungus killer first and see to it that the apartment gets a proper gulp of fresh air every now and then). Lastly, one could try to put a ventilator in the doorway and let it fan air all day long; even when air is not very hot and dry it can still transport lots of dampness provided circulation is sufficient. Enforced circulation is good for cooking, roasting, cooling and also for drying stuff, it's all the same in that respect. And, as others have said, Peltier elements are great for their simplicity and lack of moving parts but energy efficient they're not.

Oh I forgot, in the case of a bathroom, never close the door as long as that's acceptable, especially not after taking a shower. This sounds so obvious I feel stupid for saying it, but I've seen things (in one case my own bathroom after subletting it which had turned into a humid tropic hell in a matter of months) and some people just don't get it.

those work well for a very small space like a chest freezer (i used one in a fermentation chamber/keezer). I would not use them for a room, they won't work well, get a real dehumidifier.

you could try damprid too, but you ideally want silica that you can recharge.

if your bathroom has a vent or ventilation hooked up to central air none of these solutions will help because you're fighting the airflow of the whole building.

The issue is quite the opposite. There is no airflow. That's why it is so damp. BTW the house is not mine so modifying it to increase airflow is not an option.

Get one with Hose connection.run longer without Tank emptiing.

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