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Post by lagain on Oct 26, 2019 18:18:29 GMT
I have just had a smart meter fitted and it keeps going into the orange, for the last 2 days it has been in the orange all the time ! I have a 2 year old Meaco junior dehumidifier in a seperate garage which has always been damp. The dehumidifier is costing about 15pence per hour, so a potential cost of £1000 per year. If I turn it off the garage smells musty after a couple of days, any suggestions ?
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Post by djm16 on Oct 27, 2019 0:01:49 GMT
A usual dehumidifier is essentially a refridgerator, and should be using no more than 100W. You should be able to find a specification plate on the back somewhere giving its voltage current and power ratings. It is possible you have a cheap smart (dumb) meter that cannot cope with an inductive load. The pump in the dehumdifier is a large solenoid that throws an armature back and forth, flapping a diaphragm around. The solenoid draws quite a large current, but the current is out of phase with the line voltage and so does not use much power. A perfect solenoid (ie no resistance) that is running unloaded will have the current 90 degrees out of phase and will use no power at all. Your dumb meter may well be just measuring current and not the phase of the current, and so giving a spuriously high reading for power use. Throw it away, and keep running the dehumidifier. I may have misunderstood your "smart meter", is it supplied by the power company? and is it used for billing purpose? If so, then you should definitely complain to the power company as they will be ripping you off. You should also read this: www.utwente.nl/en/news/2017/3/313543/electronic-energy-meters-false-readings-almost-six-times-higher-than-actual-energy-consumption |
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Post by Brendan69 on Oct 27, 2019 10:56:47 GMT
George, before i had my " mancave built " i had a stand alone brick garage which sometimes smelt fusty in there but most days if the weather was ok i would leave the main door open or just half way up to allow fresh air to circulate in there and around the car. Putting a wet car away in a garage can cause the fustiness too albeit im sure your Rover hardly gets wet anyway.
You could just try using those plastic dehumidifier trays you can buy and place a few of those around your garage and see how much they collect daily. Gives you something to do each day also emptying them all. LOL.
Regarding smart metres, i am not a fan of them and currently refuse to have one as i too feel they are a big con so that the energy companies can rip folk off all the time. Typical rip off Britain.
Another option you could have is to have a small parafin heater in your garage on low setting which will take the chill off in there. Some will say " Oh noooo " dont use one but my grandfather used one in his garage for many years with no bother as he kept it clean and out of harms way all the time and his car was always ready to go in those very cold winter mornings.
Regards,
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tonys
Rover Fanatic
Posts: 419
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Post by tonys on Oct 27, 2019 10:59:20 GMT
I have a Meaco dehumidifier and its stated power consumption is 370watts, so approx 1/3 kw/hr. Unit costs of electricity are c15p per hour, so that equates to approx 5p per hour. However, the dehumidifier isn't always on, once the humidity level has reached the set level, it switches off and then 'tests' after a set amount of time, switching on/off as needed.
I don't like/trust these 'smart' meters, don't have one and don't intend to unless I'm forced to. I'm aware that if I switch electrical appliances on it costs money and if I know the approx power consumption I know approx how much it costs.
I think dehumidifiers are quite under-rated.
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tonys
Rover Fanatic
Posts: 419
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Post by tonys on Oct 27, 2019 11:05:19 GMT
I've just seen Brendan's update and my only comment is that I believe that burning something like paraffin would produce approx 1 litre of water vapour for every litre burnt which, whilst keeping frost away, could actually make the damp/moisture issue worse. I recall the older smallburners and remember my father having one which would occasionally be left under the engine in cold winter weather - a long time ago though  |
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Post by charlie on Oct 27, 2019 11:10:04 GMT
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Post by lagain on Oct 27, 2019 21:38:25 GMT
A usual dehumidifier is essentially a refridgerator, and should be using no more than 100W. You should be able to find a specification plate on the back somewhere giving its voltage current and power ratings. It is possible you have a cheap smart (dumb) meter that cannot cope with an inductive load. The pump in the dehumdifier is a large solenoid that throws an armature back and forth, flapping a diaphragm around. The solenoid draws quite a large current, but the current is out of phase with the line voltage and so does not use much power. A perfect solenoid (ie no resistance) that is running unloaded will have the current 90 degrees out of phase and will use no power at all. Your dumb meter may well be just measuring current and not the phase of the current, and so giving a spuriously high reading for power use. Throw it away, and keep running the dehumidifier. I may have misunderstood your "smart meter", is it supplied by the power company? and is it used for billing purpose? If so, then you should definitely complain to the power company as they will be ripping you off. You should also read this: www.utwente.nl/en/news/2017/3/313543/electronic-energy-meters-false-readings-almost-six-times-higher-than-actual-energy-consumptionIt is 650 Watts and the smart meter is from the supply company. The problem is that the dehumidifier is programmed to reduce the humidity to 50% and when it is wet it never gets there ! Having looked at the book I can set it at 60%, so will try that, but as it is dry now have turned it off. I shall contact Meaco and see what they say - thanks for replies |
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tonys
Rover Fanatic
Posts: 419
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Post by tonys on Oct 27, 2019 22:30:25 GMT
l'm fairly sure that the setting (of the three available) recommended for domestic use on mine is the equivalent of 65%.
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Post by djm16 on Oct 28, 2019 4:55:01 GMT
Your dehumidifier is a dessicant type device, so all the crap I just wrote is inapplicable! If it is rated at 650W, then your power consumption is not outrageous. Generally compressor type devices are more efficient, but you will never get a straight answer as it depends on temperature and relative humidity, and the desired final RH.
My ancient Wickes "Industrial" dehumidifier (that has just died) is rated at 100w and in the wet season used to keep the wet out of my 10x6x5m shed in Australia.
The next issue is where the water is coming from. Clearly a drafty garage will be bringing in damp air from outside when it is wet, but you could also be getting damp from inappropriate drainage from a gutter or downpipe simply going into the ground. So if you have a soak-away type drain, consider moving it further from the garage.
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Post by Warwick on Oct 28, 2019 11:17:14 GMT
.... I believe that burning something like paraffin would produce approx 1 litre of water vapour for every litre burnt which, whilst keeping frost away, could actually make the damp/moisture issue worse. .... Not to mention carbon monoxide poisoning. The silent, odourless killer. I wouldn't leave a kero heater running in a closed garage. Or an unflued gas heater. |
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Post by lagain on Oct 28, 2019 22:04:44 GMT
The next issue is where the water is coming from. Clearly a drafty garage will be bringing in damp air from outside when it is wet, but you could also be getting damp from inappropriate drainage from a gutter or downpipe simply going into the ground. So if you have a soak-away type drain, consider moving it further from the garage. I think that it is the garage construction, it is single block that is rendered, it is more or less sealed up, but has a flat roof which is insulated, perhaps I could line the walls. Years ago I grew runner beans near the rear wall and put the sprinkler on them. I ended up with a puddle in the garage. I have a chalky soil, so any water just disappears |
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