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  • Solar power for heater/dehumidifier

    Greetings all.

    I am lucky enough to have a mancave.

    Unfortunately it has a tendency to be damp.

    There are buildingy-type things I can do to stop some of the dampness but not for a while yet, but because I use it to store my drums (including some vintage ones), and because I took my previously mint condition Slingerland Radio King snare out of its case and found that the damp had caused the finish to crack and craze :disappointed_relieved: I’m now looking for a solution to dry out the room.

    One problem is that it had no heating. I have a convection heater in there but although it’s left on frost protection mode, it doesn’t get turned on full very often as I’m only out there for long periods probably less than once a week.

    I’ve idly been considering getting a dehumidifier. Probably a desiccating one, as the condensing ones apparently don’t work at lower temperatures.

    I was wondering if it is feasible to hook one up to some solar panels to basically give ‘free’ power. Alternatively, has anyone ever used anything like a Solarventi? I like the idea of that.

    The mancave has a shallow south facing roof that would be ideal for solar panels.

    Any thoughts?
    Last edited by sdold; 03-19-2020, 05:02 PM. Reason: Removed link

  • #2
    Originally posted by Heatmypannel View Post
    Greetings all.

    I am lucky enough to have a mancave.

    Unfortunately it has a tendency to be damp.

    There are buildingy-type things I can do to stop some of the dampness but not for a while yet, but because I use it to store my drums (including some vintage ones), and because I took my previously mint condition Slingerland Radio King snare out of its case and found that the damp had caused the finish to crack and craze :disappointed_relieved: I’m now looking for a solution to dry out the room.

    One problem is that it had no heating. I have a convection heater in there but although it’s left on frost protection mode, it doesn’t get turned on full very often as I’m only out there for long periods probably less than once a week.

    I’ve idly been considering getting a dehumidifier. Probably a desiccating one, as the condensing ones apparently don’t work at lower temperatures.

    I was wondering if it is feasible to hook one up to some solar panels to basically give ‘free’ power. Alternatively, has anyone ever used anything like a Solarventi? I like the idea of that.

    The mancave has a shallow south facing roof that would be ideal for solar panels.

    Any thoughts?
    I would guess it all depends on how many watt hours any of those humidifiers burn up each day. Based on that value you can design a solar/battery system to run it.

    Which humidifier were you looking at getting and will it be used 24 hours per day? Remember any load that has electric heat will use a large amount of watt hours which will increase the size of your battery system and the panel wattage needed to recharge it.
    Last edited by sdold; 03-19-2020, 05:11 PM. Reason: This is spam

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    • #3
      From my personal, limited experience, a dehumidifier will use a lot of energy and pull a lot of water out of the air, but not make a noticable difference in basement humidity or condensation. I ran one for days, and the humidity gauge needle didn't move at all. The world was just too efficient at pumping humidity into the air.

      I found that a simple fan was much more effective at reducing condensation because it kept everything at the same temperature. The fan also uses much less energy than the dehumidifier.

      I am focused on condensation rather than exact humidity level because things will stabilize when the humidity and temperature are constant. You get problems with finish cracking when condensation causes moisture to puddle.

      Once you settle on the solution, you can follow SunEagle's good advice and size the solar panels to match the energy consumption. Many of us are fans of a $25 (US dollars) energy-measuring device called Kill A Watt. Plug all of your stuff into it, come back a few days later, and you can read how many kWh have been consumed.

      I'm assuming that you have 120VAC or 240VAC power available in your mancave. If so, you can use solar panels to back feed the grid in the daytime when you're generating more than you're using, and you can draw power from the grid at night. The grid becomes your battery and your solar system is much cheaper because you don't need batteries or chargers.
      7kW Roof PV, APsystems QS1 micros, Nissan Leaf EV

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      • #4
        Before I reduced the amount of moisture in the air, I'd see if I could keep the horse before the cart and work on reducing the source of the moisture/humidity in the first place.

        (From former owner of Ludwig black pearl, Zildjian, Speed King).

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        • #5
          You need moisture vapor barriers, underneath the room , and if you want to use dehumidifiers, you must seal windows and doors to reduce air exchange
          Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
          || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
          || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

          solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
          gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
            You need moisture vapor barriers, underneath the room , and if you want to use dehumidifiers, you must seal windows and doors to reduce air exchange
            Sealing doors and widows will help as long as the dew point of the outside air is greater than the dew point of the inside air as is usual in warmer weather. If the source(s) of moisture are damp ground/wall/floor/foundation leaks or seepage, more ventilation with less moist (dryer) air will help reduce the moisture content of the air in the person cave as will not putting more moisture in the air in the space by such things as showers, etc.

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            • #7
              Is your man cave a stand alone shed, pole barn, separate garage, or basement? Insulation in the walls or roof? Any air flow when you are not out there?

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              • #8
                Don't expect the OP to answer, he was just here to post a link,.

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