"Francis A. Miniter" <faminiter@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:T4Gdnel-tvaIaKTVnZ2dnUVZ_gGdnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:
>>> I have a collection of several thousand books in a part of my
>>> house that gets too humid in the summer time. The books
>>> can get moldy.
>>>
>>> I've dealt with that in the past with dehumidification, but in
>>> the last year electricity costs have gone through the roof
>>> in my state and it's getting really expensive. Has anyone
>>> successfully controlled mold by cheaper means - air
>>> circulation, lysol spray, ultraviolet light (which can also
>>> damage books), etc.?
>>
>> A dehumidifier shouldn't cost much to run. Have you checked its
>> power consumption, or the power consumption of the smallest one
>> that will do the job?
>>
>> ==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k ===
>> <http://www.campin.me.uk>
====
>> Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob
>> 07800 739 557
>> CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac
>> logic fonts
>
>
> Air conditioning removes moisture as well as cooling the space. Air
> conditioning can be made less expensive with a heat pump. Air to air
> systems work well in the southern US. In the north, a ground water
> sourced heat pump (which pulverizes costs for both heating and
> cooling) or closed loop heat pump is the way to go. My SEER
> efficiency is in the range of 25+.
>
> High Efficiency (SEER 16 to 23) air conditioners (not heat pumps) cost
> about $3,500, but run with much reduced costs.
>
> And you will feel better too.
>
>
> Francis A. Miniter
Thank you for the replies.
The current rate for electricity in my area (Baltimore Maryland) is 11.4
cents per kilowatt hour. That works out to about $82/ month for an
appliance
that uses 1000 watts.
It appears that a small dehumidifier may use about 840 watts. If it
runs
about half the time, that works out to 420 watts average or about 34.50
per month. Over a five month period, that's about $172. I think that,
in
fact, the rates may be a bit higher because there are other charges
tacked on to the base rate for electricity.
A ground water heat pump is a great idea. It would also save me
money on heating in the winter, since all I have is an air heat pump,
no gas or oil heating (which aren't cheap anyway). But, alas, they
are expensive to install.
I'm now looking at two other interesting solutions.
One is chlorine dioxide. It's described here:
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/abbey/an/an26/an26-6/an26-618.html
Another is to put a simple exhaust fan in my basement (where my books
currently reside) to draw warmer and dryer air down to the basement
from the rest of the house through an open basement door. That may
use about 35 watts when running, less than 1/10th the cost of the
dehumidifier, though maybe not as effective.
The chlorine dioxide approach is related to Shane's suggestion of
spraying a fine mist of bleach - but perhaps a little safer since Cl02
is said to be well tested as non-toxic for humans.
Thanks again.
Alan
The actual usage depends on how long t
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