[cheesecake]

Hey guys -

I will be out of town for three weeks... and right now its so humid! I've never been out of town for this long in the summer. I would like it to have my dehumidifier on however the tank fills up in a day or so, and therefore would shut off.

I'm contemplating leaving my a/c on.. but am worried about how much electricity I'd be eating up.

Any suggestions from the veterans out there who have been away from their apts over the summer for extended periods of time?

Thanks!!

[jimbo]

never leave anything electrical on unattended.

Get the disposable dehumidifiers and put one in each room and put some newspaper down too as that will also help soak up the moisture.

I've done the above numerous times when I've been back in London for extended periods and no sign of mould etc when I returned.

[PDLM]

Most dehumidifiers have a place where you can attach a hose and run it to a drain so that they can run continuously. Look for a push-out round panel in the casing - the connector for the hose will be behind that.

[muddykins]

you could always ask a neighbor / friend to drop by to empty your dehumidifier - i'd say leaving the aircon on is a horrible idea, not only is it dangerous but it's a ridiculous waste of money and a waste of energy too. Hong Kong has enough pollution. =p

[PDLM]

Originally Posted by muddykins

not only is it dangerous

In what way? Aircons are designed to run continuously.

[chowfun]

Dehumidifier gets full and bacteria will grow. They aren't made to last 3 weeks. Even with a drain tube, you risk flooding your apartment if it is dislodged.

Leave the AC on at a higher temp (27 degrees C?) so that it keeps the room dry, but doesn't eat up a whole lot of electricity since you're not there to enjoy the cool air.

[hktraveller]

Originally Posted by chowfun

Dehumidifier gets full and bacteria will grow. They aren't made to last 3 weeks. Even with a drain tube, you risk flooding your apartment if it is dislodged.

Leave the AC on at a higher temp (27 degrees C?) so that it keep the room dry, but doesn't eat up a whole lot of electricity since you're not there to enjoy the cool air.

I leave my aircon on 27 degrees and the dehumidifier on 24/7 and never had a problem. Of course the dehumidifier needs a drain hose.

27 degrees is cold enough to be comfortable at 50%. It saves a lot of power.

Only the aircon on 27 doesn't significantly reduce humidity.
When keeping humidity to 50-60% all the time, cokroatches are unknown!

[MovingIn07]

we leave one aircon on - at around 26 degrees if I recall - all the time, including when away. just to keep the air circulating and being dehumidified.

[chowfun]

For a normal person/family, turning the AC off for the few hours while you're at work/school doesn't save money or energy. As the room warms up, your furniture, walls, floor and any other objects in the house will warm up as well. When you come back home and turn on the AC, it'll have to cool the air as well as teh heat radiating from the walls and objects.

[PDLM]

That's complete bollocks, as anyone with a rudimentary education in physics could tell you.