GBA Logo horizontal Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram YouTube Icon Navigation Search Icon Main Search Icon Video Play Icon Plus Icon Minus Icon Picture icon Hamburger Icon Close Icon Sorted

Community and Q&A

Ultra-Aire XT105H vs. Honeywell DR90A2000

lance_p | Posted in Mechanicals on

I’ve seen much praise of the highly efficient (most efficient?) UA XT105H whole-home dehumidifier in my research. It certainly seems like a winner. As with many things, though, having the best often comes at a price and the XT105H seems to be no exception to that rule. See below for the specs:

http://s7d2.scene7.com/is/content/Watscocom/Gemaire/article_1422491537058_en_ii.pdf?fmt=pdf

I’ve also read up on the Honeywell DR90A2000 whole-home dehumidifier. While not rated as high in terms of efficiency (2.9 L/kWh vs. 4.2 for the UA), it can be had at about HALF the cost. Here are the specs:

https://customer.honeywell.com/resources/Techlit/TechLitDocuments/33-00000s/33-00207.pdf

Based on their ratings at 80F and 60% RH, they compare like this:

Moisture removal (pints/day):
XT = 105
DR = 97

Power consumption (W):
XT = 530
DR = 645

So if we calculate basic daily power consumption (kWh/day):
XT = 12.72
DR = 15.48

Then divide the moisture removal by the power consumption (kWh/pint), we get:
XT = 8.25 (slightly less than the spec of 8.8)
DR = 6.27 (slightly better than the spec of 6.1)

All that to say (based on the specs) the XT105H removes about 32% more moisture than the DR90A2000 for a given amount of electricity. That statistic on its own is mighty impressive.

What I’m having trouble with is the price difference. Yes the Ultra-Aire is Made in the USA, which is definitely worth something, but can it justify being twice the price as a competing model? (Yes I consider these competing models as their moisture removal rates are very close). Running 24 hrs a day it would take over 3000 days to pay back at $.12kW/h, a little less if you consider the slightly lower heat load on the home during cooling months vs. heating months.

Is there more to these units than their specs would suggest? They both offer 5 year warranties, and for the price difference you could have an in-service DR90 with a spare in case something went wrong. Does anyone here have experience with both of these units?

I’m not trying to take anything away from the XT105H, it truly is an efficiency leader… but is it worth the price?

GBA Prime

Join the leading community of building science experts

Become a GBA Prime member and get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.

Replies

  1. Anon3 | | #1

    Where are you located? Why do you need to run a dehumidifer 24/7? Also, if you can use the dehumidifier as a heater, then the efficiency doesn't really matter that much anymore.

  2. GBA Editor
    Martin Holladay | | #2

    Lance,
    Unless you are operating a museum, or protecting a collection of musical instruments, it's hard to imagine why you would need to operate a dehumidifier for 24 hours a day.

    Perhaps you can describe your circumstances (geographical location, size of building, reason for concern about indoor RH) so that we can provide advice.

    -- Martin Holladay

  3. user-2310254 | | #3

    Both models are ventilators as well as dehumidifiers. Lance, are you after ventilation with as-needed dehumidification?

  4. GBA Editor
    Martin Holladay | | #4

    Lance,
    You wrote, "I will likely be looking for a ducted whole house humidifier..."

    Did you mean humidifier or dehumidifier?

  5. Anon3 | | #5

    The other thing about dehumidifiers is that they are LAUD. Since both model does not list db level I will assume they are 60+db loud.

  6. lance_p | | #6

    Martin, you are correct, I meant to say dehumidifier. I'll edit my post.

  7. lance_p | | #7

    While I will likely be looking for a ducted whole house dehumidifier for my own application, I'm less concerned about that at the moment and more concerned about comparing two like models. I'm in a steep learning curve and I'm just trying to understand why a certain model would be specified over another.

    ANON3 brings up a good point about efficiency during heating days. I would imagine any benefit during heating days would be countered by a disadvantage during cooling days in most applications? It might be a wash in the end?

    Both models seem to share similar feature sets and include a fresh air duct. Are there other differences I'm not seeing that could justify the more than $1000 price difference?

    My payback example was an extremely unrealistic best-case scenario in favor of the XT105H, and still shows about 8.3 years payback. If the unit was only running 20% of the time on an annual basis, a far more likely scenario, then the payback period based on my rough efficiency calculations exceeds 41 years.

  8. lance_p | | #8

    Bumping my own post to see if anyone has any further input.

  9. RMaglad | | #9

    moisture removal / power consumption should be in the units of pints/kwh (not kwh/pint).

    The XT removes more water and uses less power, so its pints/kwh is great.

    I dont actually have any constructive input.

  10. lance_p | | #10

    Ryan, you are absolutely correct, it should have been pints/kWh. I'm in Ottawa as well.

    Absolutely, the XT105's pints/kWh removal is excellent! I was just trying to understand if the added cost over the Honeywell DR90 could be somehow justified.

    At $0.12/kWh and a 20% annual duty cycle, its apparent 41 year payback seems hard to justify.

  11. Anon3 | | #11

    Just buy a portable dehumidifier, if you read the reviews, they don't last very long.

  12. Jon_R | | #12

    I'm interested in viable ducting plans for these ducted dehumidifiers. Connecting the output to an existing supply duct is recommended, but this can roughly halve the flow through the unit (which I expect significantly effects performance/efficiency).

  13. lance_p | | #13

    Various options are given here:

    https://customer.honeywell.com/resources/techlit/TechLitDocuments/68-0000s/68-3087.pdf

    I suppose if you're interested in maximising the unit's effective moisture removal you'd want to install a separate duct network, if what you're saying about flow reduction in an existing system is true.

  14. RMaglad | | #14

    no a/c? my crappy 2012 builder grade townhouse with oversized 2ton keeprite airconditioner is more than adequate at keeping summertime humidity around the 50% mark. It is set to 24*C between 11pm and 8pm, and 22*C between 8pm and 11pm. I've found this to be the perfect combination for comfort, during the summer months. Our master bedroom has a massive west facing window, and even with 2 large return grills, it needs some significant time with the ac running full tilt to cool the room down. It frequently reaches temps of 27-28*C on hot sunny days, even with blackout reflective blinds and blackout curtains.

  15. lance_p | | #15

    Ryan, our crappy 2004 builder grade (Minto) townhouse in Orleans sounds similar, except (perhaps?) ours is an end unit with the side wall facing South and all of the rear glass facing West. About 20 degrees South of straight West actually, about the worst case scenario for a townhouse. I believe the Code requirements were slightly improved between 2004 and 2012 as well, though I don't know the specifics.

    Ours is 1800sqft including the family room in the basement. Roughly equivalent to a 1500sqft two story with an unfinished basement, sharing one long conditioned wall with the neighbors.

    We also have a 2-ton AC unit, but in our application it's actually a bit undersized believe it or not! With the South facing long side wall (with large window over staircase) and the rear glass facing West, even with all the blinds closed the AC couldn't keep up on sunny hot 28C and up days. It wasn't until I fabbed up a white coroplast sunblock for the large half-circle window above our patio door that the AC could actually maintain a 22C set point on the main floor. The upstairs stays a little warmer than that, especially our master bedroom at the rear of the house, even with the furnace fan remaining on continuously.

    About five years ago I called an AC tech in to make sure the AC was working properly. He checked the operating pressures and the discharge temp and said it was working as designed. I haven't monitored our humidity levels in spring/fall, but I do know my wife complains about the curtains "growing" and touching the floor in the dining room during those times, so I'm sure humidity levels are higher than ideal.

    Just to be clear, my interest in whole home AC units is with regards to a new home build we're doing just West of Ottawa. I'm planning an efficient build and anticipate requiring significant dehumidification in the shoulder seasons when cooling is not needed.

  16. RMaglad | | #16

    Lance, we're neighbours. I'm located near Avalon Public School/Francois Dupuis Rec Centre.

    Perhaps in the spring, when the ac isn't running you could open your windows and let some cooler fresh air in, which should help lower the humidity levels. But during the summer, with an AC that can't keep up, i would anticipate good moisture removal most days.

    For your new build, pay meticulous attention to air tightness, and invest in a good HRV with good controls to help remove moisture from bathroom and kitchen areas. Provide good overhangs to help reduce solar heat gain during the summer.

    I too am designing a house to be located in Navan, I have intently placed the bedrooms on the east (slightly NE) wall of the single level house, nice sun in the mornings, but no heat gain for the rest of the day. The living areas are on the west end of the house, where higher temperatures are more tolerable.

    Feel free to e-mail me rmagladry AT ibigroup DOT com ; i really with there was an option for private message on this site, i hate giving out my email.

    Good luck with your build west of town.

  17. lance_p | | #17

    That's funny, we're near Jeanne D'Arc and St. Joseph, just a hop skip and a jump away. Did Minto build your place as well? I thought I heard they did a bunch of stuff in Avalon.

    Our build; front facing due South (or VERY close), four foot eaves/overhangs for both 1st and 2nd story windows (fully shaded in July and most of June/August), all bedrooms upstairs with the two spares on the West side, no East/West facing glass, and hopefully a PV-friendly roof (if I can win that battle with my wife!).

    Most of what's left to decide is just small floor plan details and a final decision on how I'm going to build the walls and approach foundation/slab insulation. So yeah, the important stuff.

    I'll definitely shoot you an email later!

Log in or create an account to post an answer.

Community

Recent Questions and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |