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Message
Electrical question: does wattage = heat?
Posted on 3/4/19 at 12:13 pm
Posted on 3/4/19 at 12:13 pm
I currently have 500w dehumidifier running in my home. Am I wrong to believe that the 500watts it consumes generates that same amount of heat that a, say, 500watt electric heater would?
This house has a little higher humidity than It ideally should ( approx 60% @ 70f w/o dehumidifier) so I'm hoping that the dehumidifier is killing two birds with one stone by both reducing the moisture in the air and also heating it a small amount. This small amount would offset my central heat (all electric) consumption by 500w.
Is this how any of this works?
This house has a little higher humidity than It ideally should ( approx 60% @ 70f w/o dehumidifier) so I'm hoping that the dehumidifier is killing two birds with one stone by both reducing the moisture in the air and also heating it a small amount. This small amount would offset my central heat (all electric) consumption by 500w.
Is this how any of this works?
14
Posted on 3/4/19 at 12:20 pm to Chuker
Short answer.....no
Most dehumidifiers cool the air first so that the water drops out of the air. It then heats the air back up.
While you will get some heat out of a dehumidifier it is not nearly as much as a heater
Most dehumidifiers cool the air first so that the water drops out of the air. It then heats the air back up.
While you will get some heat out of a dehumidifier it is not nearly as much as a heater
This post was edited on 3/4/19 at 12:24 pm
Posted on 3/4/19 at 12:21 pm to Chuker
You can probably expect warm air to exit the dehumidifier but it will not be 500W’s worth. The dehumidifier should be operating a refrigeration chiller as well, not to mention a circulation fan.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 12:21 pm to Chuker
60% humidity? Ain't bad if you're in the South.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 12:22 pm to Chuker
No, your coffee pot would be 1100 W alone when its on. Anything with hear requires a lot of power.
I have a little plug in heater with a 750W or 1500W setting.
Sucking in moisture and producing heat are 2 different things and operations. Your heat output would require more energy.
I have a little plug in heater with a 750W or 1500W setting.
Sucking in moisture and producing heat are 2 different things and operations. Your heat output would require more energy.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 12:25 pm to Chuker
LINK
Per the referenced page, typical electric heat pump is ~500% efficiency, and an electric heater is approximately 100%.
quote:
A typical home dehumidifier removes roughly 2L of water per kWh of energy used. That soaks up a bit over 1 kWH of latent heat. So the room warming is about 2kWh per kWh input energy. The efficiency is over 200%, not bad if you want to dry your house air also.
Per the referenced page, typical electric heat pump is ~500% efficiency, and an electric heater is approximately 100%.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 12:39 pm to madmaxvol
quote:
madmaxvol
thanks. that was a good link.
This was cool. definitly tells me using a dehumidifier is efficient as far as heating a home.
quote:
A typical home dehumidifier removes roughly 2L of water per kWh of energy used. That soaks up a bit over 1 kWH of latent heat. So the room warming is about 2kWh per kWh input energy. The efficiency is over 200%, not bad if you want to dry your house air also.
This post was edited on 3/4/19 at 12:46 pm
Posted on 3/4/19 at 12:50 pm to Chuker
quote:
I currently have 500w dehumidifier running in my home. Am I wrong to believe that the 500watts it consumes generates that same amount of heat that a, say, 500watt electric heater would?
Put a Kill-A-Watt meter on it, 500W rating doesn't necessarily mean it's pulling 500W running all the time but it probably is rejecting as much heat as a 500W resistance heater. Dehumidifier is nothing more than the evaporator and condenser of an AC unit in the same enclosed space. The heat it absorbs to condense the moisture in the air is rejected back into the same room plus the heat generated by the fan motor and controlling circuits. It isn't the same quality of heat, but it is the same amount.
This post was edited on 3/4/19 at 12:51 pm
Posted on 3/4/19 at 1:12 pm to Clames
quote:
Put a Kill-A-Watt meter on it, 500W rating doesn't necessarily mean it's pulling 500W
I have done that and you're right, it fluctuates and in fact, never fully gets to 500 but stays in the 460 range. 500w was just an even number.
But this was really my core question:
quote:
probably is rejecting as much heat as a 500W resistance heater.
I understand the cooling/condensing cycle and but was wondering if my net gain in heat was the same as if I'd used a 500w electric heater. I'm learning now about how wattage can be converted into different forms of energy. I.e an incandescent bulb is about 5% efficient giving off 95% of the energy used as heat and 5% as light. Radio waves is another way watts is converted into something other than heat.
quote:Not sure exactly what you mean but as long as net heat stays in my home then all good to me.
isn't the same quality of heat, but it is the same amount.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 1:42 pm to Chuker
quote:
I currently have 500w dehumidifier running in my home. Am I wrong to believe that the 500watts it consumes generates that same amount of heat that a, say, 500watt electric heater would?
In short, yes. when speaking from an energy consumption viewpoint.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 3:02 pm to Chuker
I have a dehumidifier in my small workshop, talking about 200 sqft, along with an indoor digital thermometer/hygrometer unit. If that machine runs for a few hours and there is sufficient humidity to keep pump going it will definitely raise the temp a few degrees. Nothing like the 1500W space heater in there, but the air coming out is definitely warmer than ambient.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 3:23 pm to Chuker
large amount of the power is converted into mechanical energy to push the coolant through the heat exchangers to cool the air, condensate the humidity, and warm it back to room temperature, the unused energy is loss as heat from the motor windings
Posted on 3/4/19 at 3:30 pm to Chuker
quote:
Am I wrong to believe that the 500watts it consumes generates that same amount of heat that a, say, 500watt electric heater would?
No. An electric heater uses energy through resistance (i.e. current moving through the coils) heatinf the air around it.
A dehumidifier uses energy by running a small condenser which takes moisture out of the air, then pumping it into a condensate line which drains into a plumbing line.
If they use the same amout of energy (500w) in total it is merely coincidental.
This post was edited on 3/4/19 at 3:33 pm
Posted on 3/4/19 at 3:33 pm to Chuker
quote:
does wattage = heat?
Watt?
Posted on 3/4/19 at 3:51 pm to Mudminnow
quote:
Sucking in moisture and producing heat are 2 different things and operations. Your heat output would require more energy.
Energy input has to equal energy output, Any energy consumed by the de-humidifier that is not converted to mechanical motion by motors, is going to be dissipated as heat.
"The law of conservation of energy states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant; it is said to be conserved over time. This law means that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it can only be transformed or transferred from one form to another."
Posted on 3/4/19 at 4:54 pm to Chuker
Somebody get this guy a psychrometric chart.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 5:02 pm to Chuker
Now, if you are comparing apples and apples, a 10 ohm resistor on a 5V power supply. Power is equal to V^2/R so 2.5W. It heats up to a certain temperature, depending on size of the resistor, airflow, etc.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 5:52 pm to Chuker
quote:
Am I wrong to believe that the 500watts it consumes generates that same amount of heat that a, say, 500watt electric heater would?
Unless you’re trying to produce heat, that’s wrong. Wattage is the energy used for everything, fan, chiller, etc. those items will produce some hear but any work they do otherwise (energy to turn a fan or run a compressor) which only produces heat due to friction and other inefficiencies.
Posted on 3/4/19 at 6:04 pm to Chuker
as far as heat transfer is concerned that's the goal of the dehumidifier and the mechanical energy put into the coolant movement transfers the mechanical energy into heat energy through the heat exchanger process
hence you should have a BTU rating that converts into watts the same as any air conditioner or heater
hence you should have a BTU rating that converts into watts the same as any air conditioner or heater
This post was edited on 3/4/19 at 6:11 pm
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