heating question

Our energy company says it's cheaper to turn down the heat when you don't need it rather than leave it on. The same applies to air conditioning.

I would check around all the windows, doors and electrical outlets to see if there is any cold air sneaking inside. You might be surprised how many cold spots you can find. Foam them if you can.

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Sounds like a seasonal partial berm home . Cool. Er, I mean Warm.

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I live in a tiny house, its only 48 sq feet that I built myself.

right now I have a blueflame heater, but it is producing too much moisture in the air. should I look for a different heater (no idea what else I could use in here) or should I look at 12volt dehumidifiers (they pull up to 11.8 oz out of the air per 24 hours from what I read)

I live on solar power. and propane heating right now.

Call your propane company and see if you can be set up on a plan where they come monthly during the winter and keep your tank full for you. Then you pay monthly. Ours does that in the winter and only if we call in the summer. Our company won't let us get a bigger tank - at least not from them.

Hi,
For the crawl space, you might consider going to a "Conditioned Crawlspace".

Basically, you put down a poly sheet on the crawl space dirt floor, insulate the crawl space walls on the inside (be sure to do the rim joist as well), and permanently plug the crawl space vents.

This pdf gives the details:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects...Space29238.pdf

Its usually cheaper and easier to insulate the crawl space walls than to insulate the floor above the crawl space, and the conditioned crawl space has the advantage of keeping the crawl space warm enough to not have to worry about frozen pipes.

The stuff I've read indicates that the conditioned crawls space works well in most climates and usually controls moisture better than a vented crawls space, but you might want to ask around locally to see what the local experts say for your climate.

Gary

Flames don't produce water so I'm betting your moisture problem is coming from your breath or sweat because of the limited space available to absorb it. Only air exchange is going to reduce the humidity.

__________________
"Do you believe in the devil? You know, a supreme evil being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man?" Hobbs
"I'm not sure that man needs the help." Calvin

propane produces moisture. there is a set amount it produces per gallon or pound of propane consumed.

If that is the case why is my humidity so low in the house during the winter time?
I have a pan on top the the Propane furnace to get even more moisture in the air. I even dry clothes by hanging them up on racks ion the house next to the Propane furnace where the fan can dry them better, making sure I get even more humidity in the air. The furnace is pretty good sized one for this small place 35,000 BTUs.

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your furnace is direct vent, all the moisture is exhausted outside.

ventless / vent free heaters exhaust to the inside of your living space.

1 gallon of propane burnt produces roughly 1 gallon of water (vapor) in the air.

Hi,
Propane and NG both produce water.
The Methane molecule is CH4 (1 carbon + 4 Hydrogen) and Propane is C3H8.
When you burn it, the carbon goes to CO2, and the Hydrogen goes to H20 -- water. If the propane or methane burner is not vented to the outside, then the water produced adds to the humidity in the room.


Winter tends to feel dry (I think) because you are taking in cold air from outside and warming it up. Cold air holds less moisture than warm air, so when you warm up the outside air the relative humidity goes down. For example, if the outside air is 30F at 40% relative humidity, when you warm it up to 70F, the relative humidity drops to about 15%.


Gary

Great explanation SolarGary, mind if I quote it on my website?