Honeywell HE360A Whole House Powered Humidifier

Posted In: Cost Of Building A House

Alexandria Delpriore says...

Purchased this product new, it installed very easily following the instructions provided. Did not need the installation kit that was extra cost. This was a replacement for an older drum type unit. This unit is working just perfectly, no troubles of any kind, shape or form.

IT'S PERFECT!

Posted on August 27, 2011

Sherita Elm says...

My old (15+ years) humidifier was not working well and I could not get parts for it economically ($80 just for the solenoid) so I replaced it with this.Note that it "requires" an separate installation kit, the most useful part of which is the sail switch.More on that later.Due to the configuration of the high efficiency furnace in/out air pipes, I could not use the existing bypass ducting on any new humidifier and I did not want to disturb the existing piping as even then the bypass ducting would not work well.All of the bypass humidifiers I found in my price range have inputs from the side and not the front, as with the Carrier.The instructions say that while we can install this one on the cool air return ducting, it will work much better on the heated air output duct.The instructions also say that if you have to use the cold air return, just set the humidity a bit higher.I figured that a partially working humidifier is better than none at all.



My furnace supplied 24V AC to the old Carrier unit only when the heat was on, so I used that wiring to operate a 24V AC fan relay purchased from Grainger for $15 instead of the $60 installation kit with the sail switch.Other sites mentioned how rinky-dink a sail switch is so I just resolved to use the existing wiring.That worked great.I also had to widen the return duct opening so the new humidifier would fit.On the duct side this unit has side air inlets that allow the return air to pass through a fan which then blows the air over the humidifier water element and back into the return duct.I also minimized water flow through the unit by just cracking open the saddle valve so the unused water flow was at a minimal level while the unit is running.The fan cannot be heard when the rest of the furnace is operating.I know it would work better mounted in the warm air duct, but I just could not get to it due to the way the ducting and the furnace came together, as well as the furnace location in a small corner of the basement.



The instructions are not that great.Please note that the template mentioned in the instructions are the paper the instructions themselves are printed on.Also, there is a perforation in the paper if you want to use it that way, but with the paper folded it worked well.Fold the paper, mark twice and cut once.The instructions have several wiring diagrams.You really onlyneed the 120V AC for the fan and then connect the two yellow wires to the humidistat.Use the fan relay in place of the sail switch.That way you don't need to cut an opening in the return duct for the sail switch.There is a pair of red wires, whose purpose is not well documented.I called Honeywell to see if my scheme would work and wasted my time talking to someone who had no idea how to use any alternatives to the instructions, could not see the instructions anyway, and kept having to put me on hold for minutes at a time to ask someone else.This thing is not that hard to wire.If you know how to use a voltmeter and hand tools you should be good to go.

Posted on August 28, 2011

Basilia Pinnick says...

Two Warnings:

1. Don't order a humidistat.This unit comes with a model H8908B humidistat in the box with the unit.Amazon's web page is misleading because it suggests that those ordering this unit might want to add humidistat to their order.

2. The instruction sheet is supposed to be the template for the duct opening.It has "TEMPLATE" written on 3 edges but my sheet did not have any other markings, fold lines, or perforations.This led me to believe that the edges of the sheet were to be used and I marked the duct accordingly. Fortunately, I held the unit up to the marked opening before cutting and discovered the whole would have been too big. A product sheet can be found here [...]



Performance:

Several days were required to reach the desired humidity level.Once that level was reached, the unit has had no difficulty keeping up.

Posted on August 28, 2011

Merilyn Fealy says...

I purchased this humidifier to replace the same model that had worn fan bearings.The fan bearings are not accessable for lubrication. It was slightly more expensive to purchase a new unit than to buy a replacement motor at a cost of $150.00, (parts only), for a repair.

The humidifier does a good job of humidifing the house when the pads a maintained.

Posted on August 29, 2011

Jonie Swam says...

I was tired of refilling room humidifiers every night, so I installed this unit.Installation was fairly easy and straightforward, and the unit came with everything needed to install except 1/4" copper tube.However, even when it's set to maximum humidity (60), it simply doesn't add a lot of moisture to the air.To check, I ran the water supply from a 5-gallon bucket instead of the hot water pipe, and after 24 hours it had used about 3 gallons of water, and hadn't made a difference to the humidistat, which read 25%.This is in an 1800 s.f. uninsulated (but not drafty) old house, where the heat runs frequently as it's currently in the teens outside.The other problem is that it uses an enormous amount of water.For the 3 gallons that are sent into the heating ducts, another 15 or so goes down the drain.I checked this by running the drain into a 5-gallon container and it filled up in less than 8 hours.I will probably shut it off and never use it, so for me it was a big waste of money and effort.

Posted on August 29, 2011

Paulita Hentz says...

Very decent humidifier.I installed the complete package myself without difficulty using basic home maintenance tools.Instructions were clear enough.I like the fact that it provides fresh water constantly versus a tank with a spinning foam roller.The unit has a fan that blows heated air through the damp filter - forcing humid air into the ducts vs. allowing normal duct air to push through a foam filter. One drawback: the screen filter will clog, especially if you have hard water, and the humidifier will drip externally.I check every few days and have spare filters.So far, have only had to change the filter about once a year.

I would purchase this unit again and recommend it.

Posted on August 29, 2011

Joycelyn Barschdoor says...

I owned this Humidfier for about 4 years now. The installation was fairly straigth forward. Yet it did take me a whole day to get it in. I did use the installation kit. Since there was no drain nearby i used a condensation pump for the excess water.



I am satisfied with the humidifier. It can get the relative humidity to low 50s in my 1800 sqft house providing it is not windy outside.

What I am not thrilled about is the amount of water it comes out that goes into the condensation pump. The condensation pump went out after 3 years.

Posted on August 30, 2011

Suzi Chionchio says...

This is a replacement unit for my original HE360A humidifier purchased 5 years ago.The solenoid valve which controls the water flow into the unit quit working and it was simpler for me just to replace the whole unit.Although it's rated to humidify up to 4200 sq ft, in my house which is well under that sq ft, it cannot raise the humidity above the low 30%'s in moderate winter temps and the humidity will fall into the 20%s when it is very cold.I used the sail switch from the accessory kit rather than connecting it to the furnace motor which requires a nearby wall outlet for power.Installation was not difficult but I would consider myself at the "semi-professional" level for home maintenance.

Posted on August 31, 2011

Sam Dicorpo says...

I installed the HE360A onto a new Ruud 95%+ high-efficiency dual-stage heating and cooling system and I'm controlling the unit with a Ritetemp 6080 thermostat.The humidifier works beautifully, and based upon my research with heating and cooling specialists, this unit is optimally-designed to conserve power and to protect the heating and cooling system.Bypass units (that use a piece of ducting connecting the return and supply sides of the system) rob the heating system's efficiency and will push moist air through the system.Installing this unit on the supply side of the ductwork ensures that all of the humidified air will be moved into the home, not back into the system.While this design does use more water than some other units, the savings in power and the increased efficiency of the unit will minimize its financial impact.By the way, I attached the unit to a hot water supply, not cold, as this helps the moisture to be absorbed into the heated air.



The newer Honeywell humidifiers create steam to humidify the air.While this is probably optimal for humidification purposes and should minimize the amount of water used, the amount of electricity these systems use to create the steam will definitely impact your pocketbook.From a "green" perspective, I find that water is a cheaper and more renewable resource than electrical power.The old-fashioned drum humidifier units will save water, but use a holding tray of water to soak a pad that the air travels through.If not cleaned thoroughly and often, they develop mold and mildew and that will get circulated through your house... a very dangerous and unhealthy option.



Installing this unit did prove a bit of a challenge because of it's combination with the Ritetemp 6080 electronic thermostat, which includes a humidistat.Most online "experts" say that the HE360 units won't work with this kind of thermostat/humidistat because of incompatible electrical design of the two systems.However, I'm a firm believer that anything is possible with enough research and who doesn't like a challenge?To make this work, I purchased a small 24VAC SPDT relay from Grainger, part number 4A708 (about $15) and did NOT use the installation kit recommended for the humidifier or the humidistat that was provided with the unit.Since my air handler provides 24VAC to the thermostat and the thermostat interally provides settings to determine when the humidifier will run, I used the relay to control power to the 120VAC side of the system which acts as a switch to turn the entire humidifier on and off.To accomplish this, I installed a new electrical circuit and outlet to be used solely by the humidifer.I installed the relay inside an electrical box to control the power to this outlet.Using low voltage wiring I connected the relay to the "C"ommon contact on the air handler and to the "H"umidifier wire from the thermostat.I then used a wire nut to connect the two yellow wires on the HE360, which basically sets the unit "on" any time it has power.When the air handler is running in heat mode and the thermostat determines that humidification is required, the relay is powered and provides 120VAC power to the outlet and the humidifier is turned on.When the relay loses power, the 120VAC is turned off that the HE360 shuts off.The thermostat can be set to work two ways:to run the humidifier and the air handler's blower anytime when the humidistat says that humidity is required, or to run the humidifier only when the air handler is in heat mode and the blower is running and humidity is required.I could have directly wired this unit to the air handler's power, but I chose to use the outlet so that I could unplug the unit in an emergency or for service.



I strongly recommend this unit... I've tried several of whole house units over the last 20 years and this is the first that really works. I've already helped others to install these units on their HVAC systems and all of them work great, none have had any problems and all are amazed at the difference the humidifier makes in their homes.

Posted on September 3, 2011

Carmen Stakoe says...

I purchased this outdated unit because of the low price. Instructions to install were easy to follow and it went well. I used a current sensor switch which was also easy to set up and the unit is doing very well. We were dealing with humidity levels as low as 21A% during winter months. We have set the humidistat at approximately 42-43 and it keeps humidity levels ranging from 38-41%. We are very happy with this system.

Posted on September 5, 2011