New Central Air Conditioning is blowing humid air- is this normal?

Question

We just redid the a/c system in our condo.. new duct work and all- everything is brand new. We have a humidity meter, and i put it directly over the vents, b/c im trying to find out why my allergies are bad, and was advised to keep humidity down in my house. Our humidity ranges from 45-60 in the house, but the vents emit something different and Im trying to conclude if this is normal before we go investigate. The A/C is down in a crawl space, and it is somewhat damp. The Ductwork might need to be sealed up also (hubbie hasnt gotten to it yet).

When the A/C is "ON" and circulating- the humidity ranges from 60-65%.

When the system is on "Circulate" (which is a feature i really wanted to keep air running through our IQ Air hepa system) it is REALLY humid, registering around 75-80% (WET) on our meter.

Im guessing the coils are wet, and the air circ's over and brings moisure with it upstairs.

What, if anything, can we do about this?

System is American Standard 16 Seer w/ Air handelor.

Also im trying to conclude if the moisture coming up is normal, or if its from improper install? Or, maybe from leaks in the ductwork bringing moist nasty basement/crawl space air with it? Crawlspace is a poured foundation, and is pretty clean, just somewhat damp/humid.

(responding to why A/C is in crawl space)
We are in a condo, and its a clean, dry crawl space. The humidity registered less down there then inside my house - HTH. When we bought the place, the a/c was down there, there is no way (easily) to put in our condo and no space.

Answer 1

As the air conditioner runs, it condenses the moisture in the air and the condensation runs down the coils and out through the condensation line. Sometimes these lines get clogged, and the water builds up in the unit, collecting in the pan under the fan, and is picked back up and sent through the home again. It looks like someone will have to crawl under the home and investigate the ducting and the condensate line. If the condensate line does not have an air trap, it be sucking water from the condensate pan into the ductwork and into your home. These are commonly called P or J traps, and should be installed as close to the air handler as possible.

Answer 2

Using the AC to cool should reduce the humidity in the house.
With some new systems you can just circulate inside air or draw in out side air. I know that my daughter has a control in her system that you set to control this. You could be drawing in warmer outside air that has more moisture in it.

Check in the duct work for a damper that you move to redirect the air flow. It should be a lever or a switch.

To get the humidity level down you would just use inside air & as it condensates on the coils it is drawn out of the system.

Other than that you must check why you have so much moisture in the air. When you cook or shower it could help if you use the exhaust fans.

See if you can put a dehumidifier in your crawl space or at a low level to help reduce humidity.

Dose your crawl space floor have open dirt or is it covered? Bare ground lets moisture in. If there is uncovered dirt, maybe just putting heavy plastic over it would help to seal moisture out.

Answer 3

Get the installer back and have him/her check the " superheat " to be sure the Freon charge is correct. If your return ducts are intact and within the structure, then the crawlspace air shouldn't be an issue. Does the indoor coil have the same rating ( SEER and tonnage ) as the outdoor unit? Ask them. I've seen more than one " packaged " unit wind up mismatched by the warehouse order picker. Also, was the correct fan speed wired in. Many units have three or more different speeds to handle different tonnages. Good luck.

Answer 4

Why is the AC in the crawl space. Sounds like you are adding humidity just because of the ACs location. Doesn't this sound strange to anyone else?