Why are pool dehumidifiers so much bigger and more expensive than air conditioners? Why are pool rooms often humid, hot and uncomfortable? What are the differences between a pool dehumidifier and an air conditioner, besides cost?

To answer these questions, we interviewed Keith Coursin, the President of Desert Aire Corporation, a leading manufacturer of pool dehumidification systems. https://www.desertaire.com

Air conditioners are not appropriate for indoor swimming pools. They are designed to heat or cool the air, and a byproduct of that process is moisture removal. Pool dehumidifiers, on the other hand, are specifically designed for efficient moisture removal while largely maintaining an ambient temperature of 8286ºF, in most cases. In other words, pool dehumidification units (PDUs) remove moisture BUT they also reclaim heat from the air and reheat the air after it passes through the evaporator coil. Normally an evaporator coil would cool the air substantially, so PDUs have a reheat mechanism to save energy.

Pool dehumidifiers are also more capable of large volumes of air, whereas air conditioners are not. In short, air conditioners fail in natatoriums because they are simply not designed for the application. For more information on why, read ASHRAE §62.1. https://blog.chloramineconsulting.com...

Notable quotes from the interview:
"An air conditioner is seeking a goal of just trying to cool, so they size the airflow and all that to keep costs down."

"In an indoor pool, a dehumidifier runs more of the time to remove moisture than it does to turn on for cooling or heating."

Read more here: https://blog.chloramineconsulting.com...

Dehumidification problems to avoid: https://blog.chloramineconsulting.com...