Furnaces are rapidly turning into one of the top home needs lately, due to their superior heating capacity, and other usefulness. They are built with a duct that supplies heat generated to precise areas in the home, and because of such a system, a whole-house humidifier can be easily installed along with a furnace.

Humidifiers generate the much-needed moisture for homes, keeping you healthy and free of infection-causing microorganisms. In this humidifier for furnace reviews, we would be discussing some of the best whole house steam humidifiers.

A humidifier that attaches to the furnace is called a whole-house humidifier, because of how they release mist to serve the whole house. They ride on the existing furnace duct system and takes advantage of it to spread humidity efficiently. Some of them can work independently of the furnace, while the others are dependent on it.

After a close look at all our reviewed products, Horticat U80Pro comes out as the best furnace humidifier. It is an HVAC steam humidifier with direct water connect line and a high moisture rate of 80 pints per day.

Also Read: Best Humidifier for 2000 square feet

First of all, Are humidifiers on furnaces good?

Furnace humidifiers are generally installed on an HVAC system where they would have direct access to the duct for efficient humidification of the home.

As a result of this, humidifiers on furnaces are good. As a matter of fact, it is the best place to install a unit since it would work in hand with the furnace to both heads up and humidify the whole house effectively.

Do furnace humidifiers use a lot of water?

Compared to portable units, furnace humidifiers consumes more amount of water to humidify your home. On average, furnace humidifiers consume between 1.5 gallons to 12 gallons per day.

This, however, depends on the type of humidifier (some consumes more water than the other), and the setting at which you run it. A unit running on its highest humidification level would consume more water than those that are not.

How to carry out Humidifier for furnace reviews

There are few things we put in place before selecting the furnace humidifiers we reviewed. The most important things to look out for are:

Capacity: The capacity of a humidifier must always be considered before purchase. The higher the volume of mist it can produce per day, the more effective it would be at humidifying. Bigger is always better. However, purchase a product that would fit your room just right so as not to overspend.

Mounting: Furnace humidifiers always have to be mounted either on a wall or on the furnace duct itself, unlike portable humidifiers. We recommend that you go for products with straightforward installation, rather than a more complex and expensive one. This is why we only selected humidifiers that are easy to mount for our review. For most of them, you can easily do it yourself instead of hiring a professional.

Humidistat: This feature allows the unit to measure, monitor, and vary its performance based on immediate humidity in the room. Products with this feature have inbuilt sensors that measure relative humidity, and the machine uses that value to determine its mist output. You can choose to increase, decrease, or maintain humidity when using products with this feature.

Maintenance: Although whole-house humidifiers do not require as much maintenance as portable units, some of them have tedious procedures when it’s time to clean. Generally, products with canisters are easier to clean than the drum or tray humidifiers. However, the canisters would have to be replaced every season and are expensive to purchase.

Also Read: Best portable whole House Humidifier

Top Humidifiers for Homes with Furnaces

Horticat U80Pro Ultrasonic Mist 80 Pint Per Day Direct Connect Water Line Commercial Humidifier

best air purifier for the price

High moisture output with continuous water supply

The primary task of a humidifier is to generate moisture that is enough to increase the relative humidity of a room. This is exactly what the Horticat U80 pro is good at. Being able to generate 80 pints of moisture per day, it is simply the best whole house furnace humidifier for you. It can be mounted on a wall, therefore saving you the stress of creating space along your furnace duct to mount.

Horticat U80pro is the world’s first mount water supply connected humidifier with humidistat humidity control integrated into the unit. The installation procedure is straight forward, mount on the wall, and connect its appropriate fittings (water supply and duct connection). The stress of constant water refills is eliminated in this unit since water is piped directly from a source.

Independent day/night modes

A photocell is mounted directly on this unit, which helps it switch between independent day/ night modes depending on the amount of light sensed. The humidifier runs at different speeds in the day and night, providing a suitable humidity level at all times to keep you comfortable.

Multilink communication with remote control

A special feature about the Horticat U80 is the ability for two or more units to be interconnected. This is called multilink, and it allows you to connect several U80 units, which would all work together to achieve a common humidity goal in any size/ type of environment. You can tether several units together for larger scale humidification, and also for boosting humidity in poor humid areas.

For your convenience, it comes with remote control, which like every other remote, makes varying the unit’s parameters from a distance possible. The remote control makes this humidifier very convenient to use, especially since it would be mounted in the wall.

Auto mode and temperature sensor

There is a digital display stationed at the front side of this humidifier. It contains two separate screens, which display the percentage of relative humidity, as well as the environments’ immediate temperatures. The more impressive feature, however, is its automatic humidification with the air of a humidistat.

You can easily set the desired humidity level, which the unit would run respective to and maintain at all times.

Pros

  • High moisture output of 80 pints per day
  • Direct water line connect option
  • Independent day/ night mode options
  • Remote sensor with wireless multilink communication within the same product
  • Temperature and humidity sensor
  • Easy wall mount

Cons

  • Filters have a very short life span
  • It is a little bit loud during operation.

Honeywell HM750A1000 Electrode Steam Humidifier

best air purifier for the price

Honeywell is a well-known brand in the humidifier business and has produced a series of high-quality products for decades. The Honeywell HM750A1000 is one of those products that offer very good performance for value while consuming low power and very easy to install nature makes the adding humidifier to furnace process simple.

High moisture output Capacity

Honeywell HM750A1000 generates 22 gallons of moisture per day, at 220v power consumption. This falls on the high side of humidification, although far lesser than the Horticat U80Pro, it still remains the best among the rest. Its awesome Capacity makes it very suitable for large-sized rooms of up to 3000sqft.

Portable with good design

Honeywell is committed to producing intuitive, innovative, and versatile humidifiers that make installation easier, and this unit is a prime example of just that. Its dimensions stand at 20 x 8 x 10 inches and weigh 13 pounds, making it a very light a d portable whole-house humidifier that is easy to install.

Its design is also good, with indicator lights mounted at the front to identify its running state. It shows either idle, filling, humidifying and draining, and also if there is a fault or problem with its cartridge

Power-efficient

Perhaps its most underrated quality. This humidifier consumes very little amount of energy despite its high moisture output, and at the end of the month, it adds very little to the energy bill.

Pros

  • Portable with duct mountable patented design
  • Suitable for large-sized rooms up to 3000sqft
  • High moisture output of 22 gallons per day for the 220V unit
  • It does not consume too much energy.
  • Requires less maintenance due to its use of electrode technology

Cons

  • Canisters are expensive to replace

Honeywell HE120A Whole House Humidifier

AprilAire 600M Whole-House Humidifier
best air purifier for the price

Next on our best steam humidifier reviews is another Honeywell product, HE 120A. This is a good humidifier with decent performance to match its price. It can serve large sized rooms, and very easy to install with a furnace.

Presence of Humidistat

This drum type humidifier comes with a humidistat for convenient use. The inbuilt in humidistat monitors the humidity in the atmosphere and maintains it at a preset level chosen by you. This feature allows you to simply install on the duct and allow you to run without your constant input.

Easy to clean with no drain required

Drum humidifiers collect water in a container, which is then heated to steam mist. This makes them prone to mold, bacteria, and other infections if not cleaned properly. As a result of this, the Honeywell HE120A is built with a removable tray that makes it much easier when it’s time to clean. Simply remove and clean.

It requires no drain like the flow through products because water is collected in a container. However, we recommend that you should not install in an area where water leaking could cause any damage, like places above your furnace. It is better to stay clear of any potential damage that it can cause. If you have to use it in such an area, ensure you install a drain along with it.

Capacity and Optional flushing timer

The Capacity in square feet of this product stands at 4,045sqft. This is good enough to serve large areas, and with its good moisture output rate, be sure to always have your home humidified.

For self-maintenance, a flushing timer can be installed with the humidifier. This timer does not come with the product and has to be purchased separately. Its job is to occasionally drain water in the humidifier’s tank, which allows a new one to flow in. The drained water is accompanied by contaminations and buildups in the tank, therefore cleaning it too.

Pros

  • The package comes with relative humidity control (humidistat)
  • According to the manufacturer, it can be installed in a room without a drain, although we recommend it should not be installed in an area where water could cause damage.
  • Easy to install
  • Suitable for large-sized rooms up to 4,045sqft
  • It is easy to clean
  • Compatible with an optional automatic flushing timer for less frequent maintenance

Cons

  • It requires frequent cleaning being a drum whole house humidifier

Honeywell HE240A2001 HE240A Whole House Humidifier

best air purifier for the price

Capacity

The Capacity of this humidifier is enough for it to humidify up to 3000sqft of space. This makes it suitable for large-sized rooms; therefore, it should do a decent job in your home. The same cannot be said about the mist output capacity of this unit; however, although it is decent, it is not on par with earlier reviewed products. This product is indeed far from the best whole house humidifier for gas.

Presence of Humidistat

With a humidistat, this unit can keep track of relative humidity level, and release mist to raise or simply maintain it accordingly. The humidistat is mounted separate from the unit, but we recommend it should not be far off, or too close to the duct because that can affect its accuracy. Looking closely at the humidifier, its performance can be varied to either winter or summer time by a knob. This also helps you regulate its moisture output depending on your current season.

Low maintenance

Low maintenance is one of the advantages that come with humidifiers using a flow-through design. Water keeps flowing, therefore leaving no room for the growth of microorganisms and keeps the unit clean as a result. This process also decreases your overall frequency of maintenance.

The downside to this design, however, is that it isn’t the best for maximizing water. This unit, on the other hand, has a perfect flow water distribution, which optimizes efficiency and water consumption. Although not the most efficient, it still does a good job of maximizing water usage.

Pros

  • It is suitable for large-sized homes up to 3000sqft
  • Can be easily mounted on a warm air supply or return air duct
  • Good moisture output capacity
  • The flow-through design ensures minimal maintenance is required
  • Humidistat

Cons

  • Poor installation direction manual
  • It is not very powerful as regarding moisture output

Aprilaire 600M Whole Home Humidifier

best air purifier for the price

A budget unit from the inventor of whole-house evaporative humidifiers, Aprilaire, and one of the best in indoor humidity level solutions. Although not one of their best products, the 600M makes this review as a budget device, which should only be considered when low on cash. It is, however, a very good humidifier for its price, and would surely help your low humidity problems.

Good moisture output and Capacity

The Aprilaire 600M is built for large-sized rooms of up to 4000sqft. It humidifies that space properly and raises the humidity to 45%. If a higher outcome is desired, then you might have to look beyond this product. According to its manufacturers, it conveniently maintains humidity between a range of 35% to 45%. This is good enough to keep organisms like bacteria, viruses, and fungi from thriving in your air.

According to the manufacturers, it can produce 17 gallons of mist per day. This Capacity makes it more impressive for its price and stresses why it’s one of the best budget whole house humidifiers on the market today.

Presence of Humidistat

Although it can be used with an automatic humidistat, his unit primarily comes with a manual version. The automatic humidistat would have to be purchased separately should you desire it.

With a manual humidistat, you can vary humidity level of the unit, selecting between 15, 25, 35, and 45% or completely turn off the unit. Although it does not have a wide array of options to choose from, a maximum of 45% is decent enough to get the job done.

Low price

With all its already described quality, the price is more than fair enough. This humidifier is worth every penny, and we recommend it if you are on a tight budget.

Pros

  • Suitable for large-sized rooms up to 4000sqft
  • High moisture capacity of 17 gallons per day
  • Comes with a manual humidistat
  • It is relatively cheap

Cons

  • It is not water efficient
  • Poor customer support and warranty credibility

How much does it cost to have a furnace humidifier installed?

The cost of installing a humidifier varies depending on your location and also the type of unit you want to install. Also, if you do not have the necessary facilities like ductwork that the humidifier needs, then the cost would increase dramatically.

The average cost of installing a humidifier is about $350 – $550 should you choose to hire a professional. This price could increase as high as $1000 depending on other factors like the type of third party hire and product to be installed.

How do you tell if your furnace humidifier is working?

The most obvious way to tell if your humidifier is functioning is that you would feel its impact on the air in your home. An increase in humidity is easily felt. In a situation where you aren’t sure of the humidity impact, however, you can carry out the following to know for sure if your unit works.

Start by checking the water line to your humidifier. Ensure it is turned on, and feel it to see if the water is flowing through. To be sure, life the supply tube from the top of the distribution box to see if the water is coming out. Next, check the voltage on the solenoid valve, and if it reads between 24 – 28V, then it should allow water through. If water does not flow through, change the valve because it is damaged.

Lastly, check the drain pipe to see if the water is coming through. That is another way to tell if the unit is actually functioning.

What should you set your furnace humidifier in winter?

In the winter season, the safe range of humidity remains the same. Humidity should be kept around 40% to 60% maximum to keep you healthy.

This range is recommended by experts around the world and should be maintained whether during winter or summer season.

How long do furnace humidifiers last?

Furnace humidifiers have an average life span of 10 years. If they get damaged before then, it is mostly due to a defective part that can be easily replaced.

On the other hand, we have seen many products that lasted over ten years of use; however, they stopped being as efficient and effective as they once were. In a nutshell, once your unit starts approaching ten years of use, get ready to replace the whole product.

Should humidifier run when the furnace is off?

A humidifier can be designed to run with or without the furnace; it all depends on you. When designed to run with the furnace, heat is distributed around the home with moist air, and when designed the other way round, mist generated by the humidifier travels on its own.

Running the humidifier when the furnace is off, however, has a high risk of excessive moisture gathering in your ductwork, which may cause rust issues, among other contamination problems. Although possible, we do not recommend you run a humidifier without the furnace. You are better off with a portable humidifier instead.

Bottom Line: Top pick on our humidifiers for furnace reviews

A furnace humidifier is an essential unit for keeping humidity in check, especially during winter. It should be able to generate a good amount of moisture and also easy to mount, and considering those qualities; we recommend the Horticat U80Pro for the task. It has an incredibly large output of 80 pints per day and also easy to mount with a humidistat for automatic humidification.

The next best option for the furnace humidifier is the Honeywell HM750A1000. With electrode technology, it is very easy to maintain, while it also produces a very large amount of moisture for humidification of the 3000sqft area. It is power efficient and easily mounted, among other awesome features that put it second on our list of recommendations.

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