Point of Use Humidifiers

A point of use or portable humidifier is the smaller cousin of a furnace or whole house humidifier. Usually purchased due to their portability, low price and ease of use, these are the smallest type of humidifier available.

Pros of Point of Use Humidifiers

Point of use humidifiers have a number of benefits over other styles of humidifiers. Due to their small size and portability they can be moved from room to room so that if you have a particularly dry room in your home you can increase the humidity in that one room without affecting the humidity levels in the rest of your home. The portability of the unit also makes it ideal for cold sufferers who prefer a very humid environment.

In most cases the price of a portable humidifier is quite a bit less than the larger whole house humidifiers. They also do not require any sort of installation.

Cons of point of use humidifiers

Point of use humidifiers have a number of drawbacks when it comes to humidifying your home. Although their portability can be a definite advantage it also causes a number of drawbacks. Because it is moved from room to room it does not have a permanent water connection. This means that depending on the size of the water reservoir you may spend a lot of your time checking to see if it is empty and refilling it.

Due to their lower output ability they are usually able to put out enough humidity for a single room, but they will not be able to humidify your entire home. Thus it will be necessary to move them from room to room, depending on humidity levels.

Features of point of use humidifiers

A number of features are important to look for when purchasing a point of use humidifer. Make sure you check for the following:

• Capacity - capacity is usually measured in sq. ft.. Make sure that the humidifier can handle the area that you are purchasing it for.
  
  
• Reservoir Size - the larger the size of the reservoir, the less often you will have to refill the unit. On the opposite end the larger the reservoir, the harder it is to transport from area to area.
  
  
• Humidistat - a humidistat will measure the humidity and turn the humidifier on or off depending on whether the humidity in the room has reached a user preset level.
  
  
• Auto Shut-off - an auto shut-off is important, especially with smaller reservoir sizes as it is not good for the humidifier to continue running when the water reservoir is empty.