Whole-home dehumidifier is making my humidity worse, not better
I replaced my HVAC about a year and a half ago and had all kinds of issues with the install and the unit not dehumidifying sufficiently. To help with that — and to provide dehumidification overnight when the AC doesn't run much — they installed an AprilAire dehumidifier, with the exhaust ducted in just before the blower.
The problem: when the AC and dehumidifier are both running, the humidity creeps slightly higher and never comes back down. My theory is that the warm exhaust from the dehumidifier is warming (and compromising) the coils.
The manufacturer configured it so the dehumidifier shuts off whenever the AC is running, to avoid affecting AC performance. But it's still not working right. Here's what I think is happening: when the AC hits the set temp and shuts off, the dehumidifier kicks on. But before it can actually start dehumidifying, it seems to warm the space just enough to trigger the AC back on — which then shuts the dehumidifier back off.
With this setup, humidity sits around 65%, and the condensate drain line is just a slow drip. I finally turned the dehumidifier off completely, and now I'm at 55%.
At this point, I think my only real option is to duct the exhaust into the living space directly instead of routing it through the AC unit. I know that'll create a "hot spot" wherever it's ducted, but at least the dehumidifier should actually work.
Are there any other alternatives I'm missing?