I just built two 5 bedrooms rental units. They are on slabs with radiant heat, and I had the walls and roof sprayed with foam onsulation. They are very tight with no venting, and now I am having condensation problems on the windows. My question is , is it better to dehumidify or to use air exchangers to solve this problem.
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Where are you located?
If in cool/cold area, I would defintely bite the bullet and go with a good ERV/HRV. They supply fresh air to each bedroom, living room, dining room den. etc. and exhaust from baths,laundry and kitchen. They're much quieter than a dehumidifier (which won't lower the relative humidity enough in a cold climate and does nothing for indoor air quality)
I agree. If you have to lower humidity anyway, it would be healthier to do it by admitting fresh air than trapping stale air in the house.
If you just built this year you can expect higher humidity this first winter as the slab and framing lumber give off moisture into the house.
Keep in mind that new construction will be "wet" for a couple of years. The concrete, drywall, and lumber all contains a lot of water.
So it's possible that your problem is transient and doesn't need a permanent solution. Depends on how "tight" it acutally is.
happy?