Best Whole House Furnace Humidifier

Another favorite from Aprilaire is the 700 Whole House Fan-Powered Humidifier. This is Aprilaire’s most powerful whole house furnace humidifier available and is rated to cover up to 4,200 sq. ft. of space and pump out 18 gallons of moisture per day. The fan in this type of humidifier allows it to speed up the evaporation process as well as cover larger spaces as opposed to fanless ones.

Unfortunately, this much power comes with a pretty hefty price tag. In addition to upfront costs, you’ll also need to set aside a budget to have this installed by a professional, and you’ll also need to factor in the cost to replace the water panel twice a year at most.

Overall, though, the 700 is an excellent choice for anyone looking to cover larger homes. It requires very little space for installation and will run very quietly despite the powerful fan. It offers automatic humidity control and is relatively low maintenance. Backed by a 5-year warranty, you can rest assured that this will take care of any issues your home may have with dry air.

The GeneralAire 900A is part of the Elite Flow Through series and is also fan-powered like the Aprilaire 700 above. Unlike the 700, however, the 900A is capable of covering a considerably smaller space up to 2,800 sq. ft. size. Because it’s fan-powered, the 900A is still capable of producing up to 17 gallons of moisture per day.

The biggest problem with this unit is that it is so expensive despite having below average specifications. As with most furnace humidifiers, the 900A will also need to be installed by a licensed professional. The vapor pad — which is what GeneralAire calls their water panel — will also need to be replaced annually.

Nevertheless, with the GeneralAire 900A, you’re getting a high quality device. While it may not be as powerful as the Aprilaire models, but you’re getting twice as long a warranty period with GeneralAire as well as optional manual or automatic control. It’s energy efficient as well and is easy to maintain. Additionally, with this model you get GenerAire’s Patented KineticFlo water distribution system, which ensures even distribution of water across the vapor pad.

If you don’t mind spending an arm and a leg on a steam humidifier, you might want to consider the GeneralAire RS25 Elite Steam Humidifier. This model is a monster of a device fully capable of covering extremely large homes up to 6,000 sq. ft. It can pump out up to 35 gallons per day, which is probably one of the highest daily outputs on the market today.

As previously mentioned, the RS25 is grossly expensive, and a lot of homeowners may steer clear of it purely based on its price. In addition to the upfront costs, you’ll need to shell out cash to have it installed by a licensed professional. Its steam cylinder also needs to be replaced annually by a licensed professional, too.

With all things considered, the RS25 is definitely an extravagant purchase. It definitely makes up for it, however, in performance, durability, convenience, and quality. It’s backed by a reassuring 5-year warranty so you know GeneralAire stands by their product.

The HE360A is another furnace humidifier from Honeywell that’s rated to cover up to 4,500 sq. ft. and a daily humidity output of 18 gallons per day. The HE360A is a flow-through humidifier that doesn’t need any bypass ducting. Because it comes with its own installation kit, you can install it yourself.

Like the HE120A, however, the HE360A is backed by a measly 1-year warranty. On top of this, several users have complained of durability issues with it, along with complaints regarding the frequency with which they had to replace the humidifier’s evaporation pad.

Overall, the HE360A is a straightforward enough device with a humidistat that allows you to either set your desired humidity level manually or automatically depending on the surrounding environment. The PerfectFLO water distribution system is big plus, too, and ensures that water is evenly distributed throughout the humidifier’s evaporation pad.