I am thinking about purchasing and installing a whole home dehumidifier for my house. Interested to get others' thoughts on if they are worth it or not.

My house is 3 years old, just under 2,000 sf and about 15 miles from the coast (very hot, very humid). My wife and I both work so I have the A/C programmed to get up to 76 degrees during the day and have recently programmed the fan to run on auto 30% of the time (or 18min/hr). Since I have increased the fan only time my A/C usage has gone through the roof and the RH of my house is still in the high 60's. I am thinking a more efficient stand-along dehumidifier would help out with the humidity issue and reduce energy costs.

I have 2 young kids that are in daycare and are constantly sick. The daycare and high home humidity could be a chicken/egg scenario but I feel like it is worth eliminating variables at this point.

https://shop.aprilaire.com/collections/dehumidifier/products/aprilaire-e100-100-pint-dehumidifier

The link above is the dehumidifier I am thinking about installing. It will have its own dedicated return and will either exhaust back into the unconditioned attic or into my existing large return duct.

My parents have ac with one built in. It's awesome. So much cooler and crisp. Not sure what a whole house dehumidifier runs by itself. I live a few blocks from the coast and run 1-2 dehumidifiers in my living room and if I can keep the humidity under 65 it's a win. Noticeable difference in comfort. I get tired of emptying buckets and don't have an easy drain access or the want to drill a hole in my wall.

The one in the link I posted in the OP is around 1,500. Put it in the attic and either run the drain to my A/C condensate line or tie it in to a different drain is my thought.

I had one installed yesterday. My AC guy uses SantaFe but heard good things about Aprilaire. It's not too humid today but will be the rest of the week. Our house is spray foamed so the AC didn't run enough in it's own in the spring and fall to manage the humidity well enough. Some newer variable speed AC can do a better job.

They said they're installing these in most new houses with foam. We'll see how it goes. I have already heard it run a little.

Curious as to what it cost you installed and what size you put in? Planning on doing the install myself but if its only a few bucks more might pay someone.....

Unless I'm missing something...
If you vent it into your unconditioned attic, the air you pull out of your conditioned space will be replaced by unconditioned air, probably from your attic. So you'd basically be running a very expensive vent fan, and venting into a place that probably violates building codes. You want the dehumidified air to return to your conditioned space. Mine pulls air from the AC return, and puts the dehumidified air into the ducts leading from the AC (I think... pretty sure it doesn't vent back into the return air for the AC, but this post has me second guessing).

I have one attached to my main AC. I don't live on the coast, but, with a spray foamed house, the dehumidifier keeps it comfortable during the times of the year that it's cool enough that the AC doesn't run as often. I wish I'd put one on the unit that cools my bedroom as well!

Are you running your ac fan or a ceiling fan? If running your ac fan you're just making it more humid.

I was running the A/C fan thinking that that would help with the humidity

Maximus Johnson said:

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I was running the A/C fan thinking that that would help with the humidity

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I made that mistake too. Forget who it was on here but they explained it well. I still would like a dehumidifier but not recirculating the air definitely helped some.

I think it's the 120 pint size. Was about $3600 total. They had to do some electrical work, build a platform, add a pan, modify drains, and add duct work. Looking at it, could possibly be done DIY but not the easiest thing. Would be a lot less work if a new AC was going in at the same time instead of retro.

Maximus Johnson said:

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I am thinking about purchasing and installing a whole home dehumidifier for my house. Interested to get others' thoughts on if they are worth it or not.

My house is 3 years old, just under 2,000 sf and about 15 miles from the coast (very hot, very humid). My wife and I both work so I have the A/C programmed to get up to 76 degrees during the day and have recently programmed the fan to run on auto 30% of the time (or 18min/hr). Since I have increased the fan only time my A/C usage has gone through the roof and the RH of my house is still in the high 60's. I am thinking a more efficient stand-along dehumidifier would help out with the humidity issue and reduce energy costs.

I have 2 young kids that are in daycare and are constantly sick. The daycare and high home humidity could be a chicken/egg scenario but I feel like it is worth eliminating variables at this point.

https://shop.aprilaire.com/collections/dehumidifier/products/aprilaire-e100-100-pint-dehumidifier

The link above is the dehumidifier I am thinking about installing. It will have its own dedicated return and will either exhaust back into the unconditioned attic or into my existing large return duct.

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Couple of things:
-Running the fan mode on your central AC won't help you remove the humidity from the air. You need to reduce the air temperature to make the moisture condense out of the atmosphere, reducing the humidity.
-You probably are pulling air into your house from cracks and crevices with running your AC fan, which is why your true AC usage has shot up.
-Nowadays, most top of the line air conditioners have either a dual stage or variable speed compressors to be able to better control humidity. These work best in areas that have 'slope months' like a cooler but still humid spring and fall. They work because your thermostat only controls for temperature, not humidity. Most homes get into humidity control problems because the compressor short cycles off before it can bring down the humidity.
-I wouldn't recommend these for you since A) they are always stupid expensive and B) You live on the coast and there isn't a slope season. If the wind is blowing onshore its humid.
-Whole home dehumidification would be the right thing for you, but I would also consider looking into improving your air sealing in your home. Outlets, sill plates, insulation, etc. It'll help you reduce the amount of load on all your equipment.
-I would also look at Santa Fe dehumidifiers. They are basically the same as aprilaire but a bit cheaper.

-If your main concern is actually air quality (not just humidity) I would recommend looking into a air purifier. IQAir is the world leader in this, but you pay for it. If you've got a bucket of money for 'improving air quality' you might be able to push this as well to the wife. You can ease your way into air purification through movable ones from room to room. Air purifiers tend to be a great way to reduce airborne pathogens and dust. Don't buy a UV one, you need one that is just a stupid amount of filtering media and charcoal. It'll do the job. I'm looking at upgrading my AC equipment to accept IQair furnace filters.

My extended family has a house on the water and running a dehumidifier made a huge, positive difference in air quality and comfort whenever we visit. Year round.

Upgrade to a variable speed compressor when your a/c nukes itself