The 7 Best Whole House Humidifiers – [2020 Reviews]

Of course, it is also quite expensive as far as whole house humidifiers go. This is well worth the cost, though, if you do need something with this kind of capability.

This home humidifier hooks directly to your furnace. This means that it does require some time and work to install it. Some people may need to hire outside help for installation depending on their own abilities. In general, most people can follow the instructions with relatively few issues.

However, it is one of the more difficult options on our list when it comes to set-up and it will take some time. This is an automatic home humidifier and it does come with 2 individual sensors with instructions on where to best place them.

Where you place the sensors is vital to a properly working system. One of the sensors is for keeping track of the outdoor temperature, so you’ll place it outside of your home.

The other sensor measures the indoor relative humidity. It is important to place this sensor at the air return for the most accurate readings and therefore a more effective system. Once you’ve installed your humidifier and set the sensors, you can just leave it and not worry about anything.

The water is automatically pumped into the humidifier, so you never have to refill it. Since this is an evaporative humidifier, it works in a very simple way. The water is pumped into the system and across a tray that is located at the top of the unit.

The tray features a system of outlets that evenly distributes water onto what is called the water panel evaporator. Then, hot air is pulled from the heater into the humidifier with the help of a built-in fan.

As the hot air passes through the water panel evaporator, evaporation occurs and the water is dispersed into the air where it is then circulated throughout the home. This unit is excellent for keeping huge spaces at a humidity level of around 35% to 45%.

This is an ideal level that has been shown to have many health benefits. A humidity level in this range can reduce the risk of respiratory infections while also proving beneficial to reducing asthma and allergy symptoms.

Good humidity levels also mean less static electricity, less incidence of dry skin and hair, and it can even be good for things in your home like wood floors and musical instruments.

Like you, these things also need healthy moisture levels to stay in good shape. Aprilaire humidifiers are made in the USA with quality materials that you can count on.

In fact, Aprilaire actually made the very first evaporative humidifier that hooks up to the furnace like this one. They did this back in 1954 and have been consistently improving ever since.

While it will work for even small spaces, you probably don’t want to spend the extra money on this unit if you have a home with smaller rooms and square footage.

However, it is unquestionably the best humidifier for large room homes that have high square footages. Since it hooks up to the furnace and monitors outdoor temperatures, it can also be called the best humidifier for winter, which is naturally when you’ll need your humidifier system the most!

That’s because it is considerably more affordable. There is a more than $100 difference in price between the two of them due to the difference in coverage. Another difference that helps with the price reduction is that this option is not fan-powered. Instead, it has a bypass opening.

This allows the air from your system to push through the humidifier instead of the humidifier pulling the air into it with a fan.

Just like the 700 model, this humidifier installs directly onto your furnace. It also comes with dual sensors that allow the humidifier all the information it needs to efficiently keep your whole home within ideal levels of humidity. One of the sensors will go outside to monitor the temperature outside of the house.

The other sensor must go on your return air duct to monitor the humidity inside your home. The placement of this is important for accurate readings of your humidity levels.

This is also an automatic humidifier that works via the sensors as well as a connection to the water in your home. This allows the humidifier to pump water into the system and across the distribution tray where it then flows over the water panel evaporator.

As the hot air from your furnace moves through the water panel evaporator, it will cause evaporation of the water to take place. This puts the water into the air and then it is spread throughout your entire home. This humidifier has a daily capacity of 12 gallons.

This means that it can put up to 12 gallons of water into your home’s air in a day. This is, of course, a little lower than the 700’s 18-gallon daily capacity. It is perfect for a home 3000 square feet or less, though. It is compact, requires almost no maintenance, and it is pretty affordable considering the decent range and quality design.

The outside of the humidifier has a nice pedestal design in an espresso color that is neutral enough to work with most décor. The top of the pedestal is flat to allow it to also function as a convenient table.

There is even a cut-out square section on the top where you place the included granite tile. This gives it an even more attractive appearance. You can even choose to purchase other 12” x 12” tiles to place in this space interchangeably.

This gives you the opportunity to customize the look of the humidifier pedestal and even match it specifically to whatever the rest of the décor is in your home. Unlike our first two picks, this humidifier does not install onto the furnace system. Instead, it simply stands alone.

This makes set-up super easy and allows the unit to be easily moved around if desired. However, it also means that you will have to regularly refill it with water.

This humidifier can cover up to 2600 square feet. This is the smallest coverage on our list so far, but it is still a pretty decent size that should work well for the majority of homes.

A digital display on the front of the humidifier allows you to see your current humidity level, your desired humidity level, and the current speed of the fan. There is a total of 9 different speeds to choose from with the fan. This allows you to easily determine and customize how quickly air is moved through your humidifier.

The fan pulls the air into the humidifier and then it is pushed through the wick that is sitting in the water at the bottom of the unit. As it does so, the water is evaporated into the air and then it circulates throughout your home.

Casters on the bottom of the unit can be installed or left off according to your personal wishes. The casters allow you to easily move the humidifier around whenever needed.

However, if you’re certain you want your humidifier to always stay put, you can certainly opt to leave the casters off altogether. Once your home has reached your desired humidity levels, the until will automatically turn off.

It also has an auto-off feature for anytime the unit runs out of water. This prevents it from continuing to blow air through even when the water is all gone.

A convenient opening on the side of the unit, as well as an included funnel, make it super easy to add water whenever needed. Furnace humidifiers are great for winter, but this stand-alone choice is great anytime.

It works well for hot air during the colder months but also makes a great cool air humidifier in case you want/need to run your humidifier some during the summer as well.

It has a simple design that isn’t made to blend in or have functionality as furniture like our first pick from AIRCARE. This is part of what allows it to have such a low price but it can be considered a bit of an eyesore to some.

Fortunately, since it is easy to move around, you can put it somewhere more discreet whenever you prefer. A 60-inch length cord gives you plenty of versatility as far as where it is in location to an outlet. Since this is a free-standing unit, you are required to keep refilling it with water on a regular basis.

Fortunately, this is made incredibly easy for you. There is a bottle attached to the humidifier that you simply remove, fill with water, and then replace. This makes it simple to do. To make sure that you never forget to refill your humidifier when necessary, there is also an indicator light that lets you know when it needs to be filled.

In addition to the refill indicator light, you will also be alerted when you need to check the filter in your humidifier. The tank on the humidifier holds 3.6 gallons so that you don’t have to refill it too often. The fan inside the humidifier works the same way as our last pick.

It uses negative pressure to pull air through the humidifier where water is evaporating into the air. Then, the freshly humidified air is blown out into your house and circulated for great humidity levels all throughout your home!

You have 4 different fan speeds to choose from with this unit and the digital display clearly shows you which fan setting you are on as you adjust it.

The digital display will also give you other important information such as the current humidity level in the home as well as what you have your desired humidity level currently set to. This is a great simple choice of whole home humidifiers perfect for a tighter budget.

It has a longer run time than the previous console humidifier at 48 hours compared to 36 hours. This unit is a good bit larger with a 5.7-gallon tank capacity.

A dual-bottle design in the humidifier makes filling up the larger capacity easier. You simply fill each bottle individually before returning it to the humidifier. This particular humidifier has a daily output of up to 11.5 gallons.

It is important to note that just because it’s output is higher than its capacity, it does not mean you have to refill the unit twice daily. How often you need to refill depends on several factors, but most especially on the current humidity of the home.

It is fairly likely that you will need to refill often when you first get the humidifier as it is likely to need to run more in the beginning. This is due to dryness in the home.

As the humidifier raises the humidity in the air, things like the floors, furniture, and other items in the home will absorb some of the moisture. This can be very beneficial for certain things like wooden floors and musical instruments.

Once everything in the home isn’t so dry, the air will have an easier time staying humidified and you’ll likely have to refill less often. With an attractive design, this unit will not be an eyesore in your home.

It features a sleek look with black and stainless steel panels. It will work well anywhere you want to keep it in your home.

A user-friendly digital touch panel makes it exceptionally simple to adjust your desired humidity as well as the speed of your fan. Nine different fan speeds give you a lot of adjustment power to get it just where you like it in terms of how fast it moves air as well as how loud the unit is.

These pads are also very inexpensive, so it isn’t much of an on-going cost for up-keep either. This does cost more than the console units that we looked at but it is still relatively inexpensive for a furnace unit.

This is the most effective type of whole home humidifier, so that is also worth keeping in mind. This unit covers up to 3000 square feet, so it should be an ideal choice for most homes.

A special design called PerfectFLO creates an even and effective distribution of water throughout the humidifier. This helps to minimize water usage while maximizing results of humidification. You don’t have to worry about refilling the water on this humidifier since it will be tapped into your home’s water supply.

This makes it very easy to use the humidifier. It comes with a simple control panel that features a dial on it. You just adjust the dial to your desired humidity levels and let the Honeywell humidifier do the rest.

While this is on the lower end for most whole house humidifiers, it is still more than enough for the average home. It also has a longer runtime than most console humidifiers at 70 hours. You pour water into the unit directly, so refill is super easy.

The plain white look isn’t the most attractive design, but the clean white color and small footprint don’t draw much attention anyway. It is also one of the lowest priced whole house humidifiers on our list, so that can make it more worthwhile as well.

It is easy to operate with simple buttons that allow you to control both the speed of the fan as well as your desired humidity level. Just like the other console options, this pulls air in with a fan and pushes it past a wick soaked with the water.

Evaporation occurs and the humidified air is pushed out of the unit and circulated in the home. A special Trapmax Filter protects your air from deposits found in the water.

There is even an indicator for when you need to check on your filter as well as an indicator that tells you when to refill the water in the humidifier.

The humidifier will automatically shut off when it runs out of water if you fail to refill it. It also shuts off on its own when your desired humidity is reached. This helps save on energy and water costs while also helping to maintain that ideal level of humidity that you’re after.