I have a non-heated, enclosed space (crawl space that does have a vapor barrier). During a limited number of days in the spring or fall, I get condensation on things that stay cold while the air warms up. I have tried leaving the vents open and closing the vents, and that doesn't completely solve the problem since air motion is not guaranteed. I'm not interested in self-closing vents. Thus I am considering a dehumidifier.
My purpose for the dehumidifier is to reduce humidity from near 100% down to non-condensing on slightly colder objects, so maybe 85%. In other words, I don't need to make it "comfortable", just prevent condensation. The temperatures where condensation has been experienced range from maybe 40 degrees F to 60 degrees F (5C to 15C).
I'm sure that I could use a standard, compressor-based dehumidifier and achieve the results I want, but those are more expensive to buy and more expensive to operate than the peltier-based dehumidifiers. But I've read that:
the optimal operating temperature (for peltier dehumidifiers) is 59-86°F. It will not work below 41°F
So my use case is below optimal range, but still in range for some level of effectiveness.
My question is: does anyone have direct experience or professional expertise to advise on using one of these "cheap" dehumidifiers in this way (not the typical use, which is to make a room "comfortable", but rather just take the humidity down away from the range that condensation occurs)?