How Does High Humidity Affect Air Conditioning?
You may not have known this, but humidity is an HVAC system’s worst nightmare. It can wreak havoc on your heating and cooling efforts and cause you to spend a lot more than you should on electricity. Here’s some useful information about how humidity affects your system and what you can do to counteract those issues:
How Does High Humidity Affect Air Conditioning?
High humidity can disrupt your cooling process enough to make you ask, "Why does my A/C feel like it’s not working when the humidity is high?" You probably assume that an air conditioner should naturally overpower the humidity and blast your home into a chill and relaxed euphoria. Unfortunately, that’s not the way humidity works. It’s sometimes so thick and dense that air conditioners have trouble removing it. In turn, they work twice as hard, which wears them down and makes them operate less effectively. Even large units have difficulty getting rid of extensive humidity.
How Does Low Humidity Affect Heating?
High humidity isn’t the only problematic situation for your HVAC system. You also have to worry about low humidity. The low humidity can cause your home to appear much colder than it is, forcing your heating system to go into overdrive to compensate. The result of either of the above-mentioned circumstances can leave you looking at an elevated electric bill and a few unhappy family members.
Other Problems Humidity Can Cause
An overly humid home can be a breeding ground for mold and bacteria, which can make the people in your household ill. A house that isn’t humid enough can make you susceptible to catching colds and viruses. Additionally, it can deteriorate the wood and paint in your home. Therefore, you have many reasons to be concerned about humidity and to try to eliminate it.
What To Do if Humidity Is Affecting Your Heating or Cooling
Fortunately, you can try a couple of things to counter the humidity issue and give your system some relief. You can try using a dehumidifier in the summer months, and it will pull the humidity out of the air so that your AC unit can cool your home without overloading its resources.
In the wintertime, you should install a humidifier to add some moisture to the air. You can find the perfect air balance by utilizing those two components.
Having the number of a trustworthy HVAC company is also good practice. You will need someone to inspect and maintain your system periodically. This person can also give you tips and tricks to use if you’re experiencing issues with the air quality.
Start saving money today by doing some of the things mentioned above. You’ll see how much of a difference it makes immediately, and you’ll be happy when your next electric bill hits.
Now that you know what humidity does and what you can do, you can take steps to manage the level of mugginess in your home. Take some of the tips from above to make your heating and cooling more comfortable and affordable for your family.
Categorised in: Humidity