view specials
BOOK ONLINE
Humidity is an ever-present problem in the Chesapeake, VA area. What’s not commonly on people’s minds is the impact that humidity can have on your HVAC system’s efficiency. This guide will explore what affects household humidity, four big ways humidity impacts your HVAC efficiency and some options for controlling it.
Understanding Humidity
The air in your home needs some degree of moisture to help you stay comfortable and healthy. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends maintaining your home’s humidity between 30% and 50%. Too much or too little moisture can reduce your system’s efficiency, and some of your normal activities can increase your home’s humidity. The following are four ways that humidity is impacting your home’s HVAC efficiency.
1. Poor Air Quality
Uncontrolled humidity has disastrous effects on air quality whether the humidity is too high or too low. When it’s lower than 30%, airborne contaminants stay in the air longer because they’re lighter, leaving more contaminants to clog the filter. Additionally, with low humidity, paint, wood, leather and many other materials dry out and may release particles into the air. When interior humidity is too high, it creates an environment where mold spores thrive, adding more contaminants to the air. Humid air also has the potential to hang on to more particulates, decreasing indoor air quality.
2. Less Effective Heat Transfer
Humid air has a negative effect on the efficiency of your HVAC system. Your system will have to work harder and run more frequently to remove moisture from the air by way of your air conditioning equipment. With approximately a 10% increase in humidity, the efficiency of your air conditioner can decrease by as much as 30%.
3. Less Home Comfort
Humidity is key when it comes to how comfortable your home feels. In many cases, when people aren’t comfortable, they’ll go to the thermostat and change their indoor temperature setting. This increases cycle length, driving down the system’s efficiency.
4. Accelerated Corrosion
Moisture can play a major role in the corrosion that your HVAC system will experience, both inside and outside. High humidity specifically causes the heat exchanger, the inside evaporator coil and the outside condensing coil to corrode more rapidly. Once these areas corrode, they can form leaks that allow refrigerant and carbon monoxide to leak, both of which are major health risks.
Effective Humidity Control
With all the problems that ineffective humidity control can cause, it’s important to know the strategies to manage them. The following four tips are the easiest ways to manage your home’s humidity levels throughout the year.
Leverage Ventilation Options
Your home already has ventilation built in through the exhaust fans in your bathrooms and above your stove. Plan to run these fans whenever you run hot water, cook on your range or run the dishwasher. This helps vent out excess humidity. After a hot shower, plan to run the exhaust fan until humidity levels stabilize, usually about 30 minutes.
Time Your Chores Carefully
The hotter the air is, the more moisture it can hold and the muggier it feels. This is why it’s important to time your chores and activities whenever possible. Plan to shower, run the dishes, do laundry, or do major cooking either before the heat of the day sets in or after it starts cooling down again.
Proper HVAC Maintenance
HVAC maintenance is important for the overall efficiency of your system, including how it manages humidity. Without proper maintenance, the system may not cycle the proper amount of air due to airflow restrictions or a dirty circulating fan. Regardless of the reason, poor circulation reduces the amount of humidity the system can pull from the air.
Additionally, without proper maintenance, dust collects on the evaporator coil of your AC. This dust and dirt form a type of insulation when it gets wet with condensation, reducing the heat it can transfer and leaving more humidity in the air.
Humidity Control Devices
In some cases, you may want to explore adding specific devices to help control humidity, including room or whole-house humidifiers or dehumidifiers. It’s best to work with one of our indoor air quality experts to evaluate your home’s air. This will determine the best devices that will serve your home regarding humidity control.
Property owners around Chesapeake have trusted Simmons Heating & Cooling to help control their home’s humidity since 1964. Our team provides heating and air conditioning maintenance, repair and installation, together with water heater, generator and indoor air quality services. Call to schedule an HVAC repair or maintenance visit with one of our NATE-certified technicians today.
