We’re still digging ourselves out after last week’s big blizzard, which hopefully marks the end of our winter. Temperatures are expected to be cool for a bit longer, but soon enough they’ll warm up and with them comes a marked increase in humidity levels. You likely have an air conditioner in your home to handle the hot and muggy weather of the summer. But you might also consider installing a whole-house dehumidifier to handle the humid air in your home. It can make a huge difference not only in your home comfort levels, but in the performance of your air conditioner as well.
What Does High Humidity Do?
We all know how clammy and gross high humidity levels can make us feel, but few understand the reasons behind it. The most obvious involves the growth of mold and bacteria in the home, which creates that stagnant atmosphere. But it also interferes with your body’s natural ability to cool itself off. When sweat evaporates off of our skin, our body temperature goes down. But when relative humidity levels rise above 50% or so, there’s already too much ambient moisture in the atmosphere to let the sweat evaporate. It stays on our skin, leaving us hot and feeling gross until the moisture levels go down.
More than an Air Conditioner
The easiest way to remove ambient moisture from the air is to lower the temperature, causing the vapor to shift to liquid form and coalesce into droplets, which then depart the air. That’s the primary reason for dew forming in the early hours of the morning, which are usually the coolest of the day. Air conditioners do this by default in the course of doing their jobs. However, they’re not set up for that kind of work, since their main job is lowering the temperature. Dehumidifying the air with one is imprecise at best, and without the components to handle it – notably a larger drain system to handle the condensate – your AC could run into serious trouble very quickly. That, when added to the fact that your body feels hotter when humidity levels are high, can increase the strain on your system considerably.
A dehumidifier, on the other hand, has the components to handle excess condensate, and because it’s specifically designed to reduce the moisture in the air, you can set the relative humidity levels in the home to something uniquely comfortable to you. The effects can be felt almost immediately. Not only will your home feel more comfortable, but mold and bacteria growth will be curtailed: preventing that manky, stale feeling and lowering the risk of illness to boot. Perhaps more importantly, by easing the strain on your air conditioner, you can lower your monthly bills and the risk of a breakdown in one fell swoop. Over time, it might even help extend the life of your system.
If you think a dehumidifier can benefit your home in Lewes, DE, call on the professionals at Atlantic Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, Inc. to perform a top-notch installation!