Are Humidifiers or Dehumidifiers the Best Option for Your Home?

Can your home environment and indoor comfort benefit from humidifiers and dehumidifiers? Indoor humidity is directly related to the natural outdoor climate. Because naturally occurring outdoor conditions can’t be modified, the use of humidifiers and dehumidifiers is often required for optimum indoor comfort, energy efficiency, and good health.

Indoor Humidity: Too High or Too Low?

While individual preferences vary, the general consensus is that residential relative humidity should ideally remain somewhere between 35% and 45%. Here are some examples where humidifiers and dehumidifiers can help:

• Low humidity makes a home feel arid. Maintaining comfortable temperatures in dry winter conditions is difficult because dry air does not efficiently retain heat produced by the furnace. Due to rapid heat loss, heating costs are typically higher in dry, cold climates. Also, certain physical discomforts — such as dry and itchy skin, sore throats, and even common colds — are more prevalent. Recent studies show the cold virus actually thrives longer in low humidity.
• High humidity, conversely, makes a home feel constantly muggy and uncomfortably warm. Air conditioners run longer, causing cooling costs to rise. A humid environment also spawns indoor mold growth and mildew, health issues for persons with sensitivities and allergies.

Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers

Humidifiers and dehumidifiers designed for home use are available as portable units for single rooms or other limited spaces. Alternatively, whole-home units install directly into HVAC ductwork and treat all air circulating throughout the entire home.

• Home humidifiers fall into two basic categories: Cool-mist units integrate a fan that blows air across a water reservoir or rotating absorbent pads to increase the humidity content in the air. Warm-mist humidifiers convert water to steam with an electric heating element. The warm, steamy airflow entering the living spaces boosts humidity.
• Dehumidifiers for the home usually utilize a refrigerative method. Humid air is drawn through a coil circulating frigid refrigerant. As the air contacts cold coil surfaces, water vapor naturally condenses out of the air. An integrated fan then returns dried air into the indoor environment.

For more about the comfort and health benefits of humidifiers and dehumidifiers, talk to the experts at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning.