Temperature alone isn’t the only element keeping your house cozy – humidity levels also play a crucial part in creating a comfortable home. The relative humidity of your home environment doesn’t always stay consistent, which can cause your family and friends some discomfort. High and low humidity make an impact on personal health as well as the integrity of building materials and furnishings inside a residence.
Balancing relative humidity indoors needs to be a priority for every Cincinnati area household. The right amount of airborne moisture is key for ideal comfort, energy savings, and protection – between 35 and 50% is a range that is comfortable for most households. Many Cincinnati area homeowners seek out indoor air quality solutions such as dehumidifiers when the natural humidity outside is high, such as during the summer season – lots of moisture in the air outdoors does raise the humidity level inside a home. When indoor air’s moisture level exceeds about 50%, make use of a whole home dehumidifier to eliminate extra moisture in the environment and keep humidity levels comfortably balanced.
If buying a dehumidifier is on your to-do list, Thomas & Galbraith Heating, Cooling & Plumbing works with you to find the solution that fits best in your living area. The best dehumidifier extracts multiple pints of water vapor per day so that the muggy feeling environment is no more. With balanced moisture in every area of the home, whether a large living space or a small office, even comfort is felt throughout the house, which improves the energy efficiency of the home’s HVAC systems.
Thomas & Galbraith Heating, Cooling & Plumbing’s Comfort Consultants equip Cincinnati area homeowners with the right indoor air quality tools to efficiently manage indoor moisture. Learn more about our available dehumidification products when you schedule a consultation today!
A dehumidifier is an appliance made to remove airborne water vapor. In the Greater Cincinnati area, it’s typical to run a dehumidifier through the summer season. During these months, outdoor air is usually humid and can affect moisture inside the home. A dehumidifier assists your air conditioner in removing moisture from the air during the cooling process or by operating independently of the HVAC unit.
Installed with indoor heating and cooling system equipment and incorporated into the ductwork, the dehumidifier has the ability to treat all the air circulating within a home. Purchasing small dehumidifiers at Walmart and other retail locations does not have the capacity to treat humidity issues across the entire home.
As air cycles back to the HVAC system through the return duct, it passes through the dehumidifier. Once inside, the air is cooled to condense the appropriate amount of water vapor. Vapor turns to liquid and is no longer able to linger in the air. The dampness extracted from air flows back into the dehumidifier pan, attached to a dedicated drain for automated emptying – you don’t have to pour this water out yourself, which is necessary when using a portable Home Depot dehumidifier or a dehumidifier Walmart sells.
The energy efficiency of a whole-house dehumidifier is far beyond that of small-room dehumidifiers. House dehumidifiers are larger and do require more energy to work. Even though this larger dehumidifier needs more electricity to run, energy savings occur due to the high capacity for dehumidification – there’s no need to run the whole house dehumidifier as often or as long as a small unit. ENERGY STAR® qualified dehumidifiers offer increased energy savings. With their ability to remove multiple pints of water per day quickly and efficiently, you won’t find any products close to this high capacity from a small portable dehumidifier in Walmart.
Water vapor isn’t visible, so we rely on the distinct muggy feeling to alert us when humidity levels become uncomfortable in the home. Beyond that tell-tale “humid feeling,” other signs are giveaways of high moisture inside. If you experience these symptoms in your Cincinnati home, a dehumidifier can help put an end to the discomfort and distress.
Symptoms of high humidity indoors include:
High humidity within the home leads to many issues for Cincinnati area residents. Excessive moisture within the home environment negatively impacts the well-being and comfort of your family members. Your home may also suffer from the damaging effects of a high humidity problem.
Buying a dehumidifier is an efficient way to keep relative humidity balanced in your home. Dehumidifiers deliver unique benefits your family will appreciate. When using the best dehumidifier to manage moisture in the air, you’ll discover these compelling improvements:
Moist air transforms your house into a hospitable environment for mold growth. Exposure to mold growing indoors can be dangerous to the health of your family members, especially people who are diagnosed with asthma or allergies. Your whole house dehumidifier controls moisture across all living areas, keeping humidity balanced to protect against future mold growth.
When you want to make improvements that bolster air quality in the home, a dehumidifier helps you meet your goals. Air pollution and high particle counts aren’t the only concerns when it comes to indoor air quality, yet many people tend to focus on these elements alone. Humidity has a great impact on air quality inside the home – high humidity that is not properly managed is a significant IAQ concern. While the purpose of the dehumidifier is to extract moisture, an added benefit of operation is a reduction in the quantity of airborne pollutants. Dust mites and other bothersome allergens become more concentrated in humid areas, which can cause household members to endure more frequent allergic reactions due to the humidity.
Dehumidifiers also eliminate odors and help keep the home smelling nice. Musty odors are a clear indication there is mold or mildew growing inside – the smell won’t go away until the root of the issue is solved, and future growth is prevented. Other troublesome smells seem to stay in the home longer when the air is more humid, including odors from the kitchen, cleaning and personal care products, and more. Dehumidifiers keep dampness under control to prevent mold growth and bothersome odors that linger.
When a home operates a dehumidifier, living areas feel much more comfortable when in use. Excessive humidity indoors causes the temperature of a room to feel hotter, you feel warmer than it really is – humidity acts to lock in heat which causes the body to feel warmer. When relative humidity levels are balanced, rooms feel cooler despite no change in air conditioning use. Many homeowners take advantage of this opportunity to lower energy consumption and turn the thermostat up a few degrees because most people cannot tell the difference. This trick generates even more energy savings when using your ENERGY STAR® dehumidifier or other whole-house dehumidifier models.
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