Keeping the humidity in your home at a reasonable level is important to the comfort and health of your family. High humidity levels can encourage the growth of damaging and health-threatening mold spores. High humidity can also cause physical damage to your home, including peeling wallpaper and wall stains. The best way to prevent this is with a home dehumidifier. However, before you make this investment, you should determine if you actually need home dehumidification. There are several factors to consider:
How Humid is Too Humid?
Generally speaking, humidity levels over 50 percent are too high. To determine the humidity level in your home, you will have to use a hygrometer. This device will tell you the humidity level in the air immediately around it. Keep in mind that some areas like basements or laundry rooms will always have higher humidity than others. For this reason, you should take several measurements throughout the home and average them. If it’s above 50 percent, whole-house dehumidification might be appropriate.
Heat Pumps and A/C Versus Dedicated Dehumidifiers
Many homeowners rely on their cooling systems to dehumidify the indoor air, but find that during especially muggy periods, they just don’t do the job. The homeowner may turn down the thermostat excessively in order to reduce the humidity, only to get higher energy bills for his or her trouble. Home dehumidification, preferably a whole-house system, will get your humidity level to your desired levels without wasting energy or money.
Keeping your home at a constant and comfortable humidity level will make it more enjoyable for you and your family, while at the same time protecting your home from damage. If you have any further questions about how to do this, please contact Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning. We serve homeowners in the Twin Cities Metro area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about home dehumidification and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Marsh Heating and Air Conditioning services Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!