If the air in your home frequently feels humid during the warmer months of the year, you should consider installing a whole-home dehumidifier. These devices vary slightly in design, but they are all designed to remove much more humidity from your home air than your air conditioner can remove on its own and continue to remove humidity even when your air conditioner is off.
Read on to learn more about whole-home dehumidifiers and the benefits of these devices.
How Whole-Home Dehumidifiers Work
Whole-home dehumidifiers are typically connected to a home’s existing HVAC system. Air passes through this dehumidifier before entering home ductwork where it is then distributed into all of the rooms in your home. When air is inside the dehumidifier, it passes over a cold coil that causes humidity in the air to condense into water. This water is then directed out of your home through a special drain pipe.
These devices can typically be set at an exact desired humidity level, so you do not have to worry about a whole-home dehumidifier drying out your home air too much. Most homeowners feel most comfortable when the humidity level of the air inside their home is set at between 30 and 60 percent.
Whole-Home Dehumidifier Benefits
While whole-home dehumidifiers can increase comfort, they also offer a homeowner many more unique advantages.
Summer Energy Savings
Whole-home dehumidifiers use very little energy to run. In fact, a 782-watt electric dehumidifier that runs for four hours a day for six months of the year consumes an average of just $57 worth of electricity a year. However, even this small extra energy expense is offset greatly when homeowners realize that they don’t need to run the AC as often during the summer if the indoor air lacks excessive humidity.
People naturally feel hotter when the air around them is humid because humidity inhibits the body’s natural cooling system, which is the evaporation of sweat. When the air in your home is less humid, you can save money on cooling costs because you no longer need to crank your air conditioner to compensate for the warming effect of humidity.
Dehumidify Air When AC Is Off
When the outdoor temperature is comfortable, yet the humidity level is high, you may find yourself turning on your air conditioner just to remove excess moisture from the air. Turning on the AC just to remove humidity from the air can waste energy.
When you have a whole-home dehumidifier, you can turn on only the dehumidifier while leaving your AC unit off. A dehumidifier can remove excess moisture from the air and ventilate your home much more affordably than an AC unit can.
Prevent Home Mold and Mildew Growth
Mold and mildew thrive in warm, moist environments. If you struggle with mold and mildew growth in your bathroom, basement, or other areas of your home, reducing the humidity level in your home could help stop this growth and prevent future growth.
Protect Wooden Furniture & Home Décor
Excessive home humidity can be detrimental to wooden furniture, flooring, and other home décor. Wood swells as it absorbs the moisture from humid air and then shrinks back down when indoor humidity levels drop. When wood swells and shrinks repeatedly over time, it can warp and crack.
When the humidity level in your home is low and consistent, the wooden items in your home are much more likely to stay in better shape for longer.
If your air conditioner does not remove enough humidity from your home to keep you comfortable or you would like to remove humidity from your home air when your AC is off, consider adding a whole-home dehumidifier to your HVAC system to obtain these benefits. Contact the HVAC experts at Apollo Heating & Air Conditioning to schedule whole-home dehumidifier installation today.