Is your humid house making you feel uncomfortable?
It’s an understandable response, especially if you know your home’s AC is running. You would think that having your air conditioning operating correctly, that should already solve this issue. However, humidity problems may go beyond your air conditioner’s basic operation.
To tackle the issue, review our humidity rundown below and learn more about why your home’s humidity level depends on several different factors.
Causes of a Humid House
The first step to fixing your humidity level is to identify some potential causes. Knowing them allows you to determine whether your AC system has the right features for indoor humidity. Never forget that an AC system’s function goes beyond cooling a home.
Here are some possible humid house causes:
1. Body Warmth
On certain occasions and depending on the size of your living spaces, if there are too many people in those areas your house may feel muggy. Too many warm bodies within a confined space can alter the immediate area’s temperature making it feel warmer than usual, so you may want to adjust your thermostat to accommodate the extra company.
2. Cooking and Bathing
When you’re cooking, your house could become more humid than usual. The evaporating water from your stove may be the culprit. It’s why most kitchens have ventilation fans above stoves and ovens.
Bathing is another normal activity that contributes to the humidity. When you run your bath or shower, it releases both steam and moisture into the air through the shower. Like your kitchen, it’s best to get standard ventilation fans on your bathrooms.
3. Outside Weather
When it’s humid outside, it’s a no-brainer that it will lead to warmer than usual humidity levels in your home. Ensuring the entry points for that humidity are sealed up properly (all windows and doors are closed properly), can help sure up your air conditioner’s ability to remove humidity effectively.
4. AC System is Too Old
If your house is too humid, it could be because your air conditioning system is reaching the end of its useful lifespan. The average lifespan of a traditional air conditioner in the Lowcountry is between 12 and 15 years. Like any appliance, the wear-and-tear causes your old AC to be less efficient when removing humidity.
This issue is more noticeable if you don’t maintain your AC system regularly. If your AC is old, it might prompt you to pick between repairing and replacing it. Think about whether the replacement will outweigh the costs of buying a new AC system.
How to Optimize Your AC To Help Remove More Humidity
1. Make Sure Your AC Is Sized Correctly
In air conditioning, size will always matter. If your AC unit is too small, it will fail to make your home cooler and free from humidity efficiently.
Otherwise, an oversized AC will turn on and off more frequently. It happens because its compressor is too powerful. The system won’t run long enough to dehumidify your home.
Avoid having improperly-sized AC systems for your home. Consult a reputable HVAC company with enough expertise to calculate and install a new system as necessary.
2. Add a Dehumidifier
Even the best AC systems sometimes can’t keep your house free from humidity, so adding a separate dehumidifier may help with the excess humidity. This is especially useful when your system has no advanced humidity controls.
3. Inspect Your Ductwork
Excessive air leaking from your ducts could cause a humid feeling inside your house. If you can’t find a viable source, inspect your ductwork to check for leaks. In most cases, your home’s moisture comes from outdoor air leaking into your interior via your home’s ductwork.
4. Keep Your Air Conditioner Coil Clean
The heat and humidity won’t go away if your indoor evaporator coil is dirty and dust-covered. It applies even when the coil is slightly dirty. It might not prevent the AC from cooling your home, but it can impact moisture removal.
One solution is to change or clean your air filter. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and you’ll be fine.
Your coil is less likely to get dirty when your air filter is clean or new. When the filter is dirty, the blower fan will cause particles to enter your air conditioner. As time passes, the debris will accumulate on the coil.
5. Adjust Fan Speeds
A lot of systems move air at a faster rate to help cool your home quickly. However, faster air movement may not be ideal if you’re getting rid of the humidity, so adjusting the fan speed down may allow your air conditioner to remove humidity more efficiently.
Fix Your Humid House Today
Do you have humidity issues in your Charleston home? Contact us today to reach our HVAC experts and stay cool & comfortable all summer long.
