How Can I Keep My Home from Feeling Humid?

Heating and air conditioning equipment can do a lot more than heat and cool your home. Charleston homeowners benefit just as much from their humidity control features. High indoor humidity is linked to damages, health problems, and an overall summer funk. Learn how your air conditioner can help.
​
Your HVAC equipment controls indoor humidity in the following ways:

Cold air holds less moisture.

Even if you sprint to your car on a hot summer’s day, you won’t miss the extra moisture in the air. Heat and humidity go hand-in-hand. Why? To answer that, you need to take a look at basic scientific principles.
​
Warm air particles are tiny and fast moving. They leave plenty of room for water droplets to be absorbed into the air as water vapor. Along the eastern seaboard, those droplets are coming up from a very warm body of water, allowing for more of that water to join the air as vapor as well.

This is one reason humidity is worse in Georgia than, say, in California. The water along the West Coast comes from colder water sources, so the droplets are larger and less water can join with the air.

By cooling the air inside your home, you increase the size of the air molecules and lessen the amount of room available for holding water vapor. Just by running your air conditioner, you will lower indoor humidity. This is one reason people on vacation continue to use their AC. High humidity rates can damage furnishings and encourage the growth of mold.

Dehumidifiers have become much more efficient.

If the humidity inside your home is greater than 60 percent, you’re eventually going to have problems. A dehumidifying unit—either a standalone unit or an HVAC add-on you can adjust using your thermostat—can greatly improve your indoor air quality and your comfort.

Click this link to contact Smoak’s Comfort Control to discuss the latest innovations in heating and air conditioning units with humidity controls. Visit us online, or call 843.556.9550 today.