Dry winter air in the Dayton area brings higher utility bills, and health and comfort issues as well. Find relief this season for you and your loved ones with a whole-house humidifier, and say adios to the annoyances of dry air.
Benefits of whole-house humidification
A whole-house humidifier is designed to “moisturize” all surfaces in your home by adding a specified amount of water vapor to indoor-air circulation via the ductwork. These are the benefits:
- Comfort and health: Humidified air soothes and relieves dry chapped skin, nasal and throat irritation, and fatigue, and helps maintain proper hydration and immune system function. Many bacteria and viruses thrive in dry air. The moisture in coughs and sneezes actually coats the flu virus, helping to prevent infection. Dry air pulls moisture out of cough and sneeze droplets, leaving the flu virus to linger in the air. Combined with dry nasal and throat passages, and a lowered immune system, dry air creates perfect conditions for infection.
- Efficiency: Humidified air allows skin to hold moisture better, which produces a warming effect. For every 10 percent humidity is increased, the air feels 1 degree warmer. If you increase indoor relative humidity by 30 percent, you may find that you can lower the thermostat 3 degrees, and save up to 9 percent heating costs.
- Damage control: Dry air pulls moisture out of porous materials, which causes shrinking. Wood molding, hardwood floors, cabinetry, musical instruments and more are all susceptible to damage caused by indoor air that’s too dry. Painful static-electric shocks are another side effect of dry air. Electronics such as computers and HD TVs are at risk of damage from these shocks.
Installation, function and maintenance
A whole-house humidifier is attached to the duct system by your HVAC professional. Operation is automatic. The humidifier is plumbed to your home’s water supply, and optimal humidity levels (45 to 55 percent) are set with the humidistat. Light maintenance includes washing the media panel at the start and end of the heating months.
For more information, please contact us at Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc. We’re a family-owned business, proudly providing exceptional service and installation for Dayton area homeowners since 1978.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about whole-house humidifiers and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
