Does your home have good ventilation? You may know that a home usually has much better indoor air quality when stale air is exhausted and fresh air is added through a good ventilation system. But ventilation can also have a positive effect on temperature. Here’s how.
Moisture and Temperature
Warm air holds more moisture than cool air. That’s one reason why in the summer, humidity in the home may be higher than we’re comfortable with. Higher moisture content in the warmer air of the home prevents the “wind chill” effect of perspiration evaporating on our skin and making us feel cooler. Without the wind chill, we’re likely to feel hot and sticky, and to remedy that, we usually head for the thermostat, turning it way down so that we can cool off faster. This can be a tremendous waste of money on our utility bills.
That’s why it’s a good idea to keep the humidity levels in our homes down during warm weather. A simple device called a hygrometer can tell you if your home’s humidity is within the recommended 30-60 percent range. If it’s higher than that, you need to remedy the situation.
How to Lower the Humidity
There are several approaches you can take to lowering humidity. Among them are these:
- Fix plumbing or ceiling leaks.
- Take shorter showers.
- Change the air filter often so the A/C does a better job of removing moisture from the home’s air. Likewise, make sure the A/C coils are cleaned during maintenance.
If the home is still too humid, you might look into adding a dehumidifier to the HVAC system. A dehumidifier will take out additional moisture, and send it away through your plumbing.
But another way to lower humidity is to add a ventilation system. Exhaust fans installed over the range hood or in the bathroom will lower the home’s moisture significantly, so that the home’s air doesn’t feel so damp — and you don’t need to turn the thermostat down to feel comfortable.
Want to know more about ventilation systems? Contact Ace Hardware Home Services. We’ve served the Dayton area since 1978.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
