As a homeowner, it’s likely that you’re concerned about the quality of air inside of your home. One great way to help boost your air quality while reducing your energy bills is investing in a whole-home dehumidification system. Below, we’re going to dive into some more details about what the system is and how it can benefit your household.
What’s a Whole-Home Dehumidifier?
Most people are familiar with a regular portable dehumidifier. You simply plug it into the wall, and the device will then pull moisture out of the air and put it into a storage tank. A whole-home dehumidifier works in much the same way. However, instead of working to remove humidity in one area of your home, it works to remove humidity throughout your entire house.
This helps to eliminate the need to buy multiple portable dehumidifiers to treat your entire household. The best part is that your dehumidification system will be hooked up with a permanent drain so that it will remove all the water it collects in a safe manner without you having to physically do it.
To control your whole-home dehumidification system, you’ll need to set your desired relative indoor humidity level on your thermostat. Because your air conditioning system will naturally remove moisture from the air, it will be the first system that turns on to treat the air inside of your house.
If there’s a significant difference in the indoor humidity level inside of your home and what you have set on your thermostat, your thermostat will automatically turn on your whole-home dehumidifier to help. This gives you ultimate control over the humidity level inside of your residence throughout the entire year.
What’s an Optimal Indoor Humidity Level?
The optimal indoor humidity level for any household is going to be between 30% and 50%. Anything lower, and you’ll end up with issues like dry skin and itchy eyes. Anything higher, and you risk having mold and mildew grow in your home.
When Is a Dehumidifier Necessary?
Your whole-home dehumidification system is going to be necessary during the summer months when the outside humidity levels get high. It’s very common for weather events, like thunderstorms, to bring in a lot of humidity with them. It can be helpful to have a way to treat that humidity to get it back down to your most desirable level.
One of the biggest problems with having high indoor humidity during the summer months is that it can make it more challenging for your body to naturally cool down. When your body tries to cool itself, it creates sweat on the surface of your skin. When air humidity is high, less of that sweat gets absorbed into the surrounding air. This doesn’t allow your body to cool down sufficiently to be comfortable.
This is where having a whole-home dehumidification system comes into play. You can help reduce the humidity level inside of your home so that your body can naturally cool itself through sweating. When your body is able to remain comfortable, you can enjoy setting your thermostat at a higher temperature throughout the summer months. This goes a long way in helping to reduce the amount of time that your air conditioning system is running, leading to lower energy bills for you. It also means fewer AC repairs.
Prevent Indoor Microbial Growth
Apart from being uncomfortable in your home, one of the biggest problems with excessive indoor humidity is that it can create the perfect breeding ground for microbial growth. These growths of mold and mildew can develop inside of your air conditioning system and start spreading throughout your entire house thanks to the unit’s blower components. Mold spores can not only be damaging to your health but also damaging to furniture and other various surfaces throughout your house.
Reduce Allergy Flare-ups
If you suffer from summertime allergies, you likely know that high humidity levels are to blame. Because microbial growth excels at these higher humidity levels, you’re going to breathe in more allergens that can aggravate your symptoms. Running a whole-home dehumidifier can be a great way to help keep those allergens in check so that you experience fewer allergy flare-ups while relaxing at home.
Protect Wood Items
If you take a look throughout your house, it’s likely that you’re going to find a lot of items that are made out of wood. From your furniture and picture frames to tables and stands, there are many different items in your home that are susceptible to damage when humidity levels get too high. Wood is commonly known to warp and swell whenever it experiences high humidity levels. This can not only damage your furniture and picture frames but also other wood objects like your flooring or paneling on the walls.
Prevents Rusting
Wood isn’t the only material that’s affected by high indoor humidity. In fact, metal can be drastically affected by high humidity levels. Metal components on your appliances, electronics, decor, and even tools will start to corrode when humidity levels are too high. With too much exposure to excess indoor humidity, you can drastically shorten the lifespan of these components.
Better Preserve Foods
While you may not give it much thought, the longevity of the items in your pantry can be affected by the humidity level inside of your home. When humidity levels get too high, products like sugar and flour can start clumping together. This clumping can cause spoilage of these items and require you to purchase more to replace the ones that are no longer good.
Reduce Potential Pest Activity
One environment that many pests thrive in is going to be a humid one. Pests like spiders, termites, cockroaches, and silverfish can all infiltrate your house if your humidity level is very high. Investing in a whole-home dehumidification system comes with the added benefit of making your home less desirable for these unwanted pests to reduce the chance of experiencing an infestation.
Boosted Home Value
One other really great advantage of a whole-home dehumidification system is that it helps to improve the overall resale value of your property. Home buyers are more likely to invest in a home that already has this addition to its HVAC system because they know that it provides better indoor comfort.
Reduce Pathogen Spreading
One lesser-known problem that high indoor humidity creates is an environment where both harmful bacteria and viruses can thrive. If any of these airborne pathogens are introduced into your home through doors and windows, they’re more likely to reproduce and cause illness to you and other family members. By using a whole-home dehumidification system, you can reduce your indoor humidity level and help prevent the spread of these harmful airborne pathogens.
Reliable Whole-Home Dehumidifier Installation Service
My Guy Heating and Air, LLC offers reliable whole-home dehumidifier installation service to the Longmont, CO area. We can also assist with all of your indoor air quality testing, installation, maintenance, and repair needs. Simply call us today to book your next appointment with one of our helpful service technicians.
