Most homeowners depend on the effectiveness of their air conditioning system in the oppressive summer heat. It’s what makes your home comfortable for your whole family and allows them to enjoy spending time together there. Unfortunately, when high humidity comes to Portland, it can make your air conditioner work much harder.
It All Starts With How Humidity Affects the Body
The human body naturally sweats when it gets overheated. This process helps us to cool our body temperature back down to a normal range. Unfortunately, when the humidity level is high in the environment, a large portion of our sweat is unable to be dispersed into the air. This leaves a lot of it stuck to our skin.
This lack of evaporation is what leads to our bodies feeling sticky and clammy when humidity levels are high. When we feel hot and sticky, we turn the thermostat down further. This causes our air conditioning units to work even harder to reach the desired temperature.
Top Signs That It’s Too Humid in Your Home
While the weatherman can tell you when the humidity level is high outside, you’ll need to rely on other indicators for determining the humidity level inside your home. If you don’t have a humidity gauge as part of your air conditioning system, you’ll have to depend on a couple of key identifiers.
The first sign that your home’s interior is too humid is that everything feels moist. The house may have a damp or musty smell to it. Most people can pick up on this bad odor when they walk through the front door from outside. Taking a look at the windows inside your home can also help you to determine if the humidity level is too high. If it is, your windows will be foggy.
The Negative Effects of High Humidity on Your Air Conditioner
As you continue to turn down the temperature of your air conditioning system, thinking that it’s just not working right, your air conditioner is working much harder than usual to cool your home. As it consistently works to pull more heat out of the air to make your family more comfortable in the humid environment, your overall system is using more energy.
Apart from overworking your AC, the high humidity level allows condensation to occur on various air conditioner parts. This can attract loose particles like dust and dirt, which can make your system more prone to malfunctioning. This holds especially true if your condensate tray has debris that clogs the drainage hole. That can cause you to experience water leaks in your air conditioning system.
Consider a Humidity Control Addition to Your Cooling System
Many new central air conditioning systems have a built-in dehumidifier that offers humidity control. You simply turn the humidity gauge to your desired level, and your air conditioning system will take care of the rest. If you have an older style of central air conditioning system, you still have options.
You can opt for having a dehumidifier installed as an addition to your central AC system. This will allow you full access to a humidity control gauge that you can utilize to set the desired humidity level in your home. When you can easily change the humidity level with the push of a button, you can make your home more comfortable for your family on those overly humid days.
What Is the Ideal Home Humidity Level?
Once you have the humidity control of your indoor home environment at your fingertips, it’s time to consider what humidity level you should choose. The experts recommend a humidity level between 40% and 60%. The exact humidity level for your family is going to depend on your individual preferences and the outside humidity level in Portland at the time.
It’s important to keep your humidity level below 60%. This will aid in inhibiting mold growth. As the humidity level increases and the air starts to retain more moisture, mold and other harmful allergens are able to grow much faster. You’ll want to protect your family by maintaining a humidity level that is both comfortable and safe for your home environment.
Conscientious Professional Assistance
Climate Control can provide your home with top-quality AC services to ensure that your family stays comfortable this summer. In fact, we handle installation, maintenance, and repair for both cooling and heating systems. In addition, we perform indoor air quality services, duct cleaning, and hot water heater installation. Simply give us a call today to discuss your needs and schedule an appointment anywhere in or near Portland.
