The humidity levels in your home have a significant effect on everything. Too much humidity makes you feel sticky, hot, and uncomfortable. High humidity levels cause paint and wallpaper to peel and wood floors to warp. High humidity also increases the chances of mold and mildew buildup and turns your home into a breeding ground for viruses and allergens. All these things put the health of you and your family at risk.
Conversely, low humidity exasperates respiratory issues and causes sore throats, dry eyes, nosebleeds, irritation, and cracked skin. Low humidity also causes wood floors and furniture to crack, makes artwork and photos brittle, and damages electronics with increased levels of static.
Having a good balance of humidity in your home allows everyone and everything to stay comfortable and healthy. Home humidifiers and dehumidifiers are the best devices for keeping your home in perfect humidity.
How Do Home Humidifiers Work?
Home humidifiers are designed to pump moisture into the air when humidity is too low. There are four basic types of home humidifiers:
- Flow-Through
- Drum
- Steam
- Bypass
Flow-through humidifiers utilize fans to help move air throughout the system. Near the fans is a wet pad. The fan helps the moisture on the pad evaporate into the air as it passes over it. The humid air then continues through the air ducts and out the vents into the various rooms in your home.
Drum humidifiers utilize a spinning drum instead of a fan. As the air circulates through your air ducts, a motor powers a large drum with a belt attached. On the belt is a moist pad. As the drum spins, the moisture evaporates off the pad and into the air before it is returned to the house.
Steam humidifiers work by boiling water in reservoirs. The steam from the water is carried into the air as it passes through the unit and back into the house.
Bypass humidifiers use heat from the furnace to create humidity. The system drips water onto a panel when it calls for more humidity. The heat of the furnace then evaporates the water. As the air flows out from the furnace, the moisture from the evaporated water gets carried into it, making the air more humid.
How Do Home Dehumidifiers Work?
Unlike humidifiers, dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air when the humidity levels are too high. Dehumidifiers typically only come in one form and work one way.
A fan pulls air from the various rooms in your home. Since the air comes from your home, usually kept at a comfortable temperature range between 60 and 80 degrees, it is warm as it moves through the ducts. The air eventually reaches and passes over a set of coils. These coils are refrigerated to keep them consistently cold.
Moisture is pulled from the air as the warm air meets the cold coils. The moisture forms water droplets on the coils drip down into the drain pan. The drain pan empties into several small pipes that dispose of the collected water outside the house. As the air continues to circulate, it reduces the overall humidity in the home.
What Seasons Are Appropriate to Use a Humidifier or Dehumidifier?
In the colder months of late autumn and throughout winter, the frigid air cannot hold as much moisture as it usually would in warmer months. As a result, the humidity levels in your house drop drastically and require the assistance of a humidifier to help keep moisture levels regular.
In the hot summer months, the air becomes highly humid because the heat constantly evaporates water outside. Not only does the humid air come in through your ductwork, but people commonly open their windows in summer to increase airflow to cool off without realizing that they’re also allowing more humidity into the room. A dehumidifier is needed during the summer months to help keep the humidity level down.
Our professional technicians at AAA Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning will provide you with skilled installation, repair, and maintenance services for home humidifiers and dehumidifiers. We also offer the same quality services for water heaters, air conditioners, furnaces, boilers, air purifiers, generators, and more. If you want more information on humidifiers, dehumidifiers, or other heating and cooling services in or around the Huntingdon Valley area, contact AAA Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning today.
