Modern technology has provided us with many convenient appliances in order to make our life easier.
So, does the air conditioning remove humidity? It can remove some of the humidity due to refrigerant technology it uses. The AC units will help you to stay comfortable inside your house.
You have probably heard that the humidity is the culprit and not the heat itself. While it can be easy to remain comfortable during hot days when it stays dry, once the humidity increases, it can get unbearable. The same applies to cold weather. It seems that high humidity makes hot hotter while cold turns colder.
If you live in an area prone to muggy weather and high temperature, you probably know all too well that relief becomes imminent if your air conditioning is functioning properly to ease the problem. Even if the AC unit will help remove some humidity it is better to have a dehumidifier for this job.
Air Conditioners and How They Lower Humidity
Most of today’s HVAC systems have the ability to regulate humidity. The HVAC system comes with an evaporator coil that can condense the air’s water vapor in the process similar to the formation of condensation on the outer side of a glass that contains a cold beverage.
This takes place with moist and hot air in your house reaches the cold evaporator coil. The liquid gets condensed from the air that makes your house less humid. The moisture accumulated by the evaporator coil will go to a drain and sent outside away from your house or place of business.
The common misconception here is that the only purpose of your air conditioning unit is to just continuously blow cool air into your house until it reaches the temperature that you have set on the thermostat.
Even though it is true that an air conditioning unit does blow cool air into your house, this is multi-tasking at the same time and removing humidity and warm air.
There is no specific setting that you need to program on the unit so that it will regulate humidity. Air conditioners have been hardwired into doing so. But, if you wish to get a better understanding of how the process takes place, you can try to look for the evaporator coil in the air conditioning system.
The primary purpose of this evaporator coil is evaporating the cooling chemicals from liquid to gas and absorbing heat simultaneously. You will see a condensate pan under the evaporator coil due to the water vapor.
Your air conditioning unit essentially consumes the warm air through the ductwork of your home and uses its cool evaporator coil for sucking moisture from the surrounding air.
As it does so, it removes and drains the moisture from your house and releases this outside. This is how the basic cycle of your home’s air conditioning unit happens.
Do Different Air Conditioning Sizes Control Humidity?
It is a must to ensure that your air conditioning unit is the appropriate size for the specific job you hope it to do.
Your unit will only be effective in humidity control if its size is the correct one for the amount and type of work it has to do. For instance, window units made for small rooms like a home office won’t function properly in a big room.
The central air conditioning system should have sufficient power to move the cooled air throughout the space. Professional HVAC specialists may calculate the right size required for your HVAC system in accordance with the climate zone you’re living in and the size of your home.
Your air conditioner must not be too big or too small. If the HVAC system is very big, it’ll tend to short cycle with compressor not running for a sufficient duration to dehumidify the whole building.
If your HVAC system is very small, it might be powerful to keep your home at a comfortable temperature during extreme winter and summer months.
The Advantages of Reducing Levels of Humidity
The reason why some feel so uncomfortable whenever there’s an increased level of humidity is due to the fact that the body cools off through perspiring. Once your location is humid, air will have moisture, which makes it hard for someone’s sweat to evaporate.
With low temperature, air will grow less humid as well as more receptive to the perspiration’s evaporation. The result will make you feel more comfortable.
You won’t only achieve the right humidity balance to make you comfortable, but also it will help you get rid of the flu.
Reasons for Getting Rid of Moisture
The most common reasons to get rid of moisture and humidity in a home are overall discomfort and health concerns.
Health Concerns
When considering warm temperature and humidity, you have to take note that mold loves this kind of environment to grow.
The allergic reaction is the common reaction that people have with mold. These allergic reactions often include rash, sneezing, coughing, eye irritation, and watery eyes.
In more severe and rare cases, too much exposure to mold or mold spores can result in harsh symptoms like difficulty breathing and fever, and asthma attacks.
Discomfort
It might not be a health hazard, yet you should be comfortable in your own home and this should be the place to give you peace of mind.
It can be difficult to focus on something like household chores or hobbies when you are drenched in your sweat. In a humid environment, it’s harder to get rid of the existing sweat.
The reason behind it is that perspiring is the natural mechanism of the body to cool down. But, when the air is humid and warm, the sweat accumulating on the skin will less likely evaporate.
For example, once you leave any steaming shower and if you don’t dry off fully before entering different rooms, you will feel cool sensation due to water droplets are evaporating off the skin. Thus, when you’re in a house with a high level of humidity, your body will cool you off, yet the attempts would fall short naturally.
That is the reason why it is essential to have properly functioning HVAC system. Once you notice that the level of humidity in your home is higher than the usual and you have a running AC, it’s a red flag that your HVAC system isn’t working properly and you must call for professionals to repair it.
