High humidity levels in your house can lead to destructive results as it creates the perfect setting where all kinds of microscopic organisms can breed. It is the main reason why you need to lower the humidity levels in your home.
So, can fans reduce humidity? Well, fans such as ceiling fans don’t really reduce or remove humidity in a room. What they do instead is help you feel more comfortable even when the environment is humid. Fans are the best choice for circulating air around a room.
Air conditioning systems are the ones that can remove humidity from your home. But, of course, running one results to higher electric bulls. This makes fans a better and cheaper option as they use almost the same electricity amount as it takes for powering a light bulb of 100 watts.
Read on to know how fans are designed to help you stay comfortable even in high humidity.
The Rotation of Fans
Many ceiling fans today come with a switch that lets you control the specific direction where the blades rotate. During high humidity levels, you can enjoy a wind-chill effect if you turn the blades in counterclockwise rotation. If you are standing directly under the fan, you can feel the cooling breeze when the fan is set properly at the right speed and rotation.
Even though the air continues to circulate around the room, the strongest and coolest wind chill will come from the downdraft that the fan produces.
The Fan’s Design
A fan’s blades are set at such an angle that will give them the ability of pushing air in a more effective way as they rotate. The fan also has adjustable settings to make it rotate slower or faster as desired.
During warm days or summer season when there is high humidity level, your fan needs to run at either high or medium speed. This is the sole way for the appliance to create the best cooling effect.
The fan’s size can also help determine the coolness in your room when running it.
The Wind Chill Effect
On humid days, a room’s actual temperature doesn’t really change. But, a breeze ceiling fan can stir air around the room and alter the level of temperature.
Since your skin is the main reason why a room’s moisture level increases sometimes, the breeze produces a wind chill effect and this will then evaporate moisture from your skin.
Homeowners who use ceiling fans are going to agree that these appliances do make them feel much cooler. The movement of air inside the room alone is relatively better for the room to feel four degrees or even cooler.
Having said this, it is crucial to keep in mind that fans cannot be completely ruled out to be the best devices for reducing humidity levels. Once used as mentioned above, fans can keep out humid air and cool the air inside the room.
Other Ways to Reduce Humidity in a Home
There are 3 do-it-yourself methods that you can try to help lower your home’s humidity level and these are the following:
1. Check Sources of Water
Extra water in your house would increase humidity. Ensure that you repair any pipes leaking and keep all your watered plants outside.
2. Ventilate
It’s the simplest way to fight the humidity level in your house. Cooking and showering introduce humidity in the air, so ensure that your exhaust fan is turned on in your bathroom and over your stove.
3. Add Desiccant
Usually, a desiccant is a silica gel, which absorbs water from the environment. Through placing silica in cloth bag, you may eliminate humidity naturally. Once it’s saturated, silica is reusable.
All you have to do is to heat it in your oven and you may use it again. A lot of huge box stores sell silica. Some kinds of kitty litter or activated charcoal may be used as a desiccant.
If such DIY methods aren’t enough, you have some options and these include the following:
2-Stage Air Conditioner
It works like a mechanical dehumidifier, but air conditioning units have cooling coils, which eliminate moisture from the air. However, 2-stage air conditioner may dehumidify your house even further since it has low energy efficient setting that causes AC unit to run for a long period of time, which results to moisture removal and constant airflow.
Dehumidifiers
There are several types of dehumidifiers. A desiccant dehumidifier basically absorbs humidity from the air once it passes through the appliance. Then, the desiccant is heated within the machine to get rid of the absorbed moisture.
Mechanical dehumidifiers, on the other hand, have a fan, which pulls humid air to cooling coils. Air cooling causes it to release moisture that’s collected in small basin in the machine.
Without the water, the air is pushed back out. This technique does need emptying collection basin. Moreover, you will also find whole-house mechanical dehumidifiers that can be installed in the ductwork and do not need emptying basin.
There are also thermo-electric dehumidifiers that pull air in the cooling side that cause it to lose and condense moisture. Then, it’s passed through the heating side that returns dry air to room temperature as well as pushes the air back out.
Never Underestimate the Significance of Proper Humidity Levels
Improper levels of indoor humidity are a common hazard that’s frequently underestimated. Dust mites and some sickmakers including noxious chemicals, pathogens, and allergens are more abundant in a humid condition.
Headaches, allergies, and asthma symptoms including shortness of breath, wheezing or chronic cough also indicate you might benefit a lot from reducing moist content in indoor air.
Ventilation, dehumidifiers, air conditioning, weather stripping, humidity monitors, lifestyle changes, insulation, caulking, and interior adjustments can help ensure a perfect humidity level in your home.
Such actions might involve other costs, yet in the end they’ll help you save money and boost you and your family’s overall health condition. You have to take note that perfect humidity level for your home is less than sixty percent in summer and between 25-50% during winter.
