Oklahoma can get pretty humid over the summer, and everyone knows that the heat is harder to tolerate when there's a lot of moisture in the air. Extra moisture causes the air to become muggy and oppressive. But did you know that you can use your A/C to remove humidity?How well your A/C removes the humidity can depend on a number of factors including, how strong the humidity is, how hot the day is, and how many moisture producing sources you have in your home at any given time. Here are a few tips on how to use the A/C to remove humidity.
When your compressor runs, it automatically takes some humidity out of the air, but the more moisture it's condensing, the more of its energy is devoted to humidity control instead of cooling. If you turn the A/C on early in the morning before the heat of the day builds up, you can get a head start on dehumidifying the house before more energy needs to be devoted to cooling, helping it keep up.
Check your home for air leaks in the doors, windows, or ductwork that may be letting humid air back into you home. Sealing these leaks with weatherstripping, caulking or duct tape can significantly change how hard your unit has to work to keep your home dehumidified.
Turn on exhaust fans when using the stove or shower, to make sure that as much of moisture and heat gets vented before even making it into the rest of your home.
Don't let the fan on the A/C run if the compressor isn't on. The fan doesn't dehumidify while the compressor is off, and can blow more moisture back into the house.
Don't turn the thermostat down to dehumidify faster. Unless you have a two-stage cooling system, the compressor can only dehumidify so fast. Turning the thermostat down just causes it to run for longer, burning more energy for very little benefit.
For more information on using your A/C to remove humidity in your home, contact Air Assurance.Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: GSPhotography/Shutterstock”