Our little part of the world is pretty well known for its heat during the majority of the year. Even in the winter months, we’ve been known to have a few hot days here and there. As such it makes sense that you’d like to know how to use your Santa Fe, NM HVAC system most efficiently to save money. But do you ever consider how your indoor air quality is affecting this?
We’re talking about humidity, in particular. Your indoor relative humidity levels should be between 30-50% for optimal comfort, health, and even property protection. During this time of the year, it can often drop below that, with your heater drying out the air even more. In the spring and summer, you have high humidity to worry about. It adds to the heat, makes you uncomfortable, and actually forces your air conditioner to work much harder than it should have to.
What You Can Do to Improve Indoor Air Quality and HVAC Efficiency
As we inch closer toward the warmer part of the year, we’re going to take the opportunity to talk about whole-house dehumidifiers—devices designed to remove excess moisture from your home. It works by pulling in the warm, humid air, passing it over cold metal coils to create condensation. This condensation drips into a collection tank, where it then exits your home. The air is released into your air conditioner, without the excess moisture from humidity.
“Does This Really Help My AC?”
The short answer is “yes.” You might be surprised by the number of ways high humidity affects your air conditioner. It adds extra strain to it, forcing it to work harder to cool your home. Humidity holds in heat, so even though the temperature may not have risen, the humidity present in the air makes it feel as though it did.
Additionally, your AC system has to remove a larger amount of moisture from the air than it is designed to, meaning that longer periods of humidity can do significant damage to the system. When your air conditioner has to work harder to do its job, it requires more energy, and therefore the harder it works to fight high humidity, the less efficiently it can perform.
Excess humidity can also cause parts of your AC system to become wet from condensation. This water attracts particles like dust, dirt and other debris. With too much excess moisture, a layer of dust and dirt can eventually develop, making your air conditioner dirty to the point that components may be limited as to how well they can do their job, leading to malfunction.
The Benefits of Whole House Dehumidifiers
Aside from avoiding the potential issues we listed above, there are a number of other benefits to using a whole house dehumidifier. It can help improve comfort in your living space, helps to improve your indoor air quality, and of course, makes the HVAC system more efficient. To determine if a dehumidifier is right for your home, don’t hesitate to give our team a call!
Contact Roadrunner Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration for your HVAC and indoor air quality needs.
