Many North American homeowners are doing everything they possibly can to keep their families warm this winter. However, there is a point that many overlook — the warmer your air, the drier it is.
The optimal humidity range for your home and your health is 35-50%. During the course of the winter, your furnace often strips the air of moisture during the heating process, which can cause the air inside your home to feel exceedingly dry. The best way to have a more energy-efficient and comfortable home during the winter is to control your indoor humidity.
By adding a whole-home humidifier to your HVAC system, you can adjust humidity levels through your thermostat. You will have the ability to place the humidity to any level you choose without worrying about turning the system on and off. At the end of the heating season, your humidifier can be drained and shut down until it is needed again. The only maintenance your humidifier should need can be performed by your Service Exerts technician as part of your regular HVAC tune-ups.
Humidity is sometimes ignored as a part of indoor comfort and air quality. Examine these reasons why a whole home humidifier is worth the investment:
Healthy Air, Healthy You
A lack of moisture in the air can dry out your nasal passages, causing irritation of the skin, eyes, nose and mouth and may even exacerbate respiratory illnesses. Installing a whole-home humidifier for your heating and cooling system can help clear your sinuses, moisturize your nasal passages, and improve your breathing. Adding moisture to your air is optimal for your health. Whole-home humidifiers help reduce your risk of illness as viruses and bacteria do not survive in moist air.
Since humidifiers add moisture to the nasal passages and respiratory systems, they could also help minimize snoring and, in some cases, do away with it completely giving you a full night of uninterrupted sleep.
And, do you apply more moisturizing products in the winter? That may very well be due to the air drying out your skin and lips, leading to itchy, dull spots and cracks. Adding moisture with the help of a humidifier will help keep your skin and lips smooth by preventing the dry, flakiness often associated with the cold winter months.
Save on Energy Bills
A whole-home humidifier doesn’t just add to your health – it adds to your wallet. Increasing the amount of moisture in the air normally helps your home feel warmer at a lower temperature, reducing your heating costs. Low humidity can also reduce the efficiency of your home’s heating system. Air that captures more moisture can maintain more heat, which means it will feel warmer. To that end, low humidity in your home means the air will seem cooler, causing you to have to turn up the heat more than necessary to feel comfortable.
Stop the Static
The dry, cool air can cause a lot of static. Is your family getting shocked more lately? A humidifier makes the air less dry and lowers your risk of being shocked at home.
Protection for Home Furnishings
Air that is too dry can also affect the finishes and furnishings in your home, especially those made from wood, causing them to shrink, warp, and crack. Low humidity could also have a unfavorable effect on paper products, such as photos, posters, and books, resulting in them becoming more brittle.
We’ve discussed all the benefits of having a humidifier, but how do you make the choice to invest in a whole-home humidifier instead of a single-room humidifier?
Although you can enlist single-room humidifiers to improve the humidity in certain areas of your home, this approach is not the most efficient.
If you’d like to know more about improving your home’s comfort and heating efficiency this winter, call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning at 301-747-3140 or make an appointment online for a free home air quality and comfort analysis.