How Humidity Impacts Your Comfort

Originally published in Dec. 22, 2017, updated in January, 2022.

When you think of humidity, you probably think only of the summertime muggy conditions that we experience in Charleston, South Carolina. However, humidity has an impact on your home comfort, and controlling it is how you ensure your indoor comfort year-round. Both high and low humidity can cause health problems and impact indoor air quality, necessitating a plan of attack to curb the problem.

What Is Relative Humidity?

Before we get into the effects that moisture has on home comfort, it’s important to understand what it is. Expressed as an equation of water vapor in the air divided by the mass of dry air, absolute humidity registers the percentage of water vapor in the air. This helps define relative humidity, which is the current amount of absolute moisture divided by the highest possible absolute moisture. Relative humidity is the measurement you most commonly see on the nightly news or in your home, and the ratio that you have to control for maximum home comfort.

How Does Relative Moisture Impact Comfort?

Because Charleston is on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, it has a much higher moisture level than non-coastal areas. In some regards, this is a positive aspect, as the city doesn’t suffer from dry winters that occur in other areas of the country that can cause health problems and other discomforts.

In the summer, it’s a different story. When humidity hops above 60 percent in your home, it can make your home feel hotter than it actually is. While there are a number of ways to control this moist air, your air conditioning if the front-line for lowering humidity. Through the refrigeration process of your AC, much of the moisture is removed from your indoor air. Sometimes your AC needs a little help. The most effective means of helpin your air conditioning is installing a whole-home dehumidifier or an advanced HVAC system with humidity controls.

Should winter air moisture drop below 40 percent in your home, you may notice your skin feels dry and your sinuses may suffer from dryness also. To combat this situation, a humidifier can add moisture into the air and alleviate the situation.

Solve Humidity Discomfort

Are you experiencing high humidity that’s causing your family to feel uncomfortable, while your electric bills are higher as your AC runs longer to keep your house cool? Call AC Heating and Air Conditioning Services today to schedule an appointment to optimize your HVAC system and determine if a humidifier or dehumidifier would solve the issues.

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