What’s the Ideal Humidity Level for Your Home?
The ideal indoor humidity level for a home is between 30% and 60%. Some expert sources vary slightly in their recommendation but all fall within this range. Anything above or below this range could potentially result in a host of comfort and health issues.
What Does Humidity Have to Do With Home Comfort?
Heating and cooling is about humidity control more than many people realize. For example, a large portion of your air conditioner or heat pump’s job in the summer is to remove moisture from your home’s air. This directly contributes to the comfort in your home.
Other times, humidity levels can have direct implications on your health as well. It’s not uncommon for humidity to be an underlying cause of recurring illnesses or respiratory problems.
This article will talk you through each of these issues, why they occur, and their solutions. If you stick to the range listed above, you’ll generally be in good shape, but understanding how to monitor and manipulate humidity levels in the home is key to being as healthy and comfortable as possible in every season.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): How HVAC Controls Humidity
HVAC equipment can monitor and regulate humidity year-round, though the details depend on the specific equipment you have.
Some level of humidity control is part of any HVAC system, but more sophisticated or specific IAQ products can enhance these efforts.
Monitoring Home Humidity
A traditional thermostat only measures temperature. While your cooling equipment will reduce humidity, it’s not being actively tracked unless you have the equipment to do so.
A humidistat is a separate measuring hub for humidity, and will usually be tied to a whole-house humidifier, dehumidifier, or both.
Some sophisticated smart thermostats can do both of these things in one, and your humidity controls will be alongside your temperature control. This affords homeowners the greatest level of information and control over their systems.
Humidity-Controlling Products
We referenced them earlier, but a whole-home humidifier or dehumidifier is the easiest way to maintain comfortable humidity levels in the home. Humidifiers can be ducted directly to your system to spread moisture via the ductwork into your home.
Dehumidifiers can be similarly ducted, but they’re often simply located on the basement floor. Since humidity rises, curbing humidity in the basement affects the entire home.
More advanced air conditioner or heat pump equipment is also better at removing humidity than entry-level systems. High humidity is most frequently a problem in the summer, so if you frequently deal with a gross, muggy climate in your home, upgrading to a two-stage or variable-speed air conditioner or heat pump will improve your comfort levels.
Low Humidity Problems
Does your family suffer every flu season? Humidity may be a factor.
What about cracked skin in the colder months? Or a persistent cough and sore throats in certain climates?
Dry air affects us more than we realize. Here is a brief rundown of common problems associated with low humidity:
- Warping on dry floorboards. While a bit of creaky noise in the floorboards is usually harmless, if it’s long-term it can result in warped wood floors within the home.
- Increased illness exposure. Virus and bacteria particles survive longer in the air
- Cracked, dry skin. Who hasn’t had to deal with this at some point? It’s uncomfortable and annoying, and can even lead to light bleeding if not treated.
- Respiratory issues. Breathing can be harder in colder weather, to the point where it can even be a mortality risk for the elderly. Low humidity can worsen these effects.
A whole-home humidifier is often the best HVAC solution for these problems. In central air systems, these can even be attached to your ductwork for easier moisture distribution.
Sometimes humidifiers only work properly with compatible thermostat controls, so be sure to talk to a trusted HVAC specialist before getting one.
And in the meantime, a single-room humidifier can ease the burden while you sleep, though these smaller units won’t be able to solve larger humidity issues in the home like whole-home humidifiers.
High Humidity Problems
Mold and mildew? Bug infestations? Difficulty sleeping due to heat? Humidity is a contributing factor to each of these.
Excess moisture levels can lead to the following problems:
- Trouble sleeping. Every 2 percentage points of humidity roughly equals one degree of cooling in terms of how we experience temperature.
- Mold or mildew. Mainly a problem in basements, though this can occur in damp corners of homes in any room.
- Dust mites. Dust mites lead to other pests that feed on dust mites. Your spider infestation, for instance, might just be because of humidity.
Upgrading your air conditioning system is one surefire solution to curbing these problems. Cooling technology is more powerful than it was 20+ years ago, so even lower-end systems can often do more than an old system to combat high humidity.
A whole-home dehumidifier is another. These are traditionally placed in the basement, ducted to your HVAC system’s existing ductwork, or can be located in other centralized rooms in homes without a basement.
Seasonal and Regional Differences in Humidity Control
Humidity problems aren’t going to be the same at all times of the year, nor the same in every region of the country. Nor even depending on the type of home you live in!
Let’s look at some of the factors that will inform what you should be looking for in your own comfort control efforts.
Humidity in the Summer
Summertime brings heat waves, and it also usually comes packaged with the highest humidity levels per year.
Our bodies experience humidity as heat, so high humidity can make it feel even hotter than it really is!
For every two degrees increase of relative humidity, we experience it as around one degree of temperature increase.
So not only are you avoiding the problems listed above by keeping humidity manageable in the summer, you’re helping yourself and your friends or family to feel more comfortable in your home.
Humidity Levels in the Winter
Conversely, humidity levels can easily reach the teens in any part of the country during the coldest months. This is the humidity equivalent of being in a desert!
Just like we mentioned above in the summer with humidity adding to warmth, normal humidity levels can help you to feel more comfortable in colder temperatures.
So it’s not just about creaky floorboards or cracked skin. It’s those things too, but it’s also simply about feeling cozier in the winter months!
Does Where You Live Matter for IAQ?
Yes, and it can matter a lot.
A coastal home with extremely high humidity levels may never need to own a humidifier, regardless of the time of year.
Similarly, if you live in a desert region or similarly dry area, it’s likely you’ll never need a dehumidifier.
However, these regional extremes also make at least one type of humidity control even more important than usual. That same coastal region may have to run a dehumidifier year-round in order to maintain proper levels.
Additionally, the type of home you live in can affect the need for humidity control. Homes with basements tend to struggle more with high humidity, for example. If you live in a one-level home without a basement, dehumidifying equipment may be overkill.
HVAC System Upgrades and Home Comfort
One of the primary functions of an air conditioner or heat pump is to remove humidity from the home. The unit’s evaporator coil absorbs moisture, which is then expelled in the system’s outdoor portion.
The equipment considerations for this are numerous.
- Tune-ups maintain efficiency. Your evaporator coil can struggle to absorb moisture properly without regular tune-ups to keep it running smoothly.
- Clogged filters can hinder humidity removal. A lack of proper airflow is one of the most frequent culprits when your system starts functioning poorly.
- Two-stage and Variable-speed compressors can help. These more sophisticated A/C and heat pump systems are better at removing humidity from the air, requiring less help from things like dehumidifiers. They’ll cost more, but they’ll also keep you more comfortable.
The best way to ensure that your system is up to the task is to speak with a trusted HVAC specialist who can assess your current system and walk you through any upgrade options that may be necessary.
Ideal Home Humidity Level
Most indoor air quality experts agree that between 30% to 60% relative humidity is ideal for your home.
Some sources will cite a specific number within this range, like 40% or 50%. Others will list a slightly narrower range for optimal humidity levels, such as 40% to 60%. Since these fall within the range above, they’re equally as valid as suggestions for the best humidity level for your house.
It’s impossible to keep humidity at an exact percentage at all times. Your home’s humidity levels will fluctuate throughout the year. The more important part is having the tools to keep it within acceptable limits to avoid the problems associated with low and high humidity.
Thus, the closer you can keep it in the middle of this range, the better your air quality will be year-round. Anything higher than 60% or lower than 30% risks the problems listed above.
If you’re ready to talk to a specialist about the humidity in your home, and how HVAC can help to control it, give CABS Heating and Air Conditioning a call today!
