What is a Humidifier and Why should I have one?

If you are like most customers, you want the best of anything for your family. This includes air quality. There are literally thousands of products on the market for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). The shear amount of information and options can be a bit overwhelming. This article will discuss what a humidifier is and how it will benefit you and your family.

What is a Humidifier and How does it work?

Your forced air heating equipment works to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. To do this, most applications burn some type of fuel; this fuel gives off its heat to air that is being circulated in your home. As this air is heated, the relative humidity (or the amount of moisture in their air versus the amount of air it can hold) is reduced. The problem with reduction in relative humidity is that it has negative consequences on you and your family’s health, as well as other items in your home. Humidification during the heating season not only provides comfort, it helps protect the home and its furnishings from the harmful effects of air that is too dry.

Why Control the humidity?

Comfort

From a personal comfort standpoint, poor humidity control contributes to dry skin, dry hair, scratchy throats, and frequent nosebleeds. The moisture from your body is evaporated by relatively dry air. As a result, personal discomfort is promoted with poor humidity control.

Health

In addition to benefiting from improved personal comfort from controlling humidity, your personal health is at stake. A dry human body makes us more susceptible to cold, flu, and other viruses. The health community has concluded that there is a relationship between good health and proper humidity levels. Dr. Arthur W. Proetz, as quoted in the Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology, explains that our bodies weren’t built to cope with the extreme dryness we encounter indoors in the wintertime. As he points out, “In regard to indoor RH levels, 35% would be regarded as a passing grade but 40% as something to shoot for.”

Preservation

Your personal health and comfort are extremely important, but an added benefit to proper humidity control is preservation of the building materials, furniture, and electric devices. Just like your skin, building materials need proper humidity levels. Poor humidity can lead to wrapped and cracked wood floors, dry and damaged furniture, and damaged electrical devices. Electrical devices such as computers, TVs, Tablets also suffer as they are more susceptible to static electricity when the air is dry.

Energy Conservation

Another real benefit from having proper humidity control is that it assists in energy conservation. As the moisture from you skin get absorbs by the dry air, it removes heat from your body. During the winter, the temperature may actually be warm but this evaporation of moisture from your skin causes a cooling effect. To compensate with the cooling effect, many will have the tendency to increase the set point on the thermostat which will burn fuel to increase the comfort of a dwelling. If humidity level is maintained by a humidifier you feel warmer at a lower temperature and, therefore, consume less fuel for your heating system. This fuel savings is far greater than the small water consumption your humidifier is using.

Call us today for a free in home IAQ consultation!

Air Doctors Heating and Cooling, LLC are a fully licensed and insured heating and air conditioning company that serves most Southeast Michigan municipalities. Our staff is fully certified and pre-screened to provide our customers with a safe and satisfying experience. With over 100 years of combined industry experience, we take pride in solving all of your comfort needs. We are a family-based business that has been providing quality service to our neighbors for over 40 years. Contact us today to get started.

References:

Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology

Aprilaire Humidification Product and Application Guide