Florida’s rainy season is about to start again along with an increase in temperature and humidity. Before that happens, take a few moments to explore the relationship between humidity, your air conditioner and ultimately, your pocketbook.
It helps to first understand how humidity affects the level of comfort you feel. For some reason, most people feel comfortable when humidity levels stay within 40 and 50 percent. When humidity rises beyond 50 percent, at some point, your body will start to warm. As your body attempts to cool itself, perspiration will commence then start to disappear as your body temperature decreases.
However, when high levels of moisture are present, sweat ceases to evaporate. It simply doesn’t have the space to turn into vapor. This halted process is why you feel warmer in wet heat than do in dry.
Your air conditioner endeavors to control the humidity in your home through its own process of collecting heat via the evaporator coil as it moves back and forth between condenser and compressor. This movement cools the coils along with any moisture it catches from the air. Although slightly effective, air conditioners are simply not the best solution for lessening moisture within the air.
Any trustworthy air conditioning expert in Tampa will tell you that peak humidity levels will only be achieved by installing a whole-home dehumidifier. There are many options available including misting, flow-through, drum systems. Regardless of the dehumidifier you end up with, always make sure it’s rated to handle the size of your home.
In addition to or in lieu of a dehumidifier, call your air conditioning expert in Tampa to enhance the performance of your HVAC system. A professional will be able to adjust the airflow, check the settings of your air conditioner and make further suggestions for reducing humidity such as sealing any air leaks in doors and windows.
In the end, we all experience a love/hate relationship with humidity. Too much humidity and we feel sticky. Too little humidity, and our skin becomes dry. When you hit the right balance, life is just peachy.
Don’t wait too long to call your air conditioning expert in Tampa or Murphy’s law suggests you may find yourself in the dead heat of summer with a broken unit. Contact Hinton AC online to schedule an AC tune-up, or call (813) 924-3836!
