Rick Kincel
Coburn Supply
Tech Services Mgr.
We are reaching the end of our Southern harsh humidity season where you have to walk outside and wring out the air before trying to breathe it. Sometimes it seems we need gills to survive some of these Summer days. The air conditioners will soon be running less and the time spent with guests over for the holidays increases.
It would seem that with the outdoor temperatures falling and the outdoor dewpoints also dropping that the need for dehumidification inside the home should also be on the decline.
Lets look at it.
If the homes are being built tighter, then the amount of moisture flowing from outdoors to in is reduced. Conversely the home is now also restricting the amount of moisture flowing from the indoor to out as well.
So, if…
Moisture is still being produced by showers, laundry, clothes steamers, breathing, pets, plants, and aquariums, in the home, and the air conditioner is not running as much because it is not as hot outdoors, the total amount of moisture begins to build up in the home.
This is referred to as the “Shoulder Seasons” where cooling is not needed, but the moisture level keeps increasing to a point where you are not comfortable and someone says to “lower the thermostat”. So now your home has to be over cooled to make the home less humid. I find I have to do this a lot in Hotel rooms that you have to over cool so the sheets are not damp.
This typically happened around my home when I began cooking Gumbo’s or Stews and large amounts of water were boiled off to cook some amazing meals for family or friends.
Now a good Energy Star whole home dehumidifier has a compressor that is physically about the size of a refrigerator’s compressor (pretty small) compared to your 4 or 5 ton AC is a much larger energy hog. Logically speaking, if your are going to only have to remove moisture during the Spring and Fall, and cooling is not as much of an issue, it makes sense that it be done with a whole home dehumidifier with a small compressor than to make the big AC compressor come on, increase the utility bills, and over cool the home.
Set the dehumidifier stat to somewhere between 50% -55% and leave it. The dehumidifier will continually monitor the moisture in your home, remove excess humidity, keep your belongings drier, your health better, and your temperature at a much more constant level.
Consider the Santa Fe Ultra whole home products as a solution and have your HVAC contractor talk to our Coburn’s Team about how to best satisfy your homes needs.
