Humidity and AC: The Relationship and how Humidity can Affect Air Conditioning

Humidity 101

Humidity is the amount of moisture in the air. Air with a high moisture content can hold more heat, which is why you feel so hot on humid days. Your air conditioner cools the air inside your home by blowing air over evaporator coils containing refrigerant. When the air passes over the coils, the warm air cools, and the moisture condenses on the coils and drips off. Voila! The humidity is gone. End of the story, right?

In a perfect world, perhaps. Unfortunately, the humidity in your home is sometimes too much for your air conditioner to handle. When that happens, your AC will work harder to cool the humid air, increasing energy usage and decreasing its lifespan, all without making your home cooler. So it's essential to keep the humidity in your home in check.

Causes of High Humidity

There is no single cause of high humidity, but there are contributing factors that you can control:

• A single-speed air conditioner is less effective at removing humidity. It runs at max capacity until the air reaches the desired temperature, then shuts off until the room becomes too warm. This means the unit doesn't run long enough for the moisture to be removed from the air, and you may want to consider investing in an HVAC system with variable speeds.
• Believe it or not, having a unit that is too large for your home can also cause issues with humidity. A more powerful compressor than necessary will cycle on and off more frequently, which doesn't allow time for the moisture to be removed from the air. It's very similar to the problem you encounter with a single-speed system.
• Leaving the fan on even when the AC isn't in cool mode can increase your home's humidity. You may think you're making your home cooler, but you're bringing humid air inside without having a way to remove it.

Reducing Humidity

Help your air conditioner out by doing these things when it's humid:

• Keep windows closed on humid days.
• Use ventilation fans when you shower or cook.
• Consider investing in a dehumidifier if your home is consistently too humid.
• If you have a green thumb, consider moving large plants outdoors.

Contact Us

A properly working HVAC system is a crucial component of controlling indoor humidity. If your AC needs service, the licensed technicians at Advantage Air HVAC can handle it. We're the area's premier HVAC company for residential and commercial services and can help you decide if geothermal heating & cooling are right for you.

Contact us for all your HVAC needs. We're located in Lexington, KY, and happy to serve Versailles, Winchester, Georgetown, Paris, Wilmore, Nicholasville, and the surrounding area.