An efficient air conditioner should give you relief from humidity while cooling your home. If you feel muggy and clammy inside, it means that the AC is not working properly. In part, you can blame the high-efficiency ACs for adding to the problem. This is because to get the SEER rating up; the AC manufacturers sometimes resort to practices which increase the rating but at the cost of its dehumidification capabilities. Since that part is not in our hands, we shall tell you more about the causes of air conditioner humidity problems that can be addressed by you or a trained technician.
Humidity Inside House With Air Conditioning
Before we learn more about the air conditioner humidity problems, let us first find out how much should be the humidity inside the house when AC is on. Humidity factors to a very large extent in keeping your home comfortable. During summers the humidity level should be below 60% while in winters it should be around 30% to 40%.
Top 5 Air Conditioner Humidity Problems
1. Oversized AC Unit – What it simply means is that your air conditioner is too large for your home. It’s not the physical size of the AC which is big but its cooling capacity. As a homeowner, you would be thinking how’s the size a problem? The bigger the better because the house will get cooler faster. Well, this is where you need to change your thinking because yes your house will get cooler faster, but that will be at the cost of humidity control. When the compressor is powerful, it switches on and off frequently. As a result, the system is unable to run long enough to draw out humidity from the air. When buying a new AC always resort to load calculation so that you can get an accurately sized AC for your home. Keep in mind that if the builder installed the AC in your home, it was not properly sized. It happens because their primary job is the building and not the AC. Speak to your builder before installing the HVAC system. Ask them to get it sized through a reputed HVAC company. You can also calculate the size of AC with the help of an online AC load calculator or AC size calculator. But it would be in your best interest to let the HVAC company calculate it as they will do a precise job.
2. Single Speed AC – Single-speed AC means that there is no option to change the fan speed. It happens to have only “ON” and “OFF” option. Usually, this was the case with older models of the HVAC unit. Invariably single-speed air conditioners suffer from the same problem as an oversized unit. A unit running at one speed tends to run at full blast only until the desired temperature is reached. It then turns off until such time, the temperature increases beyond the set value. What it essentially means is that again the unit does not run long enough to trap humidity present in the air. The best solution in such cases is to upgrade to a modulating HVAC system or a variable speed HVAC system.
3. Negative Air Pressure Inside The Home – Negative air pressure builds inside the home when its ventilation system is not properly designed. What essentially happens in these cases is that the air automatically tries to stabilize itself by drawing in more air from outside any way it can. For example, when a door or window opens, you will feel a sudden gust of air. Similarly, outside air penetrates inside through any gaps, holes, or crevices in the structure. If the humidity outside is high, it enters the building with the air. When the situation is bad, the dehumidification capability of your AC is compromised.
4. Incorrect Thermostat Setting – More often than not, once we set the temperature on the thermostat, we conveniently forget about it. Simply running the fan continuously will not remove humidity from the air. If you want to get rid of maximum humidity, set fan on the lowest setting along with the temperature you want to maintain inside the house. To do this, you have to intermittently monitor your thermostat setting. Continuously running the fan may blow the moisture back into your home so, beware of this mistake. It’s absolutely alright for the fan to switch off when the temperature equals to what you have set.
5. Old Unit Unable To Handle The Load – Aging is an issue that not only living beings suffer form, but also non-living things, including electrical systems. Changing technology and wear and tear through continuous usage tends to deteriorate the components of the HVAC system. Slowly, it manifests in the form of poor cooling, high humidity, increased electricity bills, etc. Usually, a unit that is a decade or more old will show one or more of these symptoms. At such a time you will have to make a repair or replace decision. Our advice is that repair may seem like a cheap option, but replace is the most sensible one. However, in the end, it is your call to make.
How To Enhance Humidity Control?
Now that you know about the top 5 air conditioner humidity problems let’s see how you can enhance humidity control.
1. Invest in regular maintenance of your AC through a trained technician.
2. Adjust the thermostat settings as per need.
3. Clean the coils and replace the air filters regularly.
4. If necessary, purchase a dehumidifier.
Closing Thoughts
High humidity inside the house is not good for anyone. It can not only result in health problems but will also cause other issues like mold formation, constant bad smell, corrosion, etc. Therefore, it is essential that you take steps to ensure your AC is able to maintain healthy humidity levels inside the home at all times. If there is a problem in humidity control, try to get to the root cause of it instead of taking temporary measures. For any help in HVAC matters, feel free to contact us anytime.
