Our focus is to ensure that we meet customer needs while doing our part to keep you, our employees, and our communities safe. Humidity levels in your home can vastly influence your comfort levels resulting in a home that is too stuffy or dry. The ideal indoor humidity range is between 40% and 60%. When the relative humidity is too high, the temperature inside the home becomes warm. Dry sinuses can make you vulnerable to colds, viruses, and infections. To speak with a professional about how to address home humidity issues in your Baltimore area home, please contact us at Griffith Energy Services, Inc. today. The ideal relative humidity inside a house is said to be about 40 percent. With fewer water droplets, the heat inside your home escapes more quickly into the outside air. Humidity has an effect on a lot of aspects of our daily lives – electronics, our hair, how hot we get during physical exertion and even our breathing patterns. You may also need fans to help remove excess humidity from your bathroom or kitchen, both rooms that produce humidity. Indoor air humidification is essential to maintaining an optimal RH in cold climates. If you have houseplants, low humidity can cause brown, curling leaf tips and dried-out soil. For starters, there are different kinds of humidity: Absolute and Relative. Because home humidity can lower your home comfort both when it’s too low and when it’s too high, keeping it balanced is best. It’s measured by how much moisture is in a cubic meter of air. Relative humidity (RH) is defined as the amount of moisture vapor in a given section of air compared to the total amount of moisture vapor the air can hold at the temperature. At this time, when the news is dominated by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) health emergency around the world, we wanted to personally reach out and let you know that we are vigilantly implementing enhanced protocols to ensure your safety and the safety of our team. Here’s what you need to know about how your home’s humidity is affecting how comfortable you are and how you can change it to fit your needs. The baseline depends a lot on the climate where you live. Hence the name “relative” humidity. For example, a temperature of 30 and a dew point of 30 will give you a relative humidity of 100%, but a temperature of 80 and a dew point of 60 produces a relative humidity … Balanced humidity also safeguards your indoor air quality. High humidity levels can make us warmer than we would otherwise be. First, they say that when cold, dry air comes indoors and is warmed, the relative humidity indoors drops by about 20%. Low humidity also affects your body temperature, producing a cold feeling all over even when the thermostat is set high. With fewer water droplets, the heat inside your home escapes more quickly into the outside air. When the lower temperature outdoor air is brought indoors and heated, it loses moisture and reduces the overall RH. The amount of moisture an environment can hold depends on air temperature. © However, when humidity is too high, moisture can gather in hard-to-dry places such as cracks and poorly-sealed joins, which can provide the environment needed for mold, mildew and bacterial colonies to grow. If you have a respiratory infection, too high or low humidity might make it worse. Fill a waterproof tray with stones … This means that during the winter, an appropriate amount of humidity can make your home more comfortable, and reduce the need for your furnace to continually replenish indoor heat. How do you achieve this humidity? But while that aspect of humidity may be on everybody’s mind through the summer months, it’s not the only effect humidity can have. Admitting cold outdoor air into a space will lower the indoor RH. Whole-house humidifiers and dehumidifiers are the most effective ways to control home humidity. Do Outdoor Temperatures Affect Indoor Humidity Levels? So, in winter, when the temperature drops, we get even colder than we should because the humidity also drops. High humidity can cause mold growth, which can irritate the lungs of susceptible individuals. But you don’t want to have humidity too low either. Various types of apparent temperature have been developed to combine air temperature and air humidity. Information for you: If you have an existing service appointment, we look forward to seeing you and want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to promote a safe and secure service experience. To be honest, as someone who just wants to stay comfortable, the average person doesn’t care about the Absolute Humidity level. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is best to keep your home below 60% relative humidity, and preferably within the 30-50% range. We are closely monitoring the guidance of the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control regarding the spread of the virus. In the summer, the opposite happens. No matter what time of year it is or what indoor and outdoor temperature is, your humidity levels should stay between 30 to 50 percent. It’s up to you to determine how much moisture is available to the air. Managing humidity can make life much more comfortable in a variety of ways, especially in indoor environments. If the temperature goes down enough without the water vapor amount changing, then you will eventually reach 100 percent relative humidity. This growth can trigger or exacerbate allergies, and also can cause illness. Here's how to make certain you're using the device properly. You should be able to set a room to around 77 degrees and feel very comfortable but that is usually a little low to feel nice and warm in the winter. Here’s a guide to understanding and managing your home humidity: Humidity is a measure of the water content of the air. The warmer the air, the more moisture it can hold. You’ll notice this more when the air is warm. Low humidity also causes lung and throat irritation. High levels of humidity in the room or location where the unit is operating can also impact the cooling performance of your appliance. Air with a temperature of 30° C ( can hold more than three times as much moisture as air at 10° C (50° F).. How Does Humidity Affect the Temperature in a House? This balance will typically keep you and your family the most comfortable. There are many obvious problems that high humidity can cause. This is why summer days can get so muggy, and why air conditioners make the air a little drier. Best regards, Griffith Energy Services 888-474-3391, All Content Copyright © 2020 Griffith Energy Services |. An abundance of moisture can encourage mold or mildew. What to Expect During an HVAC Service Call, Improving the Air and Removing Pollutants in the Home. This is why moisture condenses on cold surfaces — water drops on the inside of a window, for example. When temperatures drop, relative humidity increases.” Basically, warmer air needs more moisture to reach its saturation point, while colder air has a much lower saturation threshold—it’s relative to the current temperature. Low humidity means that your house has a lack of moisture. Too much or too littl humidity can result in serious health consequences. Serving Trenton and the surrounding areas. You need to check in with your home’s humidity levels in the spring when they start to rise, and in the fall, when they start to drop. Humidity and temperature are closely linked. if(d.getYear()>2000){document.write(year)} One related measurement is the dew point. The moisture in the fibers and the wicking effect of the clothes can accelerate the heat loss through clothing. More dust tends to generate, as well. https://www.griffithenergyservices.com/articles/humidity-affects-home-manage, https://www.brennanshvac.com/articles/humidity-temperature-strange-link-know, https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/air-quality/indoor-air-contaminants/reduce-humidity-moisture-mould.html, https://www.robertbpayne.com/perfect-indoor-humidity-for-all-seasons/, Dows ClimateCare | 63 Dufferin Avenue, Unit 1, Trenton, ON K8V 5C8 | Phone 613-394-5000 Non-essential work travel is currently on hold for all employees. Dew point refers to the temperature at which air reaches saturation by water molecules. It's fascinating how a … | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Sitemap. This level of humidity is important for our respiratory comfort as well. It’s like how the wind affects how warm you feel when you’re outside. We are also urging all employees to be vigilant about frequent hand washing. This is why some homes have both a humidifier and a dehumidifier, to keep home humidity within an optimal range. As sweat evaporates it takes heat with it. Your indoor relative humidity levels should fall below the following levels at the corresponding outdoor temperatures: Outdoor temperature over 50°F, indoor humidity shouldn’t exceed 50% They feel comfortable with the thermostat set to 75 degrees. This directly affects how "comfortable" it will feel outside. For example, too low levels of humidity can cause a sore and dry throat, mouth, and eyes. Because warmer air is less dense, it’s unable to hold as much moisture; therefore, it tends to exhibit a lower RH when compared to cooler. Such a drop in humidity makes it easier for airborne viral particles to travel. Depending on what the climate is like in your home, using a humidifier or dehumidifier is a great way to regulate temperature without spending extra fuel or electricity. Humidity is a measurement of the moisture content in the air. Unfortunately, you can’t just run a humidifier or dehumidifier all year. Tying into your existing ductwork system, they can treat air from all the living areas in your home, and ensure that the humidity stays within its optimal range. | Designed by WEB ROI. For higher temperatures, there are quantitative scales, such as the heat index. As it starts to change and fluctuate, the indoor humidity will change and fluctuate with it. The water will continuously evaporate whenever humidity is less than 100%, but air movement, and temperature changes can outpace that, causing the humidity to be less than 100%. Cold air, which carries less moisture than warm air, enters the house and is heated, … In the same room at 100% relative humidity, if we suddenly lower the temperature, the air can now hold less moisture and the droplets of water will start condensing on smooth surfaces like mirrors, knives, or even meat itself. High humidity outdoors and in your building can both negatively affect the cooling potential of your HVAC system. Dry air can be bad for your respiratory system and sinuses. When this occurs, dry air results in dry skin, nosebleeds, and sore throats. Customer will receive 2 – $50 off coupons to apply to separate deliveries. var d = new Date(); You might need a dehumidifier or a humidifier. All plants use their stomata for respiration and transpiration. Construct a plant humidifier. Because they interface with your ductwork and your HVAC system’s air handler, whole-house humidity control appliances need to be installed by an HVAC professional. Home humidity has a number of effects on temperature, indoor air quality, health and the structural elements of your house. However, as with many home comfort topics, you should keep track of your indoor humidity and find the range that feels best to you. If relative humidity is 20 percent, for example, the air contains 20 percent of the water vapor that it could potentially hold at that temperature. We will continue to evolve and adjust these protocols as needed. If you increase the temperature, however, the amount of water vapor the air can hold increases, so the relative humidity … Operation outside these temperatures may result in lowered efficiency or cause other adverse effects such as difficulty maintaining temperature or the inability to reach a desired temperature. When the temperature drops, molecules contract, which gives them less space to hold moisture. High humidity makes the air feel hotter because less sweat evaporates from human skin in saturated air. So, in winter, when the temperature drops, we get even colder than we should because the humidity also drops. You need to have some moisture in the air, or you open yourself up to a number of afflictions. Humid air holds heat more efficiently than dry air. Generally, in warm weather, humidity in your home should be in the 35 to 45 percent relative humidity range. For example, if the air temperature is 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius) and the relative humidity is zero percent, the air temperature feels like 69 degrees Fahrenheit (21 C) to our bodies. As the humidity increases in cold air, the clothing we wear to keep warm insulates less. Relative humidity describes the percentage of water vapor in air that changes as air temperature changes. But low humidity doesn’t just affect people, it can also harm valuable items in your home. New automatic delivery customers only. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Everyone on our team has received enhanced training and protocol briefings. It works the other way too; different levels of humidity cause us to perceive the same temperature differently. With a dry house comes dry skin, a dry nose and throat, and an increased risk of getting a cold. Your safety is our highest priority and we truly appreciate the trust that you place in our team and our company. Temperature affects how much moisture can exist as humidity in the air, but humidity also has an effect on temperature. If your indoor humidity levels are low or less than 30 percent, it’ll get too dry in your home, and this is called dry air. This is an evolving situation and we will continue to develop and take necessary measures as needed. The levels of humidity in a home affect how and when the indoor plants open or close the stomata. Contact the professionals at Dows ClimateCare for more information on how they can help control humidity levels in your home. It will come to some equilibrium depending on a multitude … There are factors to take into account such as health and comfort. All Rights Reserved. When the humidity lowers, the rooms in the house will seem to feel colder than the temperature claims. Home humidity has a number of effects on temperature, indoor air quality, health and the structural elements of your house. It’s usually higher in the summer and lower in the winter. We are conducting enhanced cleaning practices at our locations and are instructing employees to continually sanitize their work stations and vehicles. Temperature and humidity affect the Earth's weather and the health and comfort of its residents. During winter, indoor air often becomes dry. Humidity, or the level of moisture in the air, can make a warm house feel even warmer, a cold house feel cooler, or like your thermostat is off by a few degrees. The dryness can affect your skin, and it can also affect the wood and drywall in your home. Symptom of Furnace Overheating and How to Reset It.