2 Ways Humidity Can Affect Your West Columbia, SC Home’s Energy Efficiency

Summertime means higher levels of humidity and West Columbia, South Carolina gets its fair share of muggy days. While the humidity outside can be unpleasant, it can result in a lack of comfort at home and poor energy efficiency indoors. Here are two ways that humidity can negatively affect your home’s energy efficiency.

Extra Heat

If you have high levels of humidity in your home, which is most common during the summer, your home will feel warmer than it actually is. This is because the air is holding moisture that isn’t being properly removed by your HVAC system. You’re probably dealing with extra humidity if your home feels muggy or stagnant. Condensation on the windows is definitely a sign of extra humidity if the condensation is on the inside of the glass.

Your HVAC system is designed to remove a certain amount of humidity from the air to balance out your home, but if the humidity levels are too high, some of that moisture will remain. Increased sensation of heat leads to homeowners lowering the thermostat, which in turn makes your system work harder and lose its efficiency.

Increased Cold

While extra humidity makes your house feel warmer, too little humidity will make it feel colder. Lack of moisture in the air means that your heater won’t feel as powerful. Low levels of heat can create an uncomfortable, chilly home. This leads to thermostat changes that can negatively affect your home’s energy efficiency.

Dry air can also lead to lung and skin irritation, which are the most easily noticeable signs that something isn’t going quite right. Humidifiers are a great and common way to fix these issues, but super dry air may be too much for these systems. Plus, super dry air can actually damage your home, leading to long-term issues that can be expensive to fix.

Humidity levels are something every homeowner should be aware of. If you’re concerned about the humidity in your home, give the experts at Krantz Kooling and Heating a call today at (803) 672-3224 to set up a consultation!

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