How Do Air Conditioners Remove Humidity?

HVAC

Michiganders understand that high humidity is just one of the tradeoffs of living near the Great Lakes. Unfortunately, high humidity can make it feel muggy inside your home without a proper air conditioning unit. It’s important to understand how your home air conditioner removes humidity so you can stay comfortable throughout the summer.

If running the AC doesn’t remove some of the “stickiness” in the air, it may be time to call one of our HVAC contractors. We provide air conditioning service to help your unit last as long as possible before needing repairs and replacement. That way, you’ll be able to save money in the long run.

High indoor humidity can cause:

Mold and mildew spots
Allergens
Insects
Foggy windows
Musty smells
Cupping in hardwood floors
Uncomfortable living conditions

What is Considered High Humidity?

The humidity level inside of your home is considered ‘high’ when it’s above 50%. This increased moisture can put your indoor spaces at risk of dust mite infestations, mildew, mold growth, and other bacteria.

You’ll want to remedy the high humidity as it can cause health issues for anyone who breathes in mold spores or is exposed to bacteria for significant periods of time.

How Humidity Affects Cooling

Too much moisture in the air traps heat and makes it feel hotter than the actual temperature. For this reason, it’s important to invest in an air conditioning unit to both cool and dehumidify your home. If it’s humid inside your home, it may be hard to get comfortable and fall asleep.

Humans are able to cool down their bodies by sweating. However, if there’s a lot of water vapor in the air, our sweat isn’t able to evaporate off our skin as easily. At 100% relative humidity (typically when it’s about to rain), sweat can’t evaporate at all because the air is already completely saturated with water vapor.

When sweat can’t evaporate easily, it can make us feel hotter than the actual temperature outside. We provide air conditioning service so your unit lasts as long as possible.

How Your Air Conditioner Cools Your Home

Your air conditioning unit does more than just blow cold air into your home. It’s also responsible for extracting heat and water vapor from the air so you can stay comfortable. Inside your air conditioning unit are coils filled with refrigerant, a substance that can turn back and forth between its liquid and gas states to absorb and release heat.

As the hot humid air from inside your home passes over these coils, the liquid refrigerant absorbs the heat and turns into a gas. To keep your home at a cool temperature, the air conditioner must then compress the air inside the coils until it returns to its liquid state. The extra heat generated by compressing this gas is released outside the home via condenser coils and a second fan.

How Your Air Conditioner Reduces Humidity

High humidity can make the inside of your home feel clammy. Fortunately, an air conditioning unit is able to extract moisture with an evaporator coil. As humid air passes over the evaporator coil, it’s condensed and drained into a condensate pan.

We Can Install and Repair AC

Tired of living with high indoor humidity? Call our HVAC contractors in Belding, Greenville, and Livonia, MI, to learn about air conditioning installation. We’re proud to offer a range of heating and cooling services to our community. To request an estimate for air conditioning installation, call Parker-Arntz Plumbing & Heating today.

This blog has been updated.