Summer is here, and with it comes the kind of high humidity levels we expect from Illinois. A good air conditioning system can combat the muggy atmosphere, but humidity can create unforeseen issues that prevent it from doing its job. You might think about adding a whole-house humidifier to help your AC unit out, especially if you’ve been troubled by humidity in your home. Why consider installation of a dehumidifier? Here’s a quick breakdown.

Relative humidity basically measures the amount of ambient moisture in the atmosphere. This affects us when we try to sweat. As the sweat evaporates off our skin, it cools us down. However, if the humidity in the air is too high, the sweat won’t evaporate and our bodies stay warm. That’s why we feel so wet and sweaty with high humidity levels: certainly something you want to avoid in the comfort of your own home. Generally speaking, human beings are most comfortable when humidity levels are between 25% and 50%. Any higher than that creates significant comfort issues.

To a certain extent, your air conditioner also serves as a dehumidifier. As it cools the air around its evaporator coils, the moisture condenses and forms beads of liquid on the coils, which are collected in a drain pan and pulled out of the system. (The process is similar to the formation of dew on plants in the cool of the early morning.) That enables the air conditioner to pull some of the moisture out of the air and reduce the humidity in your house. However, the process often adds stress to the system and makes it harder to lower the temperature. If the humidity is high enough, it will simply overwhelm the air conditioner’s ability to do its job.

That’s where a whole-house dehumidifier comes it. It can pull far more humidity out of the air than the AC unit can, reducing strain on the air conditioner and helping your house become more comfortable.

Here at Lifeline Plumbing, we understand why you should consider a dehumidifier in Naperville. Give us a call today to discuss your options!