How Can Indoor Humidity Affect Energy Bills?

Unpleasant musty odors, mold growth, worsened allergies and respiratory problems, and interior moisture damage are all frequent problems related to indoor humidity here in the Coastal Bend. Along with all these concerns, the humidity level in your home can impact your household energy bills too.

The Humidity: Energy Consumption Connection

Our coastal climate is humid year round, but it’s particularly difficult to deal with when the outdoor temperature rises and you’re running the air conditioner or heat pump to keep your home comfortably cool. As the weather warms up, the corresponding rise in your indoor humidity level is bound to affect your energy bills if:

• It’s extremely hot and humid outdoors. Your A/C or heat pump draws both heat and moisture from the air during the normal cooling process, but it has to work harder whenever there’s a spike in the outdoor temperature and humidity level, so it uses more energy during these periods.
• Your cooling equipment isn’t sized correctly. Do you find yourself lowering the thermostat’s temperature setting frequently in an attempt to make the house more comfortable? If your equipment isn’t sized accurately for your home, this will only make it cycle on more often and consume more energy. If the equipment lacks sufficient capacity, it simply can’t remove enough moisture to cool effectively. If the A/C or heat pump has too much capacity, it will cycle on and off too quickly to lower the indoor humidity to a comfortable level.

Addressing Indoor Humidity Issues Without Inflating Your Energy Bills

If you’d like to enjoy greater comfort without inflating your energy bills, talk to a reputable HVAC professional about adding a whole-home dehumidifier to your cooling system. These devices run in tandem with the cooling equipment to draw out excess moisture from the air that circulates through the HVAC system. By dehumidifying the air this way, your cooling equipment doesn’t have to work as hard, and you can raise the thermostat’s temperature setting by a few degrees.

To learn more about installing a dehumidifier to control indoor humidity in your Corpus Christi-area home, contact us today at CCAC.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Corpus Christi, Texas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about your HVAC system, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 361-678-2495.