The dry seasons here in Tampa Bay can often last into May. But as summer gets into gear, the humidity starts to ramp up. And as the relative humidity rises along with the temperatures, it can mean some sweaty and uncomfortable days. Combining a 90°F afternoon—and we experience a few of those!—with relative humidity higher than 60% can make the weather feel 10° hotter! That is—no—fun.
You can’t do much about high humidity when you’re outside except to fan yourself or jump in a pool. In your home, however, you can find ways to better control humidity. And no way is more effective than to call us to help you with indoor air quality systems in Tampa, FL that balance humidity and ensure proper air circulation.
The Whole-House Dehumidifier
Few appliances are more helpful in a Florida home than a dehumidifier. Although you can purchase portable room dehumidifiers, we don’t recommend these because 1) they aren’t as effective as whole-house models, and 2) they can create fire hazards. It’s much easier to arrange for our professionals to integrate a whole-house dehumidifier into your HVAC system and connect it to the climate controls.
A whole-house dehumidifier uses a refrigeration process similar to an AC to draw out extra moisture from your air. The dehumidifier circulates refrigerant through a coil, which causes moisture in the air to condense along the cold coil. The process also removes heat. To prevent the dehumidifier from interfering with the cooling power of the AC and making the house too cold, the dehumidifier uses electrical elements to reheat the air after the moisture has been removed.
(Yes, your AC does have dehumidification properties as well. However, unless it is specifically built to also work as a dehumidifier, it won’t be successful at handling high humidity in your house alone.)
The dehumidifier is controlled through a device called a humidistat. When installing a whole-house dehumidifier, our technicians will usually put in a new thermostat that also contains the humidity controls. This lets you maintain the ideal humidity balance in the house, which is around 45% for most people.
Duct Repair and Replacement
Another way we can help control your indoor humidity is by keeping the ventilation system in top shape. If the ducts connected to your air conditioner have leaks or are poorly sized and installed, the poor air circulation will worsen humidity levels. (Leaking ducts cause many other problems as well, such as energy waste, so even if humidity isn’t a problem, you still need to have the ducts fixed.)
Air Conditioning Repair
We mentioned above that the AC isn’t as effective as a dehumidifier, even though it removes moisture from the air. But an AC that is malfunctioning can easily cause humidity to be worse! Make sure you always move fast to have repairs done to your air conditioning system in the summer when you notice trouble—you can end up with high humidity and no cooling at all if you delay.
The A/C Guy of Tampa Bay Inc. serves local families with integrity and honor. Schedule dehumidifier or other HVAC services with us today.