The humidity in a house with an air conditioner must be at an ideal level because if it is too humid indoors, your unit will be under strain.
Overview
The feeling of being in an excessively humid environment can be enough to make you feel irritable and uncomfortable. Humidity is not only found outside but can also be in indoor spaces making for an unpleasant feeling.
Humidity is okay to a certain extent but can be an inconvenience when there is too much of it indoors. Humidity can increase in extremely hot climates and in rainy and wet conditions and locations.
So, what should the humidity levels be in your air-conditioned home?
Humidity in an air-conditioned house
Humidity can be reduced by an air conditioning system. People invest in air conditioners since they provide cooling in indoor spaces when the temperatures are too warm. To cool an indoor space, an air conditioner can lower the temperature in a space.
So how does an air conditioner deal with the humidity in a home and what should the ideal humidity be?
What should the humidity be in a house with air conditioning?
Humidity is basically the amount of water vapour that is in the air. You will know the air is humid when it starts feeling muggy, stuffy, steamy, oppressive or just uncomfortable.
You can also tell there is high humidity in your house if you notice condensation on your windows and walls, and your ceilings develop moisture and mould.
Humidity can affect your air conditioning unit if it is too high, so it is important for the humidity to be at the ideal indoor level for your air conditioner to work well and reduce the humidity in your home.
The ideal level of humidity in your home should be between 30 percent to 50 percent, 60 percent, at the most. Anything beyond 60 percent humidity is considered too high and can cause issues.
How high humidity affects an air conditioner
Should the humidity levels exceed the ideal 30 percent to 50 percent, your air conditioner may be negatively affected by this.
Your air conditioner will have to overwork to keep the house cool, putting too much pressure on the unit, which can, in turn, result in wear and tear.
In attempting to work harder in an excessively humid space, the air conditioner will also be working longer, but without reaching the desired temperature for cooling the house effectively.
This will put a lot of strain on the air conditioner and possibly decrease its lifespan.
How to control humidity in your home for your air conditioner
If your environment generates particularly high levels of humidity and you have an air conditioner, you need to control the humidity so that it does not negatively affect your cooling system.
One of the best solutions is to invest in a dehumidifier as they remove moisture from the air better than an air conditioner does.
A dehumidifier can help reduce the strain on an air conditioner as its primary purpose is to dehumidify the air, extracting a large amount of humidity from a space.
How much humidity can the air conditioner get rid of?
An air conditioner has the ability to reduce humidity in an environment, but not at the same rate as a dehumidifier.
Your unit will have a dehumidification rate in its specifications sheet, which tells you how many pints of water (gallons) your unit can extract from the air. This can give you an idea of how much moisture your specific unit can remove from the air.
Air conditioners can remove anywhere from 5 to 20 gallons of moisture from the air every day, depending on the humidity on the day.
Final thoughts
Humidity in your home can be quite an uncomfortable feeling, creating a stuffiness and steamy feeling in the air. Too much humidity is not good for the home, the people living in it, and the air conditioning system in the home (if there is one).
All can be quite negatively affected. For a home with an air conditioning system, extra care needs to be taken to keep the humidity levels at bay. This is because too much humidity will strain the system as it fights to reduce excess humidity, while also trying to cool the space efficiently.