It’s a chilly winter day. You’ve just walked inside only to be greeted by static shock through everything you touch. That darn dry air! Static shock is definitely a nuisance side effect of wintertime weather.
And it doesn’t help when you run your heater, right? Forced-air heating systems like furnaces, heat pumps, or even space heaters seem to suck out moisture even more.
What’s happening is that the colder the temperatures are, the harder it is to “hold on” to humidity. The ideal relative humidity level in any home is between 30–50%, and during the winter, it’s pretty regularly under 30%.
Thankfully, there’s something you can do about this, and it doesn’t involve shutting down your heater (thank goodness!). Read on to learn more.
How Proper Humidity Plays a Role in Keeping Your Home Warm
Have you ever noticed that in the summertime, days with high humidity seem hotter than days without? This is because of the moisture in the air: it holds the warmth much better than dry air can. What this means is that in the wintertime, getting more humidity into your home makes it easier for you to feel warm. You can actually even turn the thermostat up a couple of degrees and save energy!
With this balanced amount of humidity, you can successfully lower your heating bill and increase home comfort so your whole household feels more comfortable, without feeling dried out and succumbing to static shock and other problems (like cracked wood furnishings and even lowered immunity among household occupants).
“Okay … but … how do I humidify my home?”
The good news is, there is a way! With the help of a whole-house humidifier, you can control your home’s humidity levels in the winter to get rid of that pesky dry air and all its relative problems.
Whole-house humidifiers can be installed directly into ventilation systems—your ductwork—enabling it to treat the indoor air in any and all rooms of your home. Whole-house humidifiers do require professional installation, so it’s important to call on trained and experienced technicians like ourselves for this kind of work.
If you already have a whole-house humidifier in your home and your heater still seems to be sucking the moisture out of the air, give us a call. There may be a perfectly logical, and fixable, reason for this. For instance, you may have drafty doors and windows that need attention. Or perhaps your humidifier isn’t working as it should and you need repairs. It may even be a problem with the furnace itself—but you won’t know until you give the experts a call.
We’ll adequately diagnose the issue and be able to help you in making an educated decision about the next steps. Ask us too about other options for improving your indoor air quality, heating performance, and overall comfort. We provide a wide range of indoor air quality products and services, including duct cleaning and sealing!
For expert indoor air quality services in Eugene, OR and beyond contact Comfort Flow Heating today!
