High or Low Humidity Can Make Indoor Temperatures Feel Differently

portable dehumidifier in home

If you’re like most people, you’ve experienced situations in your house or apartment where the temperature setting on the thermostat tells you one thing but your body tells you something entirely different. This is the difference between the actual temperature and how it actually feels. If you’re aware of why 80 degrees (Fahrenheit) might feel one way in muggy June and a different way in dry January, you’ll have a greater ability to control the circumstances that make the same temperature feel differently on different days and months.

The main instigator of this phenomenon is humidity, though natural drafts and mechanical air movement (fans) also can play a role. Moist, heavy air feels warmer on the body than air that’s not loaded down with moisture. At higher temperatures, it can make you feel clammy and uncomfortable, even claustrophobic. With high relative humidity, perspiration doesn’t evaporate from the body and provide the cooling effect of that process.

Humidity and the Seasons

During the summer, when it can get very humid in southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky, some air conditioning systems – particularly older or defective ones – struggle to keep pace with their expected dual roles of extracting both heat and moisture from the air. This is why some AC systems may satisfy the temperature setting, while not doing much about the humid air. The result is a comfort deficit that you shouldn’t be dealing with, considering you have a working air conditioner.

During the winter, especially in northern regions, there’s typically a lot less moisture in the air. Indoor air can become uncomfortably dry as a result of cooler air, which is exacerbated by furnace heating that tends to wring moisture from indoor air. While you won’t feel discomfort from air that’s too humid, air that’s excessively dry carries a number of its own negative effects, including dry skin, chapped lips, breathing difficulties and static electricity. Not to mention, dry air feels cooler than warm air.

Don’t Forget the Effects of Air Movement

In all seasons, the movement of air will affect the “feels like” temperature. In the winter, this is why a drafty room can feel colder than an adjoining room that has the same temperature but no drafts. In the summer, ceiling fans can make the inside temperature feel three or four degrees cooler than the thermostat setting. You can save energy and money by understanding this phenomenon and setting the thermostat a few degrees higher in the summer when ceiling fans are being used in the home.

As for high or low seasonal humidity, mechanical humidity control systems are available to address those issues. This can range from portable dehumidifiers or humidifiers in rooms suffering from humid or dry air, respectively, to whole-house systems that work hand-in-hand with the central heating and cooling system. Remember, though, that during the cooling season, your air conditioning system may be sufficient to control indoor humidity without employing a dedicated dehumidifier.

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