An air conditioner is known to change the weather & feel inside your home, thanks to its strong cooling mechanism. But, in humid conditions, can it remove humidity also or at least reduce it to a comfortable level?
Does the air conditioner dehumidify?
Here’s if Air Conditioner Dehumidify –
An air conditioner has a dehumidifier feature which certainly helps in reducing moisture from inside your home but AC’s dehumidifier feature is very weak. It helps very little in dehumidifying your room and hence, can’t be solely relied upon for dehumidifying in very humid conditions.
In this article, we’ve explained AC’s hidden dehumidifier feature, told you how you can boost its effectiveness as well as provided you very economical ways to dehumidify your place. Read on!
Do All Air Conditioners have Dehumidifier Function?
Air conditioners are specifically designed to lower the temperature. However, the curiosity of many people had been higher to know whether air conditioners can do much more or not.
Henceforth, now we have the dehumidification capability in our air conditioners. Most air conditioners of today come with a “dry mode” that helps in decreasing the humidity.
You can also fit your air conditioner with a dehumidifying heat pipe for better dehumidification. It will certainly increase the ability of your AC while it performs a similar task as a dehumidifier.
So, now you would want to know whether the feature of an air conditioner is as good as an actual dehumidifier. Aren’t you!
How Strong is Air Conditioner Dehumidifier Feature?
We can consider an air conditioner as an extremely weak dehumidifier. But both the appliances can draw moisture out from a room to reduce humidity.
Even though the air conditioner has similar functionality, it can’t work as much as a dehumidifier. After all, an AC has a limited dehumidifying capacity.
So, if you want proper dehumidification, it’s always best to invest in a real dehumidifier. Also, the air conditioner has to work way harder if it has to perform the task of both cooling and dehumidifying.
But even though you choose to use your air conditioner for the task, you must figure out how long it will take.
How long should AC run to dehumidify?
It will take about 15-20 minutes of runtime for your AC to do serious air dehumidification. Therefore, an oversized air conditioning system will not dehumidify your home well.
In humid weather, if your AC runs for 10 minutes or even less and shuts off, your home will become cool. But it will not lower the levels of indoor humidity, and it may be as high as 60%.
Even though your air conditioner can quickly dehumidify a place, you must keep the evaporator coil free from dirt and dust. Without any obstacles, the AC will be able to reduce humidity as much as it can.
By this time, you have understood that some AC can help in dehumidification. But do you know that humid weather can affect your AC?
How Humid Weather affects Air Conditioner?
Humid weather puts pressure on an air conditioner, disrupting the cooling efficiency. The air becomes warm as the air conditioner has to deal with both humidity and warm air together. Here’s what happens:
- If your air conditioner runs day-in-day-out to dehumidify your home, it loses its cooling effect to some extent. You won’t reap as many benefits from the AC.
- When the home’s humidity levels are high, it will put lots of strain on your air conditioner. It results in an increase in the wearing of the system and uneven cooling.
So, what are the ways of fixing the high humidity inside your home?
How to Fix High Humidity in My House?
High humidity is an awful experience unless you are taking a steam bath. And when your home gets extremely humid during the summer months, it becomes even worst.
When the hot weather joins hands with sweatiness, the overall experience becomes uncomfortable. So, you wish to find some way to relieve the discomfort by getting back your indoor air quality.
In summer, the outdoor environment gets too hot to enjoy the summer sun. That’s why we like to stay indoors and enjoy the summer. But, not unless we bring down the humidity of our home.
So, the big question arises how we can fix the high humidity in our home? Here are some ways I have personally found useful:
Use Dry Mode Of Your Air Conditioner
In most window and central air conditioning units, you will find a “Dry Mode” feature. The dry mode helps with reducing the high humidity of an area or room.
It is a wonderful feature that’s great for seasons like summer, spring, or fall when the humidity is at its worst. It can reduce the humidity in the area to some percentage and offer relief to your senses.
Take Less Hot Showers
The more you take hot showers, the more the indoor air becomes humid. Let’s get real- we love hot showers when the weather is chilling cold.
Hot showers receive negative light as it brings lots of humidity in the air making it uncomfortable. Of course, you don’t have to take a bath in ice-cold water, but you can lower down the temperature of your showers at least for few notches.
Your Exhaust Or Ventilation Fans Are Your Friend
The kitchen and bathroom accumulate steam, and it can make these spaces extremely humid. So, don’t forget to turn the ventilation fans or exhaust on when you are cooking or taking a shower.
To reduce indoor humidity, you have to keep them on for a few minutes after your activities are done. It will clear the area of excess humidity.
Fix All Leaking Pipes
Surprisingly, leaking pipes add moisture to the environment when you want to reduce indoor humidity. No matter how many leaks the pipes have, fix them all at once to keep away condensation forming.
Dry Everyday Laundry Outside
Drying your laundry outdoor is the key to ensure less humidity inside due to damp clothes. I would recommend you dry your clothes on an outside drying rack.
Of course, don’t forget to check with the neighborhood bylaws before you hang your clothes outside. In case you have to dry your clothes indoors, get a dehumidifier ASAP.
Get Yourself A Dehumidifier
Investing in a dehumidifier is a sure way of reducing your indoor humidity. You can fit the dehumidifier right inside the furnace air handler. It will remove excess moisture from the indoor area.
So, you will be enjoying the dry and cool air, just as we like it during summer. When you get a dehumidifier, the air conditioner won’t have to use as much as you use it. The humidity levels will stay low thanks to the humidifier.
There are some other ways to dehumidify our indoor too. The above ones are my personal experience, and I got great results before I got my dehumidifier.
Our shortlisted dehumidifiers from Amazon that you MUST check out:
- Budget-Pick: Yaufey 1750 Sq. Ft Dehumidifiers with Drain Hose
- Best Pick: Midea 4,500 Sq. Ft. Energy Star Certified Dehumidifier
- Top-Rated: GE Energy Star 50 Pint Dehumidifier for Home or Basement
Conclusion
If you deal with normal humidity then you can of course rely on the air conditioner’s dehumidifying capability to reduce moisture but if the situation is really dire or you need to dehumidify the place for medical reasons, it’s always recommended to get a proper dehumidifier which will be cost-efficient as well as power efficient.
