Comments on: Tips & Trivia for a New Air Conditioning Season

By: Andy Nolan

Andy Nolan — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 21:36:57 +0000

Always make sure furniture is
Always make sure furniture is not blocking any vents as this will also help you save energy during a hot summer. Great article.

Andy

By: Helder Cristovao

Helder Cristovao — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:22:05 +0000

Leah,

Leah,

I would highly recommend getting a home energy audit that will help identify why your home is very humid. It may be that the amount of humidity in your home stems from a leaky foundation, improper drainage, air leakage or a combination of all three. An audit will address these areas.

John,

I would agree that your best bet would be to have the foundation repaired and/or the landscape regraded as necessary. It would also be helpful to have an energy audit done to find other sources of bulk moisture and air infiltration.

I've had a lot of success in my own home by doing extensive air sealing at the attic plane primarily and other air sealing tactics around the home as I access them during renovations.

I no longer work in the industry, but I'm BPI certified and used to not only audit, but also air seal and insulate customers' homes.

By: John

John — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:15:55 +0000

Allison, in a case where a
Allison, in a case where a house is humid beyond the AC months, is there usually an underlying humidity issue? For example, my home is humid even when the AC isn't running. I know it's because I've got a slight water problem in my foundation. Rather than adding a Dehumidifier (a band-aid), I should fix the foundation problem. Is this usually the case? (I'm in New England)

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:57:25 +0000

Leah: Yes,
Leah: Yes, air conditioners do two jobs: They cool the air and remove moisture from it. The problem is that if you don't need cooling, the AC doesn't run. If the AC's not running, it's not dehumidifying. Having a standalone dehumidifier can handle moisture removal when you don't need cooling. They add heat to the home, however, so you may end up needing to run your central AC after all, which then provides even more dehumidification.

If you're able to keep the relative humidity below 60% with the dehumidifier only, I wouldn't worry about running the AC.

By: Leah

Leah — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:58:43 +0000

Great stuff as always, Dr.
Great stuff as always, Dr. Bailes. Here's my question: Can running the central a/c reduce a home's humidity? Frequent rains in DC have made my house a soggy & sticky place, even with the dehumidifier running. I prefer not to run the a/c unless the heat demands it. Thanks!