Our erratic weather is mostly down to being close to Lake Michigan. In fact, the Great Lake, which creates its own microclimate, can affect the entire northern region of Illinois. It’s why our summers can be cooler and our winters warmer than the national average. If you’re suffering from too little humidity in your home, help is at hand from our team at Leith Heating & Cooling.
While we might not be able to change the unique weather systems that Lake Michigan creates, we can definitely stop your home from having its own microclimate! We can install whole-home humidifiers to prevent dry, stale air and introduce more humidity into the air!
Do You Need a Whole-Home Humidifier?
Let’s talk about relative humidity for a second. This is the measure of water vapor in the air and it’s expressed by a percentage. Here in Illinois, our average relative humidity is around 70%. That’s pretty high compared to other states. If you want healthier and cleaner air inside your home (and who wouldn’t?), a whole-home humidifier is generally a great investment for your home and your family.
The primary goal of a home humidifier is to add additional moisture and to create a healthier and more pleasant environment for everybody. These systems provide extra humidification via your home’s ductwork in the form of water vapor. You can control this level of moisture through your humidistat, and in some cases, your thermostat. Home humidification systems can prevent dryness to skin as well as the nose and throat. Many viruses thrive in a low-humidity environment so by providing additional moisture you may be able to reduce susceptibility to infection and illnesses such as the common cold.
So, what should relative humidity be in the home? Well, the ideal range is between 30 and 50 percent. When indoor air conditions are kept within this threshold, the likelihood of mold growth and other issues is significantly reduced. Working alongside your HVAC system, a dehumidifier will remove excess moisture from the air and deliver cleaner and fresher air to every room in your home. If the humidity drops below the ideal threshold, such as during the dry winter chill, a humidifier can reintroduce that moisture. This will make colder conditions feel warmer, and help prevent that sharp, dry air that causes skin irritation and that air to have a chilly “bite”.
How Humidity Control Can Improve Health
If you or your family suffer from rhinitis, sneezing, nasal congestion, wheezing, coughing, or you’ve noticed that asthma symptoms worsen when at home, it could be down to humidity.
From damaging wooden furniture and upholstery to ruining wallpaper and affecting your skin and hair, a lack of humidity can be a big issue. During the winters when we’re running the furnace all night and day with windows closed, we remove a lot of the natural humidity from our indoor air. Thankfully, a solid, properly installed whole-home humidifier can keep things just as they should be for maximum comfort and to protect your home. Home humidifiers can alleviate symptoms relating to allergies or asthma caused by over-dry air. Itchy and dry skin issues are often caused by a dry environment, which can be helped by increased home humidity.
Whole-Home Vs. Portable Humidifiers
If you’re wondering whether a portable humidifier or dehumidifier might be the best approach, we’re here to stop you from wasting your money. While purchasing a portable system outright might be less expensive than purchasing a whole-home system, the ongoing benefits of a whole-home system more than make up for the higher initial cost. Primarily, a whole-home system will do just as the name suggests: treat your whole home! Portable systems are typically ineffective, and may only treat a small part of a room, which is why we don’t recommend them.
Here are just some of the benefits of a whole-home humidifier over a portable system:
- Automatically control humidity levels throughout your home
- Located out of sight
- Operate at a lower sound level than a portable unit
- Can be up to 4x more energy-efficiency that portable humidifiers
- Low maintenance
- More durable than portable systems
If that hasn’t convinced you not to opt for a portable unit, why not try us for a quote? You might be surprised. Remember, our systems deliver cleaner, perfectly balanced air to every room in your home unlike portables that can only do the same in one room (if at all). They can also reduce your energy bills, so the savings really do add up over time!
Trustworthy Humidifier Installation For Your Fox Valley Home
If you’re experiencing low humidity in your home, and you’re interested in finding out more about a whole-house humidification solution, speak to our team at Leith Heating & Cooling. We’ll show you how easy it is to manage humidity in your home and keep those levels perfectly balanced throughout the year no matter what our unique weather system has in store!
We offer our HVAC services throughout the Fox Valley and would be delighted to provide you with an estimate, so say goodbye to stale and muggy indoor air and call us today!
