Indoor humidity importance - should I chase humidity or just wait?

[pezzy669]

So we are currently in a shoulder season here where heat has not been required at all and the a/c does not really need to run much to keep indoor air temps comfortable in my particular unit (condo complex, no direct sun, ground floor on slab unit) - my a/c has run maybe 12 hours total in the past 10 days. My indoor humidity has been hovering between high 50% to mid 60% because the unit just has not had enough chance to run to drop it down to an ideal low 40% range. I know in probably less than a month my a/c will be running enough to keep humidity within preferable range. I am just wondering if 2 months of 55-65% indoor humidity is enough cause of concern I need to try to get it down? I really don't want to freeze myself out by dropping the set point to run a little longer, nor do I want a dehumidifier for temporary use 1-2 months a year. Stats: - Normal @ home setpoint - 74 degrees, have had to bump it down to 73 here and there because the humidity makes even 74 feel sticky. - Away setback (5 days per week) - 85 degrees (it typically does not exceed 76 degrees currently - worst I have seen during summer was 79). - Not a variable compressor or fan - on and off only. Am I thinking too much into "ideal" indoor air humidity? I just know it can cause problems at either extremes (either too high or too low). Thank in advance!

 

[SZR48207]

You're going to be fine. You could always buy a portable dehumidifier to keep around for this time of year. They're easy to buy online for around $120-$180 nowadays.

 

[Brojo]

Maybe consider setting the temp lower when you sleep. I typically set my house to 68-70 at night, then bump it up to 74-75 during the day. Maybe running a ceiling or rotating fan during the day can help keep air flowing around the room(s). Just so the air won't seem so stagnant or still.

 

[Linctex]

Leave a burner on the stove (or the oven) turned on. The A/C will run more often, dehumidifying the air. Yes, it costs electricity - - - but the dehumidifier is NOT cheap to run, either!

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Temporary periods of humidity over 60 percent aren't cause for concern. I would set the AC at 78 when you go away rather than 85.

 

[skyactiv]

There is a whole house dehumidifier that can be installed in your HVAC system. I'm surprised they aren't more popular. I would seriously consider looking into to one of those.

 

[hatcoleman]

We are 60 miles from Gulf of Mexico, high humidity. A dehumidifier solved our home humidity issues. Makes home much more comfortable. No more mildew in home. Portable unit Frigidaire from Amazon.

 

[pezzy669]

Originally Posted by Brojo

Maybe consider setting the temp lower when you sleep. I typically set my house to 68-70 at night, then bump it up to 74-75 during the day. Maybe running a ceiling or rotating fan during the day can help keep air flowing around the room(s). Just so the air won't seem so stagnant or still.

I might try the lower set point at night and see if that helps. Ceiling fans running when unoccupied don't do anything but circulate air unnecessarily, they won't do anything for humidity unfortunately.

Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl

Temporary periods of humidity over 60 percent aren't cause for concern. I would set the AC at 78 when you go away rather than 85.

I'll try this - good to know that temporary spikes in humidity are not bad. Have not experienced any bad effects of high humidity (mold/mildew) as of yet. I'll give 78 a whirl as my setback and see what happens, it rarely spikes to that temp in here even when gone for 9 hours.

Originally Posted by Linctex

Leave a burner on the stove (or the oven) turned on. The A/C will run more often, dehumidifying the air. Yes, it costs electricity - - - but the dehumidifier is NOT cheap to run, either!

Hard pass on this. I won't even leave the clothes dryer running if I leave my place, not falling asleep with a range burner running.

Originally Posted by skyactiv

There is a whole house dehumidifier that can be installed in your HVAC system. I'm surprised they aren't more popular. I would seriously consider looking into to one of those.

784 sq/ft condo with an in ceiling "cassette" air handler - it took an act of congress to find a company willing to replace the 18 year old unit. I had three choices for an air handler (First Co., Goodman and Amana) and two larger companies who came out for a quote took one look and basically said 'not interested'. Don't really have provisions for any other equipment unfortunately.

 

[PimTac]

Could a smart thermostat with motion sensor be utilized here? Living in SE Asia for a number of years, I found that air movement did help. At some point though the air conditioner was needed. Ours had infrared and motion detection. If we left the room after a few minutes the compressor would scroll down and the temp setting would increase by a couple of degrees.

 

[blupupher]

Originally Posted by skyactiv

There is a whole house dehumidifier that can be installed in your HVAC system. I'm surprised they aren't more popular. I would seriously consider looking into to one of those.

An air conditioner also dehumidifies, the OP is just not running the system enough to drop the humidity right now. OP, don't worry about it, enjoy the lower electricity bill while you can. As said, set it a few degrees cooler at night. My A/C is set @ 80°F during the day (83°F if not at home) and down to 74°F at night. I have ceiling fans on all the time, so 80°F feels fine to me.

 

[gathermewool]

We keep a dehumidifier running in our bedroom/master bath during times like this. Actually, our summers are pretty mild and, especially at night, running the AC will tend to make things clammy instead of comfortable. We find that we're happier with 75F and 40-45% RH than 68F and 60-65% RH. Even though it's less efficient, we even run our 10k window unit at low speed, but even that's too much. We need that capacity for the hot afternoons, but at night it's just too much. I've been thinking about installing a second, 5k unit to use only for night time dehumidification // The rest of the house? We keep dehumidifiers running year-round in the basement and I couldn't care less about periodically being > 50% RH in parts of the house that will see high temps and lower humidity the following day or days.

 

[umungus1122]

"Ours had infrared and motion detection. If we left the room after a few minutes the compressor would scroll down and the temp setting would increase by a couple of degrees."- Wow, that's some George Jetson stuff. I don't have ducting of any sort in the house.

 

[double vanos]

Ha ha, moving from Houston to Arizona solved all my humidity problems. Couple days ago it was 6%. And I love it!

 

[AZjeff]

Originally Posted by double vanos

Ha ha, moving from Houston to Arizona solved all my humidity problems. Couple days ago it was 6%. And I love it!

Agreed but Chap Stick expenses will kill you! Where are you @ 5600"?

 

[pezzy669]

Originally Posted by PimTac

Could a smart thermostat with motion sensor be utilized here? Living in SE Asia for a number of years, I found that air movement did help. At some point though the air conditioner was needed. Ours had infrared and motion detection. If we left the room after a few minutes the compressor would scroll down and the temp setting would increase by a couple of degrees.

I have a 3rd Gen (current gen) Nest in place that will put system into "Eco" mode within 10-20 mins of the last of either myself or my other half phones dropping off the wifi. So lets say my phone drops off the wifi network at 8AM it won't do anything, my other half phone drops off the network at lets say 8:10AM the Nest will go into Eco at 8:30. Once one of our phones pop back on the network it will go back to cooling or heating to what it was set at when it went into eco mode, typically it will pick our phones up as we pull into the parking lot so its already pre-cooling/heating as we walk in the door.

Originally Posted by blupupher

Originally Posted by skyactiv

There is a whole house dehumidifier that can be installed in your HVAC system. I'm surprised they aren't more popular. I would seriously consider looking into to one of those.

An air conditioner also dehumidifies, the OP is just not running the system enough to drop the humidity right now. OP, don't worry about it, enjoy the lower electricity bill while you can. As said, set it a few degrees cooler at night. My A/C is set @ 80°F during the day (83°F if not at home) and down to 74°F at night. I have ceiling fans on all the time, so 80°F feels fine to me.

You way more tolerance than me - 74 is my max anytime I am at home. The electric bill variances are my reasoning to not chase the humidity down to "ideal" levels.

 

[double vanos]

AZjeff: Bisbee