By this time in winter, your interior air has probably dried out enough to create static electricity indoors. Although it’s annoying to people, it’s not dangerous. However, for your home’s electrical contents, static electricity is a hazard. It can result in serious damage to electronic equipment and appliances, including your computers and stereo systems.
However, you can solve the issues that static electricity cause quickly and easily by using a humidifier. You’ve got two choices: portable units or a whole-house humidifier.
The latter attaches to your central cooling and heating system, and is an easy way to add extra moisture to your indoor air and prevent static electricity. The ideal humidity indoors, during the winter, is between 35 to 55 percent. Not only does this stop static electricity, it also benefits your health. Bacteria, mites and viruses die more rapidly in these ranges. Additionally, humidity enables you to avoid the discomfort of dry, chapped skin, and of the increase in allergy and asthma symptoms due to dry air.
The advantages of whole-house humidifiers include operational simplicity and lower operating costs. Whole-house humidifiers pump water vapor in the form of steam or mist. They attach to your ducts or sit next to your blower, and send measured amounts of water vapor to each room. Installers tap into your home’s plumbing, so you never have to worry about filling a tank, and they require far less maintenance than portable units. A portable unit typically needs to be filled daily, and may need cleaning and sanitizing as often as once a week. A whole-house system may only need it once or twice a season. Additionally, using multiple portable humidifiers in your home can ultimately use more electricity than if you install and use a central unit.
Humidifiers take the zap out of static electricity, and also increase your indoor comfort and energy savings. Because dry air feels cooler than moist air, by adding more humidity to the air, you can lower the temperature and still feel warm.
Mowery Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing can give you more information about humidifying your home. We have licensed plumbers and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) technicians with extensive experience with indoor air-quality issues, and they can help you choose the ideal system to increase your home’s comfort. We’re proud to have served customers in the Indianapolis area for more than 40 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
Mowery services the Brownsburg, Indiana and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!
