Is Your A/C Able to Keep Up With Corpus Christi's Humidity?

If your home is feeling uncomfortably warmer even though the thermostat says it’s the right temperature, or if you’re seeing condensation on the inside of your windows, your A/C may be struggling to keep up with Corpus Christi’s humidity. Moisture from the humidity makes air feel warmer, and can damage the surfaces in your house, if left alone. Ideal humidity levels indoors are somewhere between 30 to 50 percent. Any higher than that, and the air starts feeling oppressive, sticky and can promote the growth of molds, mildews and other nuisances.

An A/C pulls moisture out of your home’s air as part of the cooling process when the compressor is on. Some people run their A/C year round to help with constant humidity problems. On really humid days, the A/C has to work harder to cool the house and pull the excess moisture out of the air, and if the thermostat reaches the desired temperature, the A/C will turn off, even if the room is still uncomfortably humid, because A/C’s aren’t specifically designed to deal with humidity. Here are some ideas of how you can help your A/C keep up with Corpus Christi’s humidity:

• Start your A/C early in the morning when less cooling is needed so the compressor has more time to deal with the humidity before the heat of the day hits.
• If you are thinking of replacing your A/C, look into a two-stage cooling unit, since its compressor runs for longer periods of time allowing it to absorb more humidity while it’s operating.
• Don’t run your A/C’s fan by itself if the compressor is off.  This causes air to blow across the wet condenser coils and releases moisture back into the room.
• Check your duct work, doors, and windows for air leaks that may be letting humid outside air seep back into the house. These can usually be fixed with caulk or weather stripping.
• If the problem persists, consider installing a separate whole-house dehumidifier.

For more tips and ideas on how to keep up with Corpus Christi’s humidity contact Mathews CCAC Inc. We’re your customer-oriented home comfort specialists.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Corpus Christi, Texas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about A/Cs and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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