How to Keep Balanced Humidity in Your Corpus Christi Home

In the humid climate of south Texas, maintaining optimal home comfort can be a delicate balancing act, and simply adjusting the thermostat doesn’t necessarily remedy the problem. To solve a comfort issue, you might need to pay more attention to the humidity in your Corpus Christi home and to do something about it.

Unbalanced Humidity Issues

Humidity levels inside the home change as the temperature changes. Typically, they rise when it’s hot in south Texas (and we know that’s most of the year) and fall when it’s cooler. Without air conditioning, or with air conditioning that isn’t doing the job, you can be very uncomfortable. When the air conditioner is performing the way it needs to (and a home doesn’t have excessive moisture issues), the air is usually sufficiently dry. Likewise, the air is usually dry during the short periods you use your furnace. Here are some problems too much humidity or too little humidity can create.

• Humid indoor air promotes the growth and spread of certain airborne contaminants and dust mites. High humidity can also encourage mold and mildew, further degrading your air quality.
• Indoor air that is too dry can create health issues such as dry nasal passages and sore throat. Dry air also promotes the spread of the flu virus. Dry indoor air feels cooler than optimally humidified air, which can force you to turn up the thermostat and pay more to heat your home.

Balanced Humidity From Season to Season

Balanced humidity levels are considered to be between 40 to 55 percent during the cooling months and 35 to 55 percent during the heating months for the Corpus Christi area. Of course, your comfort dictates the optimal humidity level within these ranges, which may be best achieved with a whole-house dehumidifier. A whole-house dehumidifier is in addition to your cooling and heating system. It pulls air from the various rooms of your home, removes the moisture and sends drier air back through your home.

For best results, consult with your HVAC professional. He can recommend a strategy for achieving ideal humidity in your Corpus Christi home. Have questions? Contact the experts at CCAC. We can give you all the information you need.

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 home humidity and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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