The high heat is still with us here in the Shreveport area, even as we move into the latter half of September and the official start of the fall season. And along with that heat is the additional problem of humidity. The moisture in the air makes it more difficult for the human body to expel heat through perspiration, and then traps more heat in the body and makes the surrounding temperature feel hotter.
The air conditioner and high humidity
You may have heard that an air conditioner can work as an effective dehumidifier. It’s true that an AC possesses some dehumidifying properties. As the cold evaporator coil absorbs heat from the air, it also draws down moisture in the air that condenses along the coil. This will cause a drop in humidity levels. However, an air conditioner isn’t designed for this specific purpose. Unless an AC has a dedicated dehumidifier built into it, it will not function as an effective way to dehumidify your home. (In some cases, an air conditioner can end up contributing to making a home too dry, which presents a different set of comfort problems altogether.)
If you have a house that is suffering from high humidity that is making indoor conditions intolerably stuffy, you need to have a whole-house dehumidifier integrated into the HVAC system. A dehumidifier uses a similar process to an air conditioner, where it uses refrigerant to absorb heat and moisture. But a dehumidifier is designed not to upset the balance of the actual air conditioner, and it is specially sized to remove the right quantity of moisture from the indoor air so that humidity levels are balanced—neither too damp nor too dry.
If you want to receive the benefits of a whole-house dehumidifier in Haughton, LA, call on the indoor air quality experts at Hall’s Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration.
