While cooling is an air conditioner’s primary job, A/Cs remove moisture from the air, too. Los Angeles may not be extremely humid, but even a little humidity can make our summer heat harder to tolerate. If the sticky, close air in your home is making you uncomfortable, it may be time to install a dehumidifier.
Even when the temperatures are the same, humid conditions feel warmer than dry conditions. Your body cools itself by allowing moisture to evaporate from your skin–in other words, by sweating. Because moisture doesn’t evaporate as readily in humid air, your body’s cooling method is less efficient in high humidity.
Air conditioning helps not just by removing heat from your home, but also by drying the air. A/Cs remove moisture using the evaporator coil, the same component that draws heat from the air. The evaporator coil contains cold refrigerant. When warm, moist indoor air contacts the cold evaporator coil, the moisture in the air is condensed into water. Your air conditioner‘s condensate drain line directs the water outdoors.
Although A/Cs remove moisture to a certain extent, they’re designed for cooling, not for humidity control. If your home feels muggy even with the A/C running or you have high humidity in spring and fall, when you don’t need cooling, consider using a dehumidifier. You have two main designs to choose from:
- Portable dehumidifier — These small dehumidifiers can reduce the humidity in one room, such as a bedroom or living room. They’re available as tabletop units and free-standing units on wheels. Moisture removed from the air collects in a reservoir or bucket you’ll need to empty regularly.
- Whole-house dehumidifier — This appliance is installed in your HVAC system to dehumidify the air throughout your home. It adjusts its operation based on the amount of dehumidification needed at any given time. Because it drains automatically, you won’t need to constantly empty the reservoir.
If you’re in the Los Angeles area, contact us at Around The Clock Heating & Air Conditioning and we can help you choose equipment to manage your humidity, cooling and heating issues so you stay comfortable all year.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about dehumidifiers and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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