Humidity Control in Northwest Florida

Maintaining appropriate humidity in your home is imperative to the comfort and health of your family as well as the health of your home. Homes with elevated humidity run the risk of mold and bacterial growth and structural damage over time. Humidity control in Northwest Florida can be achieved with Gulfshore Air. You can keep your home’s humidity in check with a comfort system from Gulfshore, complete with an American Standard 824 smart thermostat, which allows for humidity control wirelessly. Paired with a high-efficiency system, this technology can keep your home comfortable for many years to come.

What is that smell?

With pets, kids, dirty laundry, dirty dishes in the sink, the trash can, and all of the other smelly things that happen in our homes, keeping them smelling nice can be a real challenge. Most of the bad smells in the home are caused by something that smells bad naturally remaining in the home, or from the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and molds which use the organic matter as a food source. 

Have you ever wondered why the dog or the carpet smells worse on damp days, or on days when the air conditioner doesn’t run as much? It is because of the presence of moisture in the air and a lack of filtration. Poorly maintained air conditioning equipment with dirty coils and blowers do a poor job of removing the moisture, and may even grow some interesting and smelly things of their own. In a properly functioning and properly designed system, air is exchanged through the coil and blower six to eight times an hour.   

Air Filtration and Home Humidity

As this filtration and air exchange occurs, moisture is removed and the air is filtered. The quality and maintenance of the system determine how well it removes moisture and filters the air. An old, neglected system with a clogged coil will not remove as much moisture as a well maintained efficient system with a HEPA or electronic filtration system and perhaps even an indoor air quality device. It is not uncommon on humid days for a properly functioning air conditioning system to remove three or four gallons an hour from the air.   

The pipe dripping water next to your condensing unit is the place to look.  You can also purchase a hygrometer from almost any big box store or online that will monitor your relative humidity if you have not already purchased a system control, such as our AS824, that will do it for you. Remember that anytime your RH is above 55%, you risk smells and mold growth. Above 60% in our area, you are almost guaranteed to have an issue with mold growth.

Moisture In The Air

If moisture is present to facilitate the growth of bacteria, molds, and yeasts, it will grow. Variable speed communicating systems such as our American Standard Platinum variable speed compressors and air handlers will maintain your humidity set point year-round at virtually no cost to you. With a conventional ON/OFF air conditioning system, it only removes moisture when the refrigeration circuit is running. Running the indoor fan does nothing to help and is ill-advised in our area.  If the indoor fan is run without the refrigeration circuit, it is possible to draw in hot humid air from outdoors, or from the attic if the system is not properly balanced and the pressure in the home is negative. This loads the space with humidity that the system must work doubly hard to remove once the compressor comes on. Most conventional systems simply cannot overcome this situation. Do not run the indoor fan in the summer. It should be set to Auto.

Mold needs moisture and an organic food source to grow. Deprive it of one or the other and it will not grow. Keep the home under 55% relative humidity and the chances of having mold grow in a building are greatly reduced.  85% of the mold cases we see are the result of improper HVAC design, being oversized equipment, or improper duct design most of the time.  

Prevention and Maintenance

HVAC related mold is easily preventable with proper design and the use of equipment designed to regulate the amount of moisture in the air. All too often we think of the job of the HVAC system to cool the home and we stop there. It is also the job of the system to remove moisture by having it condense on the coil and run out of the condensate drain. This only occurs when the refrigeration circuit is running. Conventional equipment may cycle off when the thermostat is satisfied and long before an appropriate amount of moisture is removed.  This may have the space at 74F and 64%RH (relative humidity). This makes for a very sticky environment which lacks the crisp cool feel we all like, however, if it is 74F and 50% RH it feels heavenly inside and mold will not grow! 

An Accu-Comfort system from Gulfshore and American Standard can make this a 24/7 reality in your home. Gulfshore Air is Northwest Florida’s trusted HVAC dealer. Our professional staff can answer any questions you might have, and make recommendations as to which system will work better for your individual situation. For more information on variable speed systems, click visit https://gulfshoreair.com/trusted-products/air-purification/

You may also call us at 850-897-6540 or email us at info@gulfshoreair.com.

Humidity Control in Northwest Florida- Trust Gulfshore

Gulfshore Air is a licensed and insured HVAC Contractor located in Niceville, FL. With over 150 combined experience in the HVAC industry, we can serve all your heating and cooling needs.