Ways Indoor Humidity Can Affect Energy Bills

Disagreeable musty smells, mold and mildew growth, interior moisture damage and aggravated allergies, asthma and other breathing conditions are issues related to indoor humidity that most Florida homeowners are all too familiar with. Did you know that in addition to causing all these problems, uncontrolled humidity can affect your energy bills too?

Understanding How Humidity Impacts Energy Bills

In our subtropical climate, humidity can easily get out of control during our extended cooling season, when you’re running the heat pump or air conditioner to maintain a comfortable indoor environment. Excess moisture in the air can have an even greater impact on your energy bills in certain circumstances, like:

• Periods when the outdoor temperature spikes and your cooling equipment has to struggle to remove excess moisture and satisfy the thermostat’s temperature setting. The extra workload on your A/C or heat pump during these extremely hot and humid periods makes it burn through more energy, which translates into higher utility bills.
• Your cooling equipment doesn’t have sufficient capacity for the size of your home. An undersized A/C simply won’t cool your home sufficiently, and adjusting the thermostat will only make it run longer and consume more energy.
• Your air conditioner or heat pump is too large for your home. Oversized equipment will reach the thermostat setting too quickly, then shut off before it dehumidifies the space. You’ll probably adjust the temperature setting frequently because your home still feels hot and sticky, so you end up with bigger energy bills.

How to Manage Humidity Efficiently

The first step toward getting your indoor humidity and energy bills under control is having a knowledgeable HVAC pro evaluate your cooling system. A pro can tell you if your existing equipment is too large or too small, and give you options for having a system designed specifically for your home and needs. A properly designed, correctly installed cooling system can dehumidify your living space effectively, provide optimal comfort, and cost less to operate.

If you’re paying high energy bills and dealing with indoor humidity problems, contact us at Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions to schedule a free system evaluation.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).