Maintaining the Best Humidity Level in a Colorado Winter

Warmth is only a part of the comfort equation when the outdoor temperature dips in Broomfield.

Another factor that affects your health and heating bills is indoor humidity.

What Is Indoor Humidity?

Simply put, humidity refers to the amount of water vapor present in the air. It can rob you of comfort if it is too high or too low. When balanced, it can be your best friend.

At Kappler Mechanical, we are experts at balancing humidity. Our qualified technicians have the knowledge, experience, and tools to create the perfect indoor environment in your home. We are also dedicated to helping our customers recognize the signs of low and high humidity and know when to seek professional HVAC assistance.

Read on to learn how to keep your humidity balanced, avoid common winter problems, and stay perfectly comfortable.

What Is the Ideal Humidity Level?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends maintaining a relative humidity of 35 to 50 percent. In winter, the sweet spot for maximum comfort is typically 35 to 45 percent.

However, if you own a whole-home humidifier, and the outdoor temperature drops to 20° Fahrenheit or below, you’ll need to adjust the humidistat on your unit. When indoor humidity is too high for the outdoor temperature, frost or water droplets can form on your windows, and possibly even between the walls, leading to wood rot and mold growth.

Adjusting the humidistat will prevent condensation from developing. Typically, you will set your whole-home humidifier to 30 to 35 percent humidity if the outdoor temperature is between 10° and  20° Fahrenheit. The setting should be 25 to 30 percent humidity when the outdoor temperature is 0° to 10°,  20 to 25 percent for 0° to -10°, and 15 to 20 percent humidity for -10° and below.

Why Is Low Humidity a Problem in Winter?

When your furnace heats the cold air that enters your home from the outdoors, its relative humidity drops, creating a desert-like environment. 

The dry air can make you feel uncomfortable in your own home! You might experience dry, itchy skin, chapped lips, a bloody nose, and an irritated throat. Dry air can worsen allergies and asthma and increase the likelihood of experiencing annoying shocks from static electricity. Dry air can also damage wood furniture, trim, and floors.

Dry air makes you feel cooler than the thermostat setting, leading you to turn up the heat, which will increase your utility bills.

Adding Moisture to Dry Air

You can increase indoor humidity with these simple do-it-yourself steps:

• Hang laundry to dry indoors
• Leave the bathroom door slightly open after a hot shower
• Boil an uncovered pot of water
• Place shallow bowls of water throughout your house for slow evaporation

Install a Whole-Home Humidifier

Installing a whole-home humidifier is the most effective and consistent solution for dry, indoor air during the heating season. The unit integrates with your HVAC system to add moisture directly into your ductwork, maintaining a precise, healthy humidity level throughout the entire house.

One of our Kappler Mechanical experts can assess your home and HVAC system and recommend a bypass, fan-powered, or steam humidifier that will address your unique needs.

Bypass and fan-powered models are the most common whole-house humidifiers. In these systems, a line from your plumbing feeds water into a compartment that houses a pad. When the furnace blows warm air over the water-saturated pad, the air picks up moisture and carries it through your ductwork.

A whole-house unit eliminates the need to lug a portable humidifier from room to room and actively adds moisture when your furnace operates. You control the amount of moisture added with the unit’s humidistat, ensuring you do not raise the humidity too high.

High Humidity in Winter

Your activities generate moisture. The same do-it-yourself steps mentioned above—drying clothes indoors and boiling water—that increase humidity in dry air can add too much moisture, which can become trapped inside a tightly sealed home.

Houseplants, cooking, showering, drying laundry indoors, and even breathing, generate moisture. If you notice water droplets or frost on windows, a musty smell, or mold on cold surfaces such as window sills, the humidity is too high. The excess moisture can damage your home and contribute to indoor air quality (IAQ) issues.

Easy solutions include running exhaust fans while cooking and after showering, venting gas-burning appliances to the outdoors, and keeping interior doors open to balance the humidity throughout your home.

For a long-lasting solution, install a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) or an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) to improve whole-house ventilation. These devices exhaust stale, humid indoor air and bring fresh air into your home. Install a whole-house dehumidifier to remove moisture and reduce humidity levels.

Let our Kappler Mechanical team determine which system would best address the high humidity in your Broomfield home.

Monitoring Humidity Levels

The tool for monitoring your indoor air is a hygrometer. You can buy this inexpensive device online or at hardware stores. Place it in various rooms to get a quick, accurate reading. Many smart thermostats also have a built-in hygrometer that displays the humidity level.

Monitoring indoor humidity provides essential information that helps you take steps to either remove or increase moisture in the air.

Take Control of Indoor Humidity Today!

While DIY steps, such as boiling water, are great for a temporary fix, they lack the consistency and precision required for maintaining balanced humidity in your Broomfield, CO, home. If you are constantly battling dry air or struggling with condensation, consider investing in an energy audit to identify air leaks and insulation issues, followed up by a whole-home solution.

Our Kappler Mechanical professionals can determine if a humidifier or dehumidifier is best for your home. We will properly size the equipment, integrate it into your HVAC system, and walk you through its settings and operation. For a consultation, call us at 720-513-6481 or request service online.