Best Types of Whole House Humidifiers for Your Home

While you may give a lot of thought to the temperature of your home, you may not give enough thought to the moisture level in your home. Your home should have a humidity level of between 30 and 40 percent, and when it goes below that, you can begin experiencing a variety of issues, including dry, itchy skin, chapped lips, nosebleeds, and respiratory problems. Air that’s too dry can also cause the wood in your home to dry, crack, and split, including hardwood floors, furniture, and window or door frames. Having a whole-home humidifier can improve indoor air quality and keep moisture levels at a consistent rate, but which kind should you get? We’re looking at how to choose the right option for your home.

Three Types of Whole Home Humidifiers

There are three types of whole-house humidifiers, all of which monitor relative humidity levels to keep your home at a consistent level.

Evaporative Humidifier

An evaporative humidifier relies on a direct water line to keep water flowing to a humidifier pad. As heated, dry air from your furnace passes over the humidifier pad, it evaporates the moisture and absorbs it, increasing the humidity level through your home.

You can either choose a bypass humidifier or a powered option. The bypass humidifier redirects air from the furnace over the humidifier pad and allows you to close the damper when you don’t need the humidifier running. A powered humidifier relies on a fan to pull water across the pad which distributes moisture through the ducts more effectively.

Both of these options can be switched off during summer months when humidity is higher, and the both run on minimal to no electricity. However, only around 20 to 30 percent of the water collected in the tray converts into humidity, so it’s important to empty or drain excess water regularly.

Steam Humidifier

A steam humidifier stores water in a container rather than in a humidifier pad. The canister boils the stored water into steam which transfers into the ducts and is blown through your home using the furnace’s blower fan. While they do use electricity to add humidity to the air, they are more efficient when converting water into steam and providing consistent humidity levels.

Self-Contained Humidifier

If you don’t have central heating with ductwork running through your home, a self-contained whole-home humidifier is an option you need to choose. They can be placed in a central area of the home, such as a closet or laundry area where there is access to water, electricity, and a drain, and use a fan to force damp air through the home.

Choosing the Right Size of Humidifier

Whole home humidifiers are available in several sizes, and choosing the wrong one may mean your home struggles to maintain the proper moisture level or is putting too much humidity in the air. You’ll need to determine your building volume which is determined by your home’s approximate square feet multiplied by the height of your ceilings. For example, if your home is 1,500 square feet, and you have 8-foot ceilings, your cubic footage is approximately 12,000.

You’ll also want to look at how efficient your home is. If it’s drafty, poorly insulated, or has single pane, outdated windows, you’ll need to take these factors into account. If your house loses heated or cooled air through leaks and drafts, chances are, it will lose humidified air, too.

Get a FREE Quote for Whole Home Humidifier Installation in Garner

If you’d like to learn more about home humidifiers or get a free quote for installation, we can help. Call us at  919-772-2759 or fill out the form below to reach out to a member of our team and get started.