During the winter season, the air in our homes tends to be drier, with humidity often dropping below 30%. Dry air is known to cause a number of discomforting health issues, including dry skin, congested sinuses, and exacerbated allergies. A humidifier is a great investment for your home during the winter season because it replenishes moisture in the air, thereby regulating humidity between 40% and 60%, which skin specialists and allergists advocate for optimal health benefits. When the humidity level is optimal in a home, skin health is promoted, respiratory irritation is alleviated, and you may even notice a reduction in heating bills, as air with higher moisture content tends to be warmer despite low temperatures.
Why Humidity is Important to Your Health
The right humidity level in your dwelling is more than just about comfort. It is directly associated with your health as well. Having the right amount of moisture in the air offers great benefits for your life, from breathing to your skin.
Health Gains from Optimal Indoor Humidity
- Ease of Breathing: The main advantage of moist air is that it prevents your respiratory tract from drying out. A dry respiratory system can lead to irritation of your respiratory passages. If your respiratory tract is moist, it helps keep your respiratory passages moist. The primary function of your mucus membranes is to trap dust. If your mucus membranes are not moist, you are at increased risk of respiratory infections.
- Fewer Allergy Attacks: Humidified air makes it difficult for allergens such as dust mites, pollen, and pet dander to stay suspended in the air. In a humidified atmosphere, these allergens fall faster to the ground, reducing the chance of inhaling them and thus the risk of an allergic reaction, such as sneezing or coughing fits. Humidification makes it harder for these allergens to remain in the air for longer.
- Skin Hydration: A humid environment is beneficial for the skin because it helps retain moisture, preventing drying, peeling, and cracking, and reducing irritation. If the environment is too dry, it accelerates the skin’s loss of hydration, leading to conditions such as eczema and dermatitis, because it cannot protect itself from drying when it is not sufficiently hydrated.
- Better Sleep Quality: A humid environment helps keep your respiratory passages hydrated, making breathing easier as you sleep. This ensures your sleep is uninterrupted, leaving you feeling more revitalized when you wake up. A hydrated respiratory tract also reduces your risk of coughing or waking up with a dry mouth, improving your sleep quality. This ensures that your respiratory passages are free of congestion, making snoring rare and, hence, improving your sleep quality.
Picking the Right Humidifier for Your Calgary Place
Steam, Fan-Powered, and Bypass Types
Whole-home humidifiers aren’t all the same. The best one for you depends on your home’s size and construction type, on your heating and cooling system, what feels comfy, and how much you want to control the humidity. Here’s a look at the main types: steam, fan-powered, and bypass, to help you pick what works best for Calgary’s winters.
How Do Whole Home Humidifiers Work?
These humidifiers hook up to your HVAC to pump moisture into the air, sending it through your house via the ducts. Unlike tabletop or room humidifiers, whole-home models connect to your water line and run independently based on the humidity level you set. They try to keep your home between 30–50% humidity. That’s what the EPA recommends to reduce dryness, stuffy noses, and allergy symptoms in winter.
Steam Humidifier
High-efficiency steam humidifiers use electric heating to heat water to its boiling point, producing pure steam. This steam is then channelled throughout the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) duct system to quickly and effectively dry the home’s air, regardless of whether an active heat source is available.
Benefits of Steam Humidifiers
- High Level of Moisture Output: The steam generation process allows steam humidifiers to deliver the highest humidity output in the shortest time of any humidification method. Thus, steam humidifiers provide the ultimate solution for indoor humidity, especially in homes with multiple floors or larger square footage, where higher humidity levels are more challenging to manage.
- Independent Operation: Unlike some other types of humidifiers, steam humidifiers do not rely on your furnace to heat the air for optimal absorption; therefore, they can operate at any time and throughout the year, including winter and summer months when your heat may not be on.
- Precise Humidity Control: Steam humidifier models can maintain consistent, precise relative humidity independently.
Considerations for Steam Humidifiers
- Costs of Initial Installation and Operation: Steam humidifiers are generally more expensive to purchase and can use more energy to operate than other types of humidifiers.
- Maintenance of Steam Humidifiers: Steam humidifiers require regular cleaning and mineral removal, often requiring a yearly canister change.
- Best Applications: Larger homes and applications where consistent, precise humidity is required or desired.
Fan-Powered Humidification Systems
Fan-powered humidifiers are similar to bypass humidifiers (in the section below) with an added fan that actively forces air over the moisture-saturated media, increasing water evaporation. The end result is a higher moisture output than Bypass and Improved Humidity Control.
Benefits of Fan-Powered Systems
- Higher Moisture Output: The built-in fan substantially increases water evaporation, so fan-powered systems add much more humidity to the home than Bypass systems.
- Independent Operation of Furnace Blower: Fan-powered systems can operate even when the furnace heat is off, providing greater flexibility in maintaining desired humidity levels.
- Higher Efficiency: Fan-powered systems tend to produce higher humidity levels, adding humidity to larger homes with long duct runs, more than bypass systems do. Fan-poweredsystems deliver more moisture per hour.
- More Flexibility to Install: Fan-powered systems do not require a separate bypass duct, so they can be installed in a Smaller Space.
Things to Consider About Fan-Powered Systems
- Sound: Fan-powered systems can generate more noise than bypass systems due to the fan motor.
- Moderate Maintenance: Fan-powered systems still require pads to be changed and have their fan housing Deck Cleaned to prevent Dust Accumulation.
- Best to Use In: Medium to Large Homes needing increased moisture output and more consistent humidity.
Bypass Humidifiers
Hot air gets pulled by the furnace fan into a damp pad. As it passes through, moisture is absorbed into the air. This wetted air travels along the ducts. The system runs without the need for extra fans.
Benefits of Bypass Humidifiers
- Price-wise, these tend to come in under most whole-home models for both purchase and setup. A lower price tag often makes them stand out.
- Stillness comes naturally since there’s no internal fan. Most of the time, that means less noise overall.
- With fewer pieces involved, there’s less parts to maintain. People watching their spending tend to appreciate that.
Things To Consider
- The bypass system requires the furnace to be running. When temperatures stay mild, heat cycles shorten, and with the furnace turned off on warmer days, the bypass system won’t run.
- Humidity levels can drop when the furnace isn’t running, depending on how often the furnace kicks in. This is especially noticeable in Southern Alberta, where our mild Chinook conditions are warm and dry.
- These units produce less humidity than steam or fan-powered humidifiers. When your place is large or very dry, a bypass might not be enough to maintain proper humidity levels.
- Bypass systems are a good option for smaller homes.
- When considering budget constraints, a bypass is a good option to increase humidity in your home.
Home Layout and Size
For homes with larger square footage, steam or fan-powered humidifiers with greater capacity will work best. For homes with smaller square footage, bypass humidifiers can be more efficient.
Comparing Humidifier Types
Forced-air heating and cooling systems can integrate all three humidifier types; however, bypass and fan-powered humidifiers rely on ductwork for their operation. Bypass units usually have a lower purchase price and are easier to maintain. Steam humidifiers typically deliver the best performance year-round; however, they require higher energy use and more maintenance.
Desired Control and Comfort
If quick response and precision are of great importance to you, no other type of humidifier can compare to a steam humidifier. If moderate comfort and efficiency are what you’re looking for, then a fan-powered unit can provide the balance of performance and economy. If you prefer a cost-effective solution that provides quieter operation, then a bypass humidifier is probably your best option.
Enjoy Healthier Air and Lasting Comfort All Winter Long
Keeping the right humidity level in your home can help keep your skin hydrated, reduce allergy symptoms, prolong your home’s condition, and improve your comfort and restful sleep. For high efficiency, consider steam humidifiers; for flexibility, consider fan-powered units; and for affordability, consider bypass systems. Make sure your humidifier is installed by a professional and maintained regularly to avoid over-humidification or mould growth. To ensure that your humidifier delivers the best results for years, combine it with duct cleaning, smart thermostat control, and routine servicing. Contact Horizon Heating (403) 274-0790 for expert installation, maintenance and advice regarding your humidification system.