The hot and humid summers in Rapid City, South Dakota, can get muggy and uncomfortable. You adjust the thermostat to a comfortable temperature. The air conditioner starts up as expected. But, even after your air conditioner cycles, your home still feels humid and uncomfortable.
Not a great feeling.
It can be frustrating when the air conditioner appears to work properly, yet your home doesn't actually feel pleasant. If your rooms feel humid but thermostat says cool, you're not the only homeowner. Many area homeowners have this problem.
Why is this? Temperature and humidity are two different factors in indoor comfort. A temperature only tells you how comfortable the air is within your home. It doesn't measure how much humidity is in your home. When indoor moisture is very high, your home can feel much hotter than the thermostat indicates, due to indoor humidity problems.
In this article, you'll learn how humidity affects your indoor comfort levels, common reasons your home feels humid even when the temperature is comfortable and easy troubleshooting steps you can try to reduce humidity in your Rapid City, South Dakota, home. That way, you’ll know when to call experts like the team at Precision Mechanical for support.
Why Your Home Can Feel Humid Even Though the Temperature Is Right
Your home's temperature is only part of what makes your home pleasant. Indoor humidity is another important factor. Many homes are generally more comfortable when indoor relative humidity falls 30-50 percent. When a home has high indoor humidity, the air feels less comfortable, more oppressive and stickier—even if the actual air temperature is cool.
High humidity can also promote dangerous mold growth, mildew, bad smells and other indoor air quality issues. That's why your house feels humid but the AC is running—your system may be lowering the temperature of the air without removing enough moisture.
Reasons Your Home Feels Humid Even with the AC Running
Making your home in Rapid City, South Dakota, muggy conditions can be a problem.
Many area homeowners wonder the same question: Why does my house feel humid?
There are several common causes. Determining what's creating high idoor humidity is the best place to start toward fixing the problem.
Let's look at several common reasons for elevated indoor humidity in Rapid City, South Dakota:
1. AC is Too Large
An air conditioner that's bigger than your home needs lowers the temperature in your home too quickly. The problem is an oversized AC often doesn’t remove humidity effectively because it stops operating before completing a full cooling cycle.
2. Clogged Air Filter
A blocked air filter reduces airflow throughout your heting and cooling system. This makes it harder for your equipment to remove moisture while cooling your home.
3. Blocked Condensate Drain
Your AC removes moisture from the air in your home and drains it outside through a condensate line. If that drain becomes clogged, moisture can't drain from the system properly, contributing to excess moisture indoors.
4. Icy Evaporator Coil
The evaporator coil removes both heat and moisture from your home's air. Dirt and grime on the coil limits its effectiveness and often requires professional AC repair services to restore performance.
5. Leaky Ductwork
Ductwork carries cool air throughout your home. Openings in ductwork can allow warm, humid air from attics, crawl spaces or other uninhabited areas into your HVAC system. This added moisture makes it more challenging to maintain comfortable humidity throughout your home.
6. Thermostat Fan Set to “On” Change setting to “Auto”
If your thermostat fan is running on "On" instead of "Auto", the blower continues to operate after the cooling cycle is finished. This can circulate moisture collected on the evaporator coil back into your home instead of letting it to drain away.
7. Unusually Humid Weather
During the area’s especially humid summer weather, your HVAC system has to work harder to remove moisture from the air. Even when your cooling system is working properly, sometimes your home feels muggy because outdoor humidity continues to seep into your home through doors, windows and normal air leakage.
8. Older HVAC Equipment
As heating and cooling systems age, they often become less effective at controlling humidity. HVAC maintenance optimizes performance, boosts efficiency and helps find worn-out parts. Skipping regular air conditioning maintenance can decrease performance, including your system's ability to reduce moisture.
Things to Check Before Scheduling an HVAC Technician
If your home feels humid, there are a few simple things you can check before scheduling service. These simple troubleshooting steps are easy ways to improve indoor comfort by helping your HVAC system remove moisture more effectively.
- Check your HVAC air filter. A clean HVAC air filter allows proper airflow, helping your system condition and dehumidify your home more efficiently.
- Verify the thermostat fan is set to Auto. This allows moisture to drain away after each cooling cycle instead of being blown back into your living spaces.
- Make sure supply and return vents are open and unblocked. Furniture over the vents or closed vents can reduce airflow throughout your home.
- Look for water around the indoor unit. Water by your AC equipment may signal a clogged condensate drain or another drainage-related issue.
- Monitor how your air conditioner should run. If the AC is short cycling or turning on and off continuously, or it seems to run constantly without cooling your home like it should, it's time to have the system inspected by a professional.
Even if your thermostat still says cool but house feels humid, do not perform repairs with refrigerant, electrical components or system components. Do-it-yourself fixes may be tempting, but these repairs require professional training and should always be performed by a qualified HVAC technician.
Does Your Home Need a Whole-Home Dehumidifier?
If you have humidity in your house during summer or year-round moisture problems, a whole-home dehumidifier may be worth considering. Unlike portable units that only help reduce moisture in one room or area, a whole-home dehumidifier works alongside your HVAC system to reduce humidity throughout your entire house.
Just one of Precision Mechanical's indoor air quality solutions, a whole-home dehumidifier makes your home more comfortable while lowering the risk of mold, musty odors and excess moisture. It can be a great choice for homes in humid areas or properties that continue to have humidity even with a properly functioning cooling system.
When You Need to Request HVAC Service
Ongoing HVAC humidity issues often point to an larger problem that needs professional repair. The technicians at Precision Mechanical will check refrigerant charge, airflow, blower performance and evaporator coils to determine why your system isn't controlling humidity effectively. They can also inspect ductwork, condensate drainage and overall system sizing to identify the root cause.
We also can get you on the schedule for a home HVAC tune-up. Routine seasonal tune-ups help find small problems before they become major breakdowns. That's why Precision Mechanical offers an HVAC maintenance plan that helps make regular inspections cost-effective and hassle-free.
If basic troubleshooting doesn't solve the home’s humidity issues, trust Precision Mechanical for dependable HVAC service in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Schedule HVAC service online or call 605-702-0850 today to restore your comfort.
