During the summer, we tend to take humidity for granted and even resent it. It’s hot, it’s uncomfortable, it’s sticky. During winter months, however, humidity is very much missed. Heaters produce dry air that can have negative impacts on air quality, health, and heating bills. Let’s take a look at couple advantages a humidifier can add to your home during winter.
Feel Warmer and Save Money
Experts recommend 68 degrees as a good temperature to set your thermostat at if you are interested in cutting heating cost while still staying warm. However, how the temperature of your home actually feels depends on a lot of factors. A thermostat set at 68 degrees can feel chilly or nice and toasty.
Air humidity is one of the most important factors. If the air inside your home is dry, your sweat will evaporate more quickly and make the room feel colder than it is. An air temperature of 75 degrees can feel like 69 degrees in 0% humidity or 80 degrees in 100% humidity. That’s quite a difference!
Improve Comfort, Health and Air Quality
Using a humidifier provides the important benefit of reducing the chance of spreading or contracting infectious diseases. Dry air dehydrates the moist protective coat that surrounds bacteria and viruses. This makes them more contagious when they come into contact with people. When you also factor in dry throat and sinuses, which naturally filter the air we breathe, you have a recipe for a long cold and flu season.
Humidifiers also help reduce the circulation of dust and other irritants. Additionally, it will finally put an end to the chapped lips and dry skin that plague so many in the cold months.
As an added bonus, humidifiers can help preserve your wood furniture and finishes by stopping the expanding and contracting that occurs when humidity levels change. It will even help electronics by reducing the amount of static charge in a room!
Choosing the Right Humidifier
Humidifiers come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from small room humidifiers that will fit on a table to whole-house humidifiers that are built directly into your heating system. Feel free to contact the MBI BTU gurus with any questions you have at: 610.821.9555