How Does a Dehumidifier Work?
During hot, humid Texas summers, a dehumidifier can make your home more pleasant by improving indoor air quality. These devices come in many shapes and sizes, including options designed to remove moisture from rooms or your entire house, depending on your needs and comfort requirements.
But just how does a dehumidifier work? Read on to learn more about how these household essentials operate and why you may need one for your home.
- How a dehumidifier works
- Portable vs. whole-home dehumidifiers
- Benefits of a dehumidifier for Texas homeowners
- The average cost of a dehumidifier
Need help combating Texas humidity? Trust the pros at Jon Wayne for honest advice.
If you’re tired of muggy indoor air quality, contact Jon Wayne for expert advice on the best whole-home dehumidifiers for your needs and budget. We have over 20 years of experience helping Texas homeowners breathe cleaner, fresher air with our trusted air quality services. All new installation estimates are free of charge, and we back up our work with rock-solid labor warranties.
How a Dehumidifier Works
Most dehumidifiers use a fan to draw in warm air, which gets passed across refrigerated coils inside the machine. As that warm air interacts with the cold coils, it extracts the humidity— aka condensation— from the air. The water droplets collected by the dehumidifier go into a storage tank at the base for disposal. The machine then releases the dry air into your room for a relative humidity reduction between 30 and 50%.
Most modern dehumidifiers alert you to the relative humidity in your living space and give you options for setting the humidity level you desire for personal comfort. However, the specifications, quality, and features will depend on the brand, model, and type of unit.
Portable Vs. Whole-Home Dehumidifiers
Whole-house dehumidifiers are installed within your HVAC system. However, if you’re looking for a dehumidifier, you’ve probably come across some portable variations online. While both types use similar technology to remove moisture from the air, there are some key differences between the two.
- Capacity: Portable dehumidifiers are typically designed to remove moisture from a single room or small area, whereas whole-home dehumidifiers are designed to treat your entire home evenly, including large areas.
- Installation: Portable dehumidifiers can be easily moved from room to room and do not require any installation beyond plugging them into a power outlet. On the other hand, whole-home dehumidifiers are typically installed by a professional and integrated into the home's HVAC system. This tends to up the price substantially, but the capacity of a whole-home system is well worth the investment. They can also provide long-term savings by reducing energy consumption and preventing damage to your home from excess moisture.
- Efficiency: Whole-home dehumidifiers are generally more efficient at removing moisture from the air than portable dehumidifiers. They are designed to run continuously and can be integrated with the home's thermostat to turn on and off as needed. Portable dehumidifiers are less efficient because they are often not powerful enough to handle the entire home and may require frequent emptying of the water tank.
Benefits of a Dehumidifier for Texas Homeowners
High heat and moisture levels make Texas homes ideal for installing dehumidifiers. Aside from reductions in the overall home humidity, dehumidifiers offer a whole host of other benefits, including:
- Dust mite reduction: Ambient moisture in the air often causes dust mites to get out of control since it holds on to the pet dander and dead skin cells on which the creatures feed. A dehumidifier helps reduce the number of dust mites in your home by lowering humidity levels so they don't have a handy food supply.
- Improved air quality: Moisture in the air leaves your home vulnerable to mold and mildew buildup, but dehumidifiers help prevent their growth by reducing allergens in the air. Additionally, your home smells less musty without mold and mildew for a fresher, cleaner, and more pleasant living space.
- Cool down interiors: Humidity in the air makes your Texas home feel hotter than it really is, especially on warmer days. By removing this moisture from the air, a dehumidifier cools down your living space without you having to turn your AC system up or even on, which can lower energy costs.
- Diminish condensation: Cool air meeting humidity in the air often causes condensation around doors and windows. This causes mold and mildew in spaces that don't have the airflow to dry out properly and damages the bones of your home. Dehumidifiers control condensation for improved home maintenance.
The Average Cost of a Dehumidifier
The costs of portable dehumidifiers vary wildly. Portable electric refrigeration units for smaller spaces run less than $50, while units designed for bigger spaces average $200 to $500.
Whole-home systems professionally installed can vary in cost depending on the size of your home. There may be an increase in cost compared to a portable option, but the investment is often worth it for Texas homeowners looking to combat whole-home humidity without dragging a unit from room to room. Furthermore, as a permanent fixture of your HVAC system, whole-home systems are built to withstand constant use over an extended period of time, which means they last much longer than portable models.
Want to get an exact price for a whole-home dehumidifier? Call Jon Wayne today!
For their capacity, reliability, and convenience, whole-home dehumidifiers are an excellent choice for Texas homeowners seeking to combat humidity and enjoy a comfortably cool home. Contact Jon Wayne's friendly and knowledgeable professionals today to get upfront pricing and honest recommendations on the right size and model for your needs. All new installations are free, and we back up our work with post-service protections, including our 100% satisfaction guarantee.
