There’s a reason why air appears drier during colder months than in the summer. That’s since warmer air retains extra moisture, or humidity, than colder air.
The same is true for your Pierre home. Turning on your gas furnace makes your house feel warmer but can also dry out the indoor air. Dry air can carry a whole host of ailments, including dry skin, cracked lips and make you more exposed to getting sick.
Here’s why your gas furnace dries out your house’s air and what you can do to resolve it.
Your Furnace’s Combustion Process is Part of the Trouble
The fuel your furnace needs isn’t the thing responsible for making your residence’s air feel dry. Rather, it’s the combustion process.
There are two different kinds of gas furnaces, standard and high efficiency. With an older standard furnace, you can see light from the burners when it’s heating. A newer, high-efficiency furnace is tightly sealed.
A standard furnace, also termed an atmosphere furnace, takes air from inside your residence to work. Because the furnace continuously requires air to burn, it will also pull cold, dry air from outdoors, which in turn lowers your house’s humidity.
High-efficiency furnaces, also called a sealed combustion furnace, are used for keeping your humidity balanced. They pull all their combustion air from outdoors, but it stays locked in the sealed furnace. As an additional perk, they keep your residence more warm while using less energy. Upgrading to an ENERGY STAR® furnace from an old furnace could save you as much as 40% on heating costs, according to Lennox®.
In addition to combustion, cold air also naturally flows into your residence during cold weather. Lower humidity means the air will rob moisture rapidly from your skin, lips, nose and throat. It also contributes to static electricity.
How to Stabilize Humidity in Your House
Using a humidifier. While a portable humidifier can only make one room pleasant at a time, a whole-house humidifier will spread that comfort throughout your home.
These are just a small number of humidifier benefits you’ll acquire when you put in a whole-home system.
Improved Health During Cold and Flu Season
It’s common that cold weather is the worst time for colds, flu and other sicknesses. That’s since you’re more susceptible to end up sick when your nose and throat are dry. Under specific airflow conditions, air at the correct humidity level might also slow the spread of some viruses. In addition, it can alleviate year-round allergy symptoms.
Eases Dry Skin
If you have chronically dry skin or eczema, you recognize just how uncomfortable those conditions can be during winter. Adding a whole-house humidifier will help your skin retain more moisture.
Better Sleep
Preserving your bedroom at the right temperature and humidity level will keep you comfortable at night. It can also help with loud snoring, since your throat and nose will be better hydrated.
Guards the Wood in Your House
Cabinets, flooring, furniture and basically anything in your house that’s wood doesn’t like it when humidity is too low. This is due to the fact dry air absorbs moisture from the wood and causes it to fracture. Having your residence’s humidity at the right level will keep your house’s furnishings looking their best.
Little Maintenance Needed
Between frequent filter changes and constant refilling, portable humidifiers require a lot of upkeep. A whole-house humidifier only needs maintenance about once a year, which can be done along with your furnace tune-up.
A steam humidifier has the smallest amount of maintenance since it doesn’t use a pad. It retains water in a canister and boils it into steam that gets moved through your ductwork. As it’s independently powered, it can be in use when the furnace is off.
Request Your Free Home Comfort Consultation Now
If your residence’s air feels less than pleasant during colder weather, Peitz Service Experts can help. Call us at 605-223-0307 to schedule a free home comfort consultation. There’s no sales tactics, just free Expert recommendations on how you can keep your residence’s humidity at just the right level. And, like our other services, our work is supported by our well-known 100% Satisfaction Guarantee for one year.*
*Not applicable to the Advantage Program. See your signed Advantage Program Agreement for full details and exclusions. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee is subject to certain restrictions and limitations as set forth in the applicable Terms and Conditions.