Why not use an Air Conditioner to Dehumidify?

Summer is here and it looks like use of dehumidifier might be in the forecast!

With hot and humid weather ahead, you may not be able to beat the heat with your air conditioner alone. And while wall-unit ACs can remove humidity, science works against them.

In order to draw water out of the air, you must reduce it to the dew point, the temperature at which water transitions from gas to liquid. The condensers on the back of your air conditioner can indeed go below the dew point, which is evident when you see water dripping out of an air conditioner, however, the problem is that the dew point is not a fixed number.

Note that the higher the humidity, the closer the dew point is to the outdoor temperature. At 80°F (26.7°C) and 75 percent humidity, for example, the dew point is 71°F (21.7°C). But at 52 percent humidity, it’s 59°F (15°C).

Even if your window unit could reach the dew point, you’d be cold and uncomfortable. Also, high humidity is not exclusive to hot weather and you probably wouldn’t like to crank your AC when it is stormy outside!

Learn more about the benefits a dehumidifier offers to you and your home here.

Blog content inspired by Popular Science.

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