What Is the “Feels Like” Temperature in Your Home?

Here in Cleveland, there can be a big difference between what the thermometer says and what the temperature actually feels like. Humid summer days are a prime example.

Take a perfectly nice, sunny 82° F day, add a relative humidity of 90%,  and all of a sudden the feels like temperature is elevated by 10 degrees.

The feels like temperature in your home is not all that different.

Interior Feels Like Temperatures are Affected by Humidity Too

The relationship between temperature and relative humidity is an important one to understand. Homeowners unknowingly waste hundreds or even thousands of dollars on heating and cooling costs over the years because humidity is out of whack.

During the warmer months, paying attention to whole-house humidity is important for multiple reasons. Not only does the temperature of your home feel warmer as humidity rises, your home also becomes more susceptible to other potential problems, including:

• Mold/mildew growth
• More frequent maintenance
• Compromised indoor air quality

We recommend keeping an eye on indoor humidity levels and making adjustments accordingly.

• Check humidity levels. Ideally, interior residential humidity levels should be between 40% and 50%. During the winter months, you may need to dip a little below 40% to prevent condensation issues from cropping up. You can make this process automatic by installing a humidity control that is linked to the outdoor temperature.  In this way the adjustment to control the humidity setpoint is made automatically as the out door temperature changes.
• Check indoor humidity levels using a hygrometer, available at a local drugstore or hardware store. Otherwise, if it’s time for a regular HVAC maintenance check, ask the technician to check humidity levels for you.
• Verify your home is adequately ventilated. When was your home built? If it’s 15 years old or more, there’s a good chance the ventilation system isn’t up to snuff. Have an HVAC technician check your home’s ventilation system(s) to ensure moisture is being sufficiently carried outside, and that your fresh air source is adequate.
• Consider a whole-house humidifier. If you’re replacing your HVAC system or having repair/replacement work done in the near future, consider adding a whole-house humidifier to the HVAC system. This one affordable add on maintains year-round humidity control and lowers energy savings too.

Interested in improving the feels like temperature in your Cleveland home? Contact P.K. Wadsworth to learn more.