If you’re looking for ways to improve your home’s indoor air quality, Aspen Aire Heating & Cooling can provide solutions to improve your comfort by maintaining the right humidity level in your home. A whole-house humidifier, or central humidifier, can help reduce allergy symptoms, prevent static electricity and even lower your energy bills. If you own a home in the Ankeny or Des Moines area, contact us today for a free quote for whole-house humidifier installation.
Benefits of a Whole House Humidifier
Dry air causes dry skin, irritated nasal passages and static electricity, among other issues. Even your home’s furnishings can be affected, such as wood furniture or hardwood floors that can dry up and separate at the seams.
A whole house humidifier can alleviate these discomforts and more. Air with more humidity feels warmer, so you’ll feel more comfortable at a lower temperature. This will allow your furnace to run less so your heating system uses less energy. Other benefits include:
- Feel comfortable at a lower temperature
- Relieve dry nasal passages and dry, itchy skin
- Reduce static electricity and shocks
- Alleviate allergy symptoms
- Minimize bacteria, viruses, mold and dust mites in your home
- Preserve wood floors and wood furnishings
- Protect electronics and musical instruments
Expert Whole-House Humidifier Installation in Des Moines
Aspen Aire Heating & Cooling installs whole-house humidifiers for customers throughout central Iowa. We’re a Rheem Pro Partner and a trusted HVAC company since 2006.
We’ll evaluate your home’s HVAC system and recommend the best whole-house humidifier for your budget and the configuration of your heating and cooling equipment. Then, when we install your new central humidifier, we’ll program the settings and show you how to make adjustments if needed.
We Recommend Aprilaire Humidifiers
Aspen Aire recommends and installs Aprilaire humidifiers because they’re reliable, quiet and easy to maintain. Backed by a 5-year limited warranty, these whole house humidifiers are made to last with corrosion- and UV-resistant plastic covers. Fan-powered, bypass and steam models are available, all with precision controls to deliver the optimal moisture content for your home’s air.
What Is A Whole House Humidifier?
A whole house humidifier is a device that connects directly to your home’s central heating and air conditioning system and adds moisture to the air as it passes through the ducts.
In some systems, the thermostat monitors both the temperature and humidity inside the house and automatically adjusts the humidifier as needed.
How Does A Whole-House Humidifier Work?
Whole-home humidifiers use a humidistat to monitor and control the relative humidity level in your home.
People feel most comfortable when the indoor humidity level is between 30% and 50%, and properly humidified indoor air has a humidity level of about 35-55%.
However, using the furnace during the frigid Iowa winters can lower the relative humidity of the air in your home to 15% or less. That’s even drier than the Sahara Desert, which has an average relative humidity of about 25%.
To counteract dry indoor air, humidifiers add water to the warm air as it moves through your heating system. As the air circulates, it increases the level of humidity throughout your entire home.
Unlike portable humidifiers that only add water vapor to one small living space, whole home humidifiers automatically distribute moisture throughout the entire house. The way humidity is added to the air depends on the type of humidifier installed.
Types of Whole House Humidifiers
Steam Humidifier
As the name implies, steam humidifiers use electricity to boil water and create steam, which is then pushed through the ductwork. Steam humidifiers are the fastest and most efficient type of whole-house humidifiers in terms of water use and they produce the purest humidity. However, they cost much more to operate because of the power needed to boil water into steam.
Evaporative Humidifier
Evaporative humidifiers add moisture to the air as it comes out of the furnace. They have a water line that supplies water to a humidifier pad. Warm air from the furnace blows over the pad, evaporating the water and picking up the moisture it releases.
Bypass Humidifier
A bypass humidifier is a type of evaporative humidifier. Bypass humidifiers move the warm air from the furnace through a bypass duct to collect moisture. They can be installed on either the return or the supply duct. You’ll need to either have a floor drain to collect the water drained from the supply or you can install a humidifier that reuses its water supply, called a drainless bypass humidifier.
Flow-Through Humidifier
Also called a fan-powered humidifier, these models work the same way as a bypass humidifier except a fan pushes the air. This allows these energy-efficient humidifiers to produce more humidity for about the cost of running a 25-watt light bulb. They connect to the supply side ductwork without a bypass duct so they’re a good solution for tight spaces, such as homes with the HVAC system in a closet or those built on a slab foundation.
Request a Quote
Contact Aspen Aire Heating & Cooling today for a free quote on an Aprilaire whole house humidifier in Des Moines or Ankeny, Iowa.
FAQs
Do I really need a whole-home humidifier?
Whether a whole-house humidifier is worth it really depends on your goals. Here in Iowa where we typically have a long heating season, whole-house humidifiers can help you feel more comfortable while also helping to relieve allergy and asthma symptoms. Additionally, whole-home humidifiers are considered an upgrade, which may be appealing to buyers if you decide to sell your home.
Do whole-house humidifiers cause mold growth?
A whole-house humidifier could cause mold in the ductwork if the humidity level gets too high and moisture collects in the ducts. To avoid this, we recommend choosing a whole-home humidifier that’s automatically controlled instead of one that has to be manually switched on and off.
How much does a whole-home humidifier cost?
The cost to install a whole-house humidifier generally ranges anywhere from $300-$1,000. Of course, the price will depend on the square footage of your home and the type of humidifier you choose. As stated above, steam humidifiers cost more to operate than evaporative humidifiers.
