Most of us use air conditioners with humidifiers in our homes to get a more comfortable home environment and to eliminate exceedingly dry air.
Many homeowners have both these devices installed in the whole house permanently, and they keep them running together all day and night.
Where an air-conditioner will work to remove the heating factor from the air in dry summers, the humidifier will simultaneously add moisture to the air.
While there is no harm in running both the units together at the same time, you should know in detail whether you should run them or not.
To resolve any confusion you may have, here we’ll look into this and some other aspects connected to keeping a humidifier and an AC together indoors. So, follow suit!
Difference Between Humidifier And AC
The names of the two are self-explanatory. And to many people, they complement each other.
Yet, while both of them aim at making the indoor atmosphere cozier and more comfortable, they have their differences. These aren’t excessively big but are important nonetheless.
Therefore, to be able to identify them and overcome specific issues caused by these differences, you should get to know what the humidifier and AC do and how they do it.
Here are some details about this…
Humidifier:
It’s absolutely true that if the air is too dry, it may cause severe issues for the people breathing it.
Starting from bleeding of the nose, chapped lips, and dry and cracked skin to respiratory troubles, there are lot of them. Not to mention that the furniture and wall paint may suffer, too.
To prevent this from happening, homeowners tend to purchase humidifiers. Moreover, the basic task of this device is to increase the humidity and add moisture to the air.
It has a reservoir that’s filled with water, which is later made into mist and released into the air. This way, the humidifier keeps your wanted level of humidity.
The model and type of humidifier you choose to get for your home or office largely depends on your preferences and budget.
Some of the most popular ones on the market are evaporators, central, ultrasonic, and impeller humidifiers, as well as steam vaporizers.
Air Conditioner:
On the other hand, the air conditioner’s primary task is to extract the hot air from the room and replace it with a fresh and cool one.
It does this using a substance to transform the liquid inside the AC into gas.
Moreover, from the moment the substance comes to the cycle’s cold part, it cools down the coils through which the fan forces the room’s air.
That way, the fresh air is being produced and released while the coils absorb more of the hot air to do the cycle again.
And this goes on and on all the time. Not to mention that this dehumidifies the air, as well.
How Does Air Conditioning Dry Air in Home?
As much as the AC dehumidifies the air, it can’t really succeed in doing this for the whole house.
After all, this isn’t its primary purpose, so it’s somehow understandable why this happens.
In the process of cooling down the air, air conditioners tend to create dryness along the way.
This is totally true and happens especially during the summer period when the AC is fully operating throughout the day.
A condensate pan for draining and a line are responsible for making the moisture go away from your rooms.
Moreover, the system for cooling situated inside the air conditioner takes a significant portion of the moisture during its operations, thus sacrificing the quality of air for freshness and coldness.
Problem With Running Humidifier and Ac Together
Can I use a humidifier with an air conditioner?
This is a common question that has been on most people’s minds because these two home appliances are trendy, and almost every home has one.
So, if you turn on both the humidifier as well as the split AC at the same, you may face this problem.
In fact, the core of the issue is that the humidifier and the air conditioner are fighting each other to dominate.
It’s common knowledge that the air is cooled somewhat by extracting humidity from it. That’s the job of the AC.
So, if you run the humidifier together with it, you’re basically putting out more humidity, and that is overwhelming the AC and makes it work harder.
On the other hand, the air conditioner may cause the air to become very, very dry.
In that situation, you may not have many available alternatives. So, let’s take a look at the best solution.
Air Conditioner with Humidifier: Does It Prove Helpful?
Window and split air conditioners aren’t as they used to be!
Once, their only function was to cool the air. Nowadays, with the rapid development of technology, the AC evolved and encompassed a variety of functions.
Some of those in-built characteristics include humidifying and dehumidifying, plus the ability to chill the air.
If you face the problem of not being able to run both the AC and the humidifier simultaneously, then you may strongly consider this type of advanced air conditioner.
A significant advantage of getting a portable air conditioner with a humidifier unit is that you won’t have too many appliances in your home.
The AC with humidifier can do the job of chilling the air and bringing humidity to the level that you desire.
With a single device like this, you can humidify a room with air conditioning without any worries.
Additional Tips to Humidify a Room with Air Conditioning?
As your aircon can make the air in your room dry, you can consider trying various other methods to humidify your room naturally (without using a humidifier).
Trying the below-mentioned methods will certainly help you in reducing the aircon dryness.
- Add indoor plants
- Hang wet clothes in your room
- Install a water fountain or fish tank
- Keep the water in your room in an open container
Final Words
Many people have these two appliances in their homes.
And often, they turn on both the humidifier and window air conditioner at the same time in an attempt to have cool air while increasing the purified moisture.
However, as we mentioned earlier, this isn’t the best thing to do as it creates certain issues.
Instead, modern time offers you an innovative solution (in the form of an air conditioner with a built-in humidifier) which you should consider for sure.
A window air conditioner with a dehumidifier is also available for places with high humidity felt.
Using these types of combo units, you can adjust your air conditioner in dehumidifier mode to extract all the unwanted humidity off the room, making your room more comfortable.
Meen Smith is a nurse by profession who loves writing online, spending time with her family and caring for the elderly. She has already worked as an associate editor on various moms, babies, home appliances, kitchen, and healthy living blogs. In her spare time, she also enjoys drawing, reading/writing kindle eBooks and improving her skills a bit.