Why Your Air Conditioner is Useless (and How to Fix It)

You know how some days it just feels so hot outside, but the temperature actually isn’t that high? That’s because of humidity, which increases perceived heat.

If you find your home feeling extra hot and sticky, regardless of what the thermostat says, you might be due for an air duct cleaning.

Air ducts are vital to keeping the air moving and taking excess moisture out of the air. Without clear air ducts, it doesn’t matter how incredible your HVAC system may be.

Let’s go over some problems as to why you may have trouble with humidity control, as well as potential solutions!

Problems

Blocked air ducts

When your air ducts are blocked, the air can’t move freely throughout your house to suck up and clear out excess humidity.

Air ducts get blocked over time by all the things that pass through them. Buildups of dust, dirt, and grease are all common, among others.

Too large of a unit

When talking about AC size, we’re referencing cooling capacity, not the literal size of your AC unit. But that’s not the only misunderstanding around AC size.

If you aren’t trained in HVAC systems, you might be confused as to how something could be too big to get the job done. It makes sense that a larger cooling capacity would have better humidity control.

But if your unit is oversized, its powerful compressor will frequently turn on and off, never running long enough to actually remove humidity.

Limited to a single speed

Air conditioners that only have two settings- on and off- run into the same problems as units that are too large.

When a unit only has one speed to rely on, it turns on and runs at full capacity until the desired temperature is met. Then it turns off until the thermostat signals for it to turn back on. This lack of consistency doesn’t allow for proper humidity control.

Negative air pressure

Negative air pressure happens when your ventilation system is poorly designed. Essentially, you are venting too much air from your rooms.

When there is negative air pressure, the air will try to balance itself out by drawing in air from the outside any and every way possible. This can be noticed as a gust of wind through an open door or air seeping through windows and other cracks in the building.

So when it’s humid outside, all of that humidity will be drawn into your home. If your AC can’t keep up, your humidity control won’t be up to par.

Getting a thorough air vent cleaning can help offset negative air pressure.

Wrong thermostat setting

You might leap at the opportunity to use your FAN ON setting. This makes your fan run continuously whether your AC is running or not.

The fan will move the air around, so you might think you’re getting a benefit. However, you’re creating a breeding ground for excess humidity.

Leaving the fan on can accidentally blow the moisture that your AC worked hard to remove, back into your living space before your AC had the chance to drain it.

Unit too old

When your air conditioner ages, the parts wear down and it slowly runs less and less efficiently. This is especially true if the system hasn’t been maintained properly or regularly.

While you’ll probably start to notice hot temperatures as a sign that your unit is starting to fail, the next thing you’re bound to notice are your humidity levels.

Now you’re at a crossroads and need to decide if you need to repair or replace your system. Sometimes fixing one or two parts will extend the life of your AC, and other times you need to fully replace it. Our team of experts can help you make the call.

Solutions

Air duct cleaning

Your air ducts are the lifeline of your HVAC system.

An air duct cleaning can instantly fix your humidity. With air ducts that work, your system can do its job and drain the humidity from the air in your home.

Cleaning out your air ducts is a simple fix, and blocked air ducts are one of the main causes of uncontrolled humidity in homes.

Clean the coils

Humid outdoor air takes a toll on your AC’s condenser coils, and they can get grimy quickly. That grimy layer makes it hard for the unit to release heat.

Without the ability to release heat, the humidity will be trapped in the air inside.

If your air ducts aren't to blame, your coils might be. A good HVAC cleaning should do the trick.

Add a dehumidifier

If it’s time to replace your entire system but you don’t quite have the cash, a dehumidifier can help decrease the humidity in the air in the meantime.

Dehumidifiers are good additions to air conditioning systems to aid in managing humidity so that the system doesn’t have to work so hard on that front.

Call Steve’s Air Duct Cleaning

You want your air duct cleaning to be done right. Steve’s is comprised of a team of specialists and we will put you in good hands.

Being the go-to air duct cleaners for the greater Denver metro area for the past 44 years, we know what we’re doing. We even have a patented ram air system capable of doing things that conventional cleaning could never dream of.

So call the experts and take control of your home again. Steve’s Air Duct Cleaning in Arvada will do the job right!