Did you know a humidifier can actually make your home’s air feel warmer during the winter, letting you turn down your thermostat? But what type of humidifier is best for your home, and what’s the difference between cool and warm humidifiers?
First, Whole-Home or Portable?
The ideal humidity level in a home is between 30 and 55 percent. A whole-house humidifier, which is plumbed into your HVAC system, achieves this range consistently. These cost more, but need less maintenance than portables. They come in three basic types — drum, flow-through and mist/steam.
Portable humidifiers can be effective if you move them from room to room as needed, but you’ll have to keep refilling them with water.
Different Types of Whole-Home Humidifiers
- Drum: These humidifiers deliver high moisture output and are very efficient at transforming all water supplied to it into humidity.
- Flow-Through: This type of humidifier tends to produce less moisture than drum-style models, but requires less maintenance checks.
- Mist/Steam: Mist humidifiers can produce both cool and warm mist to rehydrate surroundings, while reducing dust and other allergens.
Warm or Cool?
If you opt for a portable humidifier, here’s a brief comparison of warm and cool types:
- Warm mist humidifiers use more electricity than cool ones, but they can kill the fungi and bacteria in the steam they produce. They’re also usually quieter with a pad that can absorb minerals left by the water.
- Cool mist evaporative-type humidifiers blow air through cool water in a paper wick, which must be replaced frequently to prevent mold. Other types include impeller and ultrasonic. The latter model is very quiet. However, cool mist humidifiers can make occupants feel too cold during the winter.
Whole-house mist/steam humidifiers are an investment, but they can humidify the home better than others. Hot or cold mist/steam types are available, and the risk of mold is low for both.
For more information on cold and warm humidifiers, contact Arpi’s Industries, Ltd. in Calgary. We’ve been providing our clients with high quality comfort solutions for more than 50 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Calgary, Alberta about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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