It automatically turns ahumidifierordehumidifieron or off based on whether the room is meeting the desired humidity setting.
Read on to learn more about a humidistat and if you need one in your home.
What Is a Humidistat?
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A humidistat is a humidity switch.
It has a sensing element made of alternate metal conductors on a flat plate.
Humidity sensors have an average lifespan of around 10 years.
How Does a Humidistat Work?
Humidistats are commonly installed in stand-alonehumidifiers, dehumidifiers, or air conditioning systems.
Awhole-home humidifieris connected to your HVAC system, evenly distributing moisture throughout your home using the home’s ducting.
A humidistat is like a hygrometer-plus.
It can read or calculate the moisture level in the airandcan work interchangeably with another unit.
Ahumidifieradds moisture to a room.
According to the EPA, 30 to 50% indoorhumidity is ideal.
How to Set Your Humidistat
Each home, region, and family has different needs.
Ultimately, you will need to experiment with different controls that work best for you and in your home.
External temperatures can affect the prefs for your humidistat.
When you leave the house for an extended period, set your home temperature to 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
Leave your humidistat set at 58%.
At that temperature, the levels will remain consistent while away.
Not all homes need a humidistat.
Some homes may havedamp basementsthat require constant monitoring to keep mold and mildew in check.
Your humidistat should be positioned in the space where you need air vapor measured.
A humidistat can only measure humidity in one specific areawhere it is situated.
Ten feet away, the moisture reading might be different than at the unit.
And the humidistat confirms it, turning off when the air around it reaches a specific humidity level.
Unfortunately, the moisture level at the humidistat does not accurately reflect the entire room’s moisture level.
Getting an accurate humidity reading is a helpful feature.
you’re able to reduce the risk of over-humidifying the room.
Set your humidistat between 35 to 55 percent relative humidity.
A setting in this range helps reduce viruses and bacteria.
A humidistat should be mounted on a wall or in the airstream on the return air duct.
Mount where there is high humidity and mount as high as possible, away from the shower.
A humidistat will turn the thermostat on or off depending on the humidity levels.
Why and where mold grows.
United States Environmental Protection Agency.
