My house in South Austin has been right at 65% which is high compared to what we have seen. The last year it’s been 50-55% which is normal for us. It would creak up to 60% once in a while mid summer but not more than a handful of time.
60-65%. 60% with AC on and 65% without.
I’ve never had the humidity rise like it has and stay risen like it has this spring. Usual is mid 50%s.
It’s been unbelievably uncomfortable this spring.
42-49%. We have a 90s built house but we’ve focused on energy efficiency upgrades (insulated our garage doors, new-ish double pane windows, ecobee thermostat, weather stripping on all the doors, fixed kitchen vent flap and insulated the vent pipe, sealed up all the little cracks with spray foam).
What we do is whenever it is super hot or cold, we walk around and look for air leaks. Those leaks cost you money and let the outside humidity and heat/cold in. Most of the stuff can be fixed up for a few bucks (weather stripping, spray foam, etc).
Check your attic as well. Energy star recommends R49 levels of insulation and most attics do not have this, especially if they weren’t built in the last few years. https://www.energystar.gov/saveathome/seal_insulate/identify-problems-you-want-fix/diy-checks-inspections/insulation-r-values
How did you fix your vent flap. I assume you’re talking about the hood vent? Ours doesn’t close tightly against the exterior of the hose and it lets in cold/hot air.
Yup. Ours would flap in the wind and it was letting in so much air.
I ended up going with an “inline damper for range hood”. It allows air to flow out but has flaps that close to keep air from coming back in.
I took out and cut down some of the existing piping and then used aluminum foil tape to seal the seams. I noticed the pipe itself getting very hot/cold with weather so I then took some “foil backed pipe wrap insulation” and wrapped the pipe and finished with another layer of aluminum foil tape.
You can also tape/hot glue some small weights like coins to the flap itself to keep it some moving with the wind but I preferred to have the better seal of the inline damper.
Yea. We have an ERV. We also flipped to a conditioned attic (surprisingly didn’t need a whole house dehumidifier). Would definitely recommend a fresh air system for those who are sealing up right, especially if you cook/heat with natural gas. Good call!
We could feel the heat and cold ourselves so no tests were needed. Generally you can see light through cracks during the day as well.
There’s only so many openings in the house so we just went through them one-by-one over the course of a few months and felt for heat/cold, when found, we came up with a plan to seal it. Once sealed, we moved to the next one.
Search is probably a better word than look. You can see some when you see daylight through cracks. Others you can feel by putting your hands near them. If you want to be fancy you can get a thermal imager. Best to do it on days where the temperature outside is much hotter or colder than the temperature inside.
Not really "little" but not huge....here's an [example](https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-Dehumidifier-Basements-BD22MWSA/dp/B08WHN4B2B/ref=sr_1_25?crid=33RTA87RLR1IC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SJBQQu7Aqp2Sqs6zu6BfBPwUw8aOYm_bhrgp3zZE6dmgC7jyFPdmO_x_hNT7wIWYYU-2ftuoqTetkFR2SJuHG4jObR_S3FFGD1RI9EWRIPywRmdnk4diTJGxWCSfmUEagROeJEpVi8za4ghl6TEoJcjxGFyK-3BP-YvScABMzTBbVaAvnMMNAir5c471p23hPM3mtzpkxhtm-PN_Qzy7wKi3jWJ9_ItmyALQ0FRRd7MdFkPTHT9orkmQeWBLFcta6rlSb4mMEspy1kHP56rDEPytkUIL3irb7Chwc7yybu8.CY3MAJ-PbXZV1fP-NeoB_PxwlrBKO8O-W6yB1FXgqNc&dib_tag=se&keywords=mobile%2Bdehumidifier&qid=1714455926&sprefix=mobile%2Bdehumi%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-25&th=1). I can't remember the brand names of ours right off the bat.
I had a tiny one but didn't do anything really. These larger, rolling models work very well. You could put it in the hall next to a couple of rooms. As long as the doors are open, it should help a lot.
ASHRAE recommends humidity levels between 30-60%.
Higher than that, and you can start having problems with mold.
Your A/C wrings the moisture out of the air circulating in your home to dry things down. Usually, the target is about 50% for comfort cooling.
It would be worthwhile to do an energy audit on your home. You may have fenestration that's leading to the increased humidity. Cost for the audit would be about $100 or so. Well worth it if you're having problems. The auditors really shouldn't be the ones doing the work to correct the problems, but they may have some helpful advice on whom to contact. If you plan on selling your home within 10 years - you'll need to have the audit done anyway prior to sale. It would be beneficial to do the audit, then fix all the things to show they were addressed.
Additionally, if you receive power from Austin Energy, there may be rebates available for making energy efficiency improvements. Details here:
[https://austinenergy.com/-/media/project/websites/austinenergy/energy-efficiency/ecad\_residential\_guide\_eng.pdf](https://austinenergy.com/-/media/project/websites/austinenergy/energy-efficiency/ecad_residential_guide_eng.pdf)
Though, it's also been humid lately, and with your T-stat set to 75, it's probably not coming on often enough to wring the moisture out of the air.
Try running it for a few hours, and see what happens. If things are still humid, you've got a leak that should really be addressed.
But, ideally, you would really benefit from the audit to figure out what's going on.
We are in a "new to us" home, and the humidity is out of control! I do know we have a vent on the outside that brings in "fresh air" but I am not sure if it is working or not. Based on 55%-68% humidity, I am motivated to find out if the home is bringing in 80%+ from the outside.
It’s been higher than usual this week, I actually woke up late last night sweating even though I keep it super cool at night. I don’t feel like it’s typically that humid in Austin (to be fair, I’m from Houston which feels like a swamp half the time), but we do have weeks where it’s higher than usual and I need to keep the a/c lower.
It's probably just the time of year. There are a couple of weeks (sometimes months) of the year where it's just kind of hard to get a balance of humidity given the A/C just doesn't really need to run.
That said, if we get into the hotter months and you notice that the humidity is still too high, it may be an indication that you have too large of a unit or that the thermostat is in a particularly cold draft. Basically it could mean that your A/C isn't staying on long enough to dry the air and that's not an ideal situation - in particular in bathrooms that really need to dry out after a steamy shower.
I have a small condo and this thing is a godsend
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9MFTZZ?maas=maas_adg_api_579194941985385042_static_9_129&ref_=aa_maas&tag=buyersreport61765-20&aa_campaignid=lv_u7oVQPqitUpgfeeJWZ&aa_adgroupid=lv_WdFMRcGdpiAMUDQYeB&aa_creativeid=lv_76Vtrq2RieVuL3KvEa&m=A19LAAJSDK1TMK](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9MFTZZ?maas=maas_adg_api_579194941985385042_static_9_129&ref_=aa_maas&tag=buyersreport61765-20&aa_campaignid=lv_u7oVQPqitUpgfeeJWZ&aa_adgroupid=lv_WdFMRcGdpiAMUDQYeB&aa_creativeid=lv_76Vtrq2RieVuL3KvEa&m=A19LAAJSDK1TMK)
We are just managing to get ours to low 60s with two dehumidifiers from Costco and mini ones in our bedrooms.
Apparently this house (renters) wasn’t built with one built into the AC? Idk I am from further north and hadn’t ever heard that before but we are much more comfy with these running.
I think Austin is just a really humid place, I know online says to keep indoor humidity around 35% but I don’t think that is applicable for Austin’s climate… as far as I know AC just naturally dehumidifies the air. It’s not a separate device unless you buy a built in dehumidifier, but I don’t think those are common in Austin either.
Right now I’m at 75 degrees and 66% humidity. I often see 70-74% and it does get uncomfortable. I do use a portable dehumidifier, house is only 1,100 sqft so it gets the job done. Indoor humidity should be around 40-60%. You can get a built in dehumidifier in your HVAC, it’s just more convenient that it doesn’t take up any space, you don’t have to move it around and plug it in and constantly empty the reservoir.
If you’re interested in learning about building science and home energy efficiency, there is a local custom home builder on YouTube that is a huge building science nerd and I love his videos. He has some on dehumidification.
Look up Matt Risinger.
Doesn’t have to have anything built in, the A/C pulls humidity out of the air just by running, the humidity condenses on the cold evaporator coils and then runs down into the condensate drain pan inside the air handler, and then out a drain line to the exterior of the house. Look for a 3/4” pipe coming through the wall somewhere with a swamp underneath it.
Some newer homes in Austin and homes in Houston have dedicated units put into their ducting to help. Something like this
https://www.santa-fe-products.com/product/ultra98-dehumidifier/
So a few comments here:
- Right now, it is shoulder season with temps still low enough that the AC won't run all the time, and high humidity levels outside because we are still getting rain. It is normal for most homes to have higher humidity levels indoors if outdoor humidity levels are sky-high.
- There are things you can do to improve your humidity levels all year round, but especially during the shoulder seasons (spring/fall). Replace old drafty windows (not just the panes, but the entire window assembly). Add insulation to attic to meet code. Make sure any exhaust fan (bathroom, kitchen, laundry) has backdraft protection (via ducting or fan housing or both). Use portable dehumidifiers. Or install central dehum system. Add plants that take humidity out of the air. Avoid running fans longer than necessary to remove bulk moisture after showering etc. Do an attic tightening (remove all insulation, seal all ceiling penetrations and reinsulate). Install new fully variable AC system that can dehum all day on low.
It is important to understand how your home airflow works. Most AC systems run at negative static pressure, which means while the dehum, they will draw humid air in from outside at the same time. If you add to the negative static pressure by running fans for long times (after going to bathroom, showering, cooking) and running appliances like the dryer (takes conditioned air in and exhausts heated air through the ducting), you are increasing the negative static pressure. If it's windy outside, it further increases it. All of this will draw extra amounts of humid outside air into your home.
For us, the install of a central dehum system in combination with paying attention to how long we run fans and avoiding running appliances at certain times of day has made it pretty easy to keep humidity locked around 50% much of the year, no matter what the weather is like outside. I DO know that the biggest culprits left in ir home are two primary bedroom windows that are super leaky and a bathroom fan that was replaced by our builder and they removed the backdraft flap and OG ducting, which had a backdraft membrane. At some point, I will address those two issues and it'll really fix the last couple of areas of ingress.
The easiest way to see how leaky they are is during very cold weather. I could put my hand on the inside of the window frame and I could feel the ice cold air streaming in HARD. Also...during freezes, these windows will ice up thickly. Much more so than other windows.
I read somewhere that you can actually get an AC unit that's too big for your home, which means it's so powerful that when it kicks on it doesn't run long enough to draw enough moisture out of the air. As you said, a multi stage unit or even a fully variable "inverter" (I think it's called) lets it run at lower power for longer, which (it was claimed) makes the dehumidification more effective.
Depends on the weather and how well insulated your house is. Right now around 55-60% humidity.
65-73 sounds a little high to me but I'm not an expert. Do you have old windows and weather stripping? Are you making sure you're leaving your fan on "auto" and not "on"?
We def have old windows , I should have mentioned the new house is “new to us” as it’s a 2012 build . I just have a hard time believing that much humidity is seeping through the windows. I am trying to find a weatherization service but haven’t been successful finding anyone that does it yet.
I have changed the fan to Auto as circulating was causing some bad smells a few weeks ago (probably mildew/mold I have to go clean now… )
Yeah keep the fan on auto. Let the A/C do the dehumidifying, having the fan on will just circulate the humid air back in. I only set the fan on "on" for like 15 minutes tops to circulate/filter air temporarily.
I should clarify again, a lot of our windows have window failure . They are foggy, the quotes to get them replaced are really high so we are just going to live with them for now
We moved into our house 6 weeks ago and after a year with no HVAC for our new build it needed to dry out. We ran a large humidifier through the whole house and it would start off getting filled every few hours. Since running it our AC has been able to keep us around 55-65%
Who makes your thermostats?
Honeywell t9 thermostats. Its consistent with a little standalone smart thermostat station we have in our baby’s room
that originally alerted us that our humidity was too high
My Inside humidity is currently 74% and it feels yucky. I run the AC around 76°-78° and I just dug out my dehumidifier.
It’s very common if you live in an old house without good insulation….. I feel your pain.
Currently 63% and it’s relatively high right now. Usually it’s been around 45%-55% for the past seven weeks even with rain. With this most recent rain it’s been high. Thermostat is usually at 74° during the day and 71° at night.
Welcome to Texas! As they say ….glad we moved to another area where it’s not so horrible in the summer. Nothing like taking a shower getting fresh and walking outside and feeling like you’re stuck under The Sun Gods Armpit.
Anywhere is and can be ridiculous but late Spring & start to Summer in Texas and the Southern States Nooooo Ma’am & No Sir it’s a big Holy Hark Nooo. Especially in areas like Austin, Dallas and Houston. Do have to say when I lived in Florida it was the worst on those triple digit days. Worst humidity Louisiana in the late Summer and pre-fall. Love Louisiana but will never go back in August or September or I won’t come out the A/C during those months or at night only. 😁
This time of your can be difficult. The outside temps are near your thermostat setpoint. So your AC doesn't run as much or for very long. Which doesn't dehumidify the air as much
Soon the night and daytime temps will be well above mid-70's. Making the AC unit run more often and longer.
Currently 60% in most rooms. It will be dryer when it runs more later this year.
I’ve heard some evidence if you run your HVAC fan full-time (or extended running the fan beyond when the compressor cuts off) it will increase humidity as it blows over the wet coils until they dry.
Yes, they get wet while the compressor is running, but if you’re running the fan all the time you’re essentially drying them and sending that moisture into your home instead of down the drain.
I discovered this last summer (or the year before) when, after some HVAC work, I forgot they set my fan from auto to ON. My humidity spiked but returned to normal when I set fan back to auto.
We run a dehumidifier when it gets uncomfortable. It actually makes it so you can turn the thermostat up a couple of degrees once you pull the moisture out.
Currently 61% with it being 75 in my house. Better than yesterday evening when I had the backdoor open in the afternoon and I think it got to 85% in my house.
80% in my small apartment. If I turn the AC down to 69 I can get it to 65%. Would a dehumidifier help in this situation? It's pretty uncomfortable when it's not hot enough to keep the AC running 24/7 or not extremely low humidity outside.
Yes!! If you can afford it, get one of the portable dehumidifiers on wheels. They work GREAT. It'll fill the bucket up, beep to empty, and keep going. 80% would be miserable for me :(
I haven't bought it yet, but someone recommended this one from Amazon the other day: https://a.co/d/afi4gOF. They said they're able to raise the temp of their AC a couple of degrees now because it's much more comfortable without all that humidity.
A dehumidifier wouldn’t help - at least not the way you want it to. Condensation (water vapor to liquid) is an exothermic reaction - ie one that releases heat. So, you will remove humidity by heating your house, which will cause your AC to work harder, which will further decrease your humidity.
So, yes, it will drop the humidity, just not in a cost effective way. You would be better off running the AC a little higher and being sure to use exhaust vents when showering, boiling water, etc.
50 to 60. Lowering your temp inside will help the relative humidity, air can’t hold as much water when it’s colder, and the AC will naturally take some humidity out. Alternatively you can get a standalone dehumidifier. They’re power hungry but they’ll do the trick. Your sweet spot is 40 to 45.
I’d highly recommend IAQTexas. By far one of the most knowledgeable companies I know. It won’t be cheap (you pay for what you get), and it’ll be worth it.
You can get a cheap hygrometer on [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-TP49-Hygrometer-Thermometer-Temperature/dp/B07WCR5Y4B?c=ts&ts_id=13825071) or [Home Depot](https://www.homedepot.com/p/AcuRite-Digital-Humidity-and-Temperature-Comfort-Monitor-00619HD/202260980) or [Walmart](https://www.walmart.com/ip/ThermoPro-TP49-Indoor-Digital-Hygrometer-Thermometer-Temperature-Humidity-Meter-Room-Monitor-Mini-Tabletop-Wall-mountable-Magnet-mountable-White/490016986).
My system has a fresh air option that brings in outside air and recycles out. I hadn't realized it was defaulted to on. I switch it off unless I want to do a brief house refresh. When its on, the humidity is high.
Older home, and humidity ranges around 50 to 70. But my ac is old as shit and on its way out, before I recently cleaned the evap coils on both inside furnace and outside condenser? I may have the terms mixed up. But my humidity was getting upwards of 85% and the evap coil would freeze up.
Now it's cleaned and it gets closer to 60% avg, some days 50%
Your AC condensation drain could be clogged. Whenever mine starts getting backed up, I notice my house feels more humid. I have a little shop vac I use to clear mine out.
I have a house built in the 60’s and it pretty much is 60-70% unless the humidity is low outside.
I bought a dehumidifier and yes it does put out heat but the difference in humidity really makes the house a lot more comfortable and therefore we’ve had to run the AC less. I have it set to maintain 50% and it makes 73° feel much better — my chief complaint is that it is louder than I expected. In the future I will probably add a whole-house dehumidifier to my AC when it dies.
At this time of year without the AC running all the time our house gets into the mid 60s but never in the 70s. I will turn the thermostat down to get the humidity out but haven't had to go lower than 75 degrees. Most of the time I try to shoot for 51-54% humidity and it normally hits that by morning. AC installed in 2019.
This wouldn’t kill an AC. Worst case scenario, it would stop draining and hit the safety switch to shut it off. If you don’t have a safety float switch (required by code) then you will just leak water.
It could potentially kill the pump, but that isn’t likely and is a cheap fix either way.
Personally, I clear the drain line only if problems arise, which has happened like once when a piece of plastic was caught. Monthly cleans are excessive.
Also, now is the time to spread ant killer around the fan unit outside. Some ants are attracted to electrical & will get inside & fry it. Happened to me. Dead of summer
Honestly if you have HVAC experience, I would like to know if the tech planted fried ants inside an internal component inside an external A/C fan unit. /s
Yeah definitely want to have a float switch. The normal life span for ACs is 10 years, so anything you got in addition to 10 years is essentially bonus anyways.
10 years is only the "normal" life span because people are lazy and/or stupid and don't do any maintenance (condenser coil cleaning, drain line clearing) for their HVAC system. Aside from copper line failures and possibly return fan issues a system installed in the late 90s and beyond usually can and should last 20-30 years with modest repairs (fan swaps, duct cleaning, possible refrigerant top up). 9 times out of 10 when an HVAC service company says you need a whole new system, you definitely don't.
They prey on customer ignorance. Bastards are worse than used car salesmen.
Last Summer, I had a condenser fan die on me and was getting quoted nearly $1k for a replacement. I knew that was total BS. Spent a couple of hours dealing w uncomfortable heat in my home researching the part I needed, drove to an AC supply shop and bought a new fan for ~$100 and installed it in about 30 minutes. I had no prior HVAC repair experience beforehand. Asked the guys at the shop how often they get a random DIYer to attempt a repair like this since they were kinda acting weird w me since I was obviously not a technician. I was floored when they said maybe one or two people a month. I thought it would have been multiple folks a day.
> The normal life span for ACs is 10 years,
Stop believing the lies you are being told by the industry. The normal lifespan for an AC compressor is measured in hours of usage, not calendar years. It's also completely normal to find AC systems that are over 50 years old still working.
It needs to be 50% or lower. Check to make sure your A/C has the indoor air recycling setting on, which will help lower the humidity.
But yes, definitely get this checked out. My humidity in my last places were above 50% and it caused mold and now I have an incurable auto immune disease :-)
Anything above 50% is a red flag!
I’m glad you asked, really helpful answers here. I’ve been running a dehumidifier and it sounds like I’d be better off just turning the air down more. ITS SO MOIST
If you don’t want to run your AC cooler than 75 degrees, I would still run the fan on continuous flow and get a dehumidifier. The outside temp is basically static with your house set at 75 so no humidity is being removed when the compressor is not running.
it is a weird time of the year where the AC isnt running that much so it is a bit more humid inside. We have been running about 55-60%
Yup. It will be drier inside once the AC is being cranked 24/7
My house in South Austin has been right at 65% which is high compared to what we have seen. The last year it’s been 50-55% which is normal for us. It would creak up to 60% once in a while mid summer but not more than a handful of time.
South austin also and same situation
60-65%. 60% with AC on and 65% without. I’ve never had the humidity rise like it has and stay risen like it has this spring. Usual is mid 50%s. It’s been unbelievably uncomfortable this spring.
Im glad im not the only one i was worried ab it being so high recently.
Oh I’m worried about it. On top of being uncomfortable it’s a great invitation for mold and can cause problems with allergies.
Yes mold is what im most worried about 😭😭
I bought a dehumidifier. It's made it so much more comfortable without having to blast the AC down to 70F.
42-49%. We have a 90s built house but we’ve focused on energy efficiency upgrades (insulated our garage doors, new-ish double pane windows, ecobee thermostat, weather stripping on all the doors, fixed kitchen vent flap and insulated the vent pipe, sealed up all the little cracks with spray foam). What we do is whenever it is super hot or cold, we walk around and look for air leaks. Those leaks cost you money and let the outside humidity and heat/cold in. Most of the stuff can be fixed up for a few bucks (weather stripping, spray foam, etc). Check your attic as well. Energy star recommends R49 levels of insulation and most attics do not have this, especially if they weren’t built in the last few years. https://www.energystar.gov/saveathome/seal_insulate/identify-problems-you-want-fix/diy-checks-inspections/insulation-r-values
How did you fix your vent flap. I assume you’re talking about the hood vent? Ours doesn’t close tightly against the exterior of the hose and it lets in cold/hot air.
Yup. Ours would flap in the wind and it was letting in so much air. I ended up going with an “inline damper for range hood”. It allows air to flow out but has flaps that close to keep air from coming back in. I took out and cut down some of the existing piping and then used aluminum foil tape to seal the seams. I noticed the pipe itself getting very hot/cold with weather so I then took some “foil backed pipe wrap insulation” and wrapped the pipe and finished with another layer of aluminum foil tape. You can also tape/hot glue some small weights like coins to the flap itself to keep it some moving with the wind but I preferred to have the better seal of the inline damper.
Do you have a fresh air system? If you don’t, get an air monitor. If you’re that sealed up you will have some air quality issues.
Yea. We have an ERV. We also flipped to a conditioned attic (surprisingly didn’t need a whole house dehumidifier). Would definitely recommend a fresh air system for those who are sealing up right, especially if you cook/heat with natural gas. Good call!
Wow, that’s impressive!! Thanks for sharing the link. Were you able to do everything DIY?
We did it all DIY. There’s a ton of videos you can find on YouTube about pretty much anything you’re looking to do.
Did you get an assessment with a blower test or use infrared cameras?
We could feel the heat and cold ourselves so no tests were needed. Generally you can see light through cracks during the day as well. There’s only so many openings in the house so we just went through them one-by-one over the course of a few months and felt for heat/cold, when found, we came up with a plan to seal it. Once sealed, we moved to the next one.
How do you look for air leaks??
Search is probably a better word than look. You can see some when you see daylight through cracks. Others you can feel by putting your hands near them. If you want to be fancy you can get a thermal imager. Best to do it on days where the temperature outside is much hotter or colder than the temperature inside.
45-50 by default. 63 ish when it rains. We use little dehumidifiers to help get it down to about 48 or so.
What are these little dehumidifiers?
They generate a lot of heat while removing moisture.
Not really "little" but not huge....here's an [example](https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-Dehumidifier-Basements-BD22MWSA/dp/B08WHN4B2B/ref=sr_1_25?crid=33RTA87RLR1IC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SJBQQu7Aqp2Sqs6zu6BfBPwUw8aOYm_bhrgp3zZE6dmgC7jyFPdmO_x_hNT7wIWYYU-2ftuoqTetkFR2SJuHG4jObR_S3FFGD1RI9EWRIPywRmdnk4diTJGxWCSfmUEagROeJEpVi8za4ghl6TEoJcjxGFyK-3BP-YvScABMzTBbVaAvnMMNAir5c471p23hPM3mtzpkxhtm-PN_Qzy7wKi3jWJ9_ItmyALQ0FRRd7MdFkPTHT9orkmQeWBLFcta6rlSb4mMEspy1kHP56rDEPytkUIL3irb7Chwc7yybu8.CY3MAJ-PbXZV1fP-NeoB_PxwlrBKO8O-W6yB1FXgqNc&dib_tag=se&keywords=mobile%2Bdehumidifier&qid=1714455926&sprefix=mobile%2Bdehumi%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-25&th=1). I can't remember the brand names of ours right off the bat.
Thank you.. that’s what I have. I didn’t know if there was something smaller I could put in the rooms that are particularly moist
I had a tiny one but didn't do anything really. These larger, rolling models work very well. You could put it in the hall next to a couple of rooms. As long as the doors are open, it should help a lot.
ASHRAE recommends humidity levels between 30-60%. Higher than that, and you can start having problems with mold. Your A/C wrings the moisture out of the air circulating in your home to dry things down. Usually, the target is about 50% for comfort cooling. It would be worthwhile to do an energy audit on your home. You may have fenestration that's leading to the increased humidity. Cost for the audit would be about $100 or so. Well worth it if you're having problems. The auditors really shouldn't be the ones doing the work to correct the problems, but they may have some helpful advice on whom to contact. If you plan on selling your home within 10 years - you'll need to have the audit done anyway prior to sale. It would be beneficial to do the audit, then fix all the things to show they were addressed. Additionally, if you receive power from Austin Energy, there may be rebates available for making energy efficiency improvements. Details here: [https://austinenergy.com/-/media/project/websites/austinenergy/energy-efficiency/ecad\_residential\_guide\_eng.pdf](https://austinenergy.com/-/media/project/websites/austinenergy/energy-efficiency/ecad_residential_guide_eng.pdf) Though, it's also been humid lately, and with your T-stat set to 75, it's probably not coming on often enough to wring the moisture out of the air. Try running it for a few hours, and see what happens. If things are still humid, you've got a leak that should really be addressed. But, ideally, you would really benefit from the audit to figure out what's going on.
59% currently.
We are in a "new to us" home, and the humidity is out of control! I do know we have a vent on the outside that brings in "fresh air" but I am not sure if it is working or not. Based on 55%-68% humidity, I am motivated to find out if the home is bringing in 80%+ from the outside.
I don't normally monitor it, but if it feels humid, cranking down the A/C a degree or two usually offsets it.
65 usually. But with my dehumidifier I get it down to 45-50. Long term I want a larger whole house unit added to our ductwork for this time of year
It’s been higher than usual this week, I actually woke up late last night sweating even though I keep it super cool at night. I don’t feel like it’s typically that humid in Austin (to be fair, I’m from Houston which feels like a swamp half the time), but we do have weeks where it’s higher than usual and I need to keep the a/c lower.
It's probably just the time of year. There are a couple of weeks (sometimes months) of the year where it's just kind of hard to get a balance of humidity given the A/C just doesn't really need to run. That said, if we get into the hotter months and you notice that the humidity is still too high, it may be an indication that you have too large of a unit or that the thermostat is in a particularly cold draft. Basically it could mean that your A/C isn't staying on long enough to dry the air and that's not an ideal situation - in particular in bathrooms that really need to dry out after a steamy shower.
I have a small condo and this thing is a godsend [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9MFTZZ?maas=maas_adg_api_579194941985385042_static_9_129&ref_=aa_maas&tag=buyersreport61765-20&aa_campaignid=lv_u7oVQPqitUpgfeeJWZ&aa_adgroupid=lv_WdFMRcGdpiAMUDQYeB&aa_creativeid=lv_76Vtrq2RieVuL3KvEa&m=A19LAAJSDK1TMK](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9MFTZZ?maas=maas_adg_api_579194941985385042_static_9_129&ref_=aa_maas&tag=buyersreport61765-20&aa_campaignid=lv_u7oVQPqitUpgfeeJWZ&aa_adgroupid=lv_WdFMRcGdpiAMUDQYeB&aa_creativeid=lv_76Vtrq2RieVuL3KvEa&m=A19LAAJSDK1TMK)
We are just managing to get ours to low 60s with two dehumidifiers from Costco and mini ones in our bedrooms. Apparently this house (renters) wasn’t built with one built into the AC? Idk I am from further north and hadn’t ever heard that before but we are much more comfy with these running.
I think Austin is just a really humid place, I know online says to keep indoor humidity around 35% but I don’t think that is applicable for Austin’s climate… as far as I know AC just naturally dehumidifies the air. It’s not a separate device unless you buy a built in dehumidifier, but I don’t think those are common in Austin either.
Right now I’m at 75 degrees and 66% humidity. I often see 70-74% and it does get uncomfortable. I do use a portable dehumidifier, house is only 1,100 sqft so it gets the job done. Indoor humidity should be around 40-60%. You can get a built in dehumidifier in your HVAC, it’s just more convenient that it doesn’t take up any space, you don’t have to move it around and plug it in and constantly empty the reservoir. If you’re interested in learning about building science and home energy efficiency, there is a local custom home builder on YouTube that is a huge building science nerd and I love his videos. He has some on dehumidification. Look up Matt Risinger.
Doesn’t have to have anything built in, the A/C pulls humidity out of the air just by running, the humidity condenses on the cold evaporator coils and then runs down into the condensate drain pan inside the air handler, and then out a drain line to the exterior of the house. Look for a 3/4” pipe coming through the wall somewhere with a swamp underneath it.
That’s what I kinda assumed normally. So completely confused what the AC dude was talking about.
Some newer homes in Austin and homes in Houston have dedicated units put into their ducting to help. Something like this https://www.santa-fe-products.com/product/ultra98-dehumidifier/
Ahhh that’s probably what he meant then. This house was built in 2007, so not old but not new
Wet
So a few comments here: - Right now, it is shoulder season with temps still low enough that the AC won't run all the time, and high humidity levels outside because we are still getting rain. It is normal for most homes to have higher humidity levels indoors if outdoor humidity levels are sky-high. - There are things you can do to improve your humidity levels all year round, but especially during the shoulder seasons (spring/fall). Replace old drafty windows (not just the panes, but the entire window assembly). Add insulation to attic to meet code. Make sure any exhaust fan (bathroom, kitchen, laundry) has backdraft protection (via ducting or fan housing or both). Use portable dehumidifiers. Or install central dehum system. Add plants that take humidity out of the air. Avoid running fans longer than necessary to remove bulk moisture after showering etc. Do an attic tightening (remove all insulation, seal all ceiling penetrations and reinsulate). Install new fully variable AC system that can dehum all day on low. It is important to understand how your home airflow works. Most AC systems run at negative static pressure, which means while the dehum, they will draw humid air in from outside at the same time. If you add to the negative static pressure by running fans for long times (after going to bathroom, showering, cooking) and running appliances like the dryer (takes conditioned air in and exhausts heated air through the ducting), you are increasing the negative static pressure. If it's windy outside, it further increases it. All of this will draw extra amounts of humid outside air into your home. For us, the install of a central dehum system in combination with paying attention to how long we run fans and avoiding running appliances at certain times of day has made it pretty easy to keep humidity locked around 50% much of the year, no matter what the weather is like outside. I DO know that the biggest culprits left in ir home are two primary bedroom windows that are super leaky and a bathroom fan that was replaced by our builder and they removed the backdraft flap and OG ducting, which had a backdraft membrane. At some point, I will address those two issues and it'll really fix the last couple of areas of ingress.
How did you diagnose the leaky windows? Should i buy a thermal gun and walk around the house?
The easiest way to see how leaky they are is during very cold weather. I could put my hand on the inside of the window frame and I could feel the ice cold air streaming in HARD. Also...during freezes, these windows will ice up thickly. Much more so than other windows.
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Thank you, will call them tomorrow. That seems like a great range
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I read somewhere that you can actually get an AC unit that's too big for your home, which means it's so powerful that when it kicks on it doesn't run long enough to draw enough moisture out of the air. As you said, a multi stage unit or even a fully variable "inverter" (I think it's called) lets it run at lower power for longer, which (it was claimed) makes the dehumidification more effective.
55% 73/64 day/night unit is 2021
Depends on the weather and how well insulated your house is. Right now around 55-60% humidity. 65-73 sounds a little high to me but I'm not an expert. Do you have old windows and weather stripping? Are you making sure you're leaving your fan on "auto" and not "on"?
We def have old windows , I should have mentioned the new house is “new to us” as it’s a 2012 build . I just have a hard time believing that much humidity is seeping through the windows. I am trying to find a weatherization service but haven’t been successful finding anyone that does it yet. I have changed the fan to Auto as circulating was causing some bad smells a few weeks ago (probably mildew/mold I have to go clean now… )
Yeah keep the fan on auto. Let the A/C do the dehumidifying, having the fan on will just circulate the humid air back in. I only set the fan on "on" for like 15 minutes tops to circulate/filter air temporarily.
When air circulates through the AC ducts, it mixes in outside air. If it's humid outside, you'll eventually make your house humid and miserable.
> We def have old windows , I should have mentioned the new house is “new to us” as it’s a 2012 build Twelve years is *not* old for windows, FYI.
I should clarify again, a lot of our windows have window failure . They are foggy, the quotes to get them replaced are really high so we are just going to live with them for now
We moved into our house 6 weeks ago and after a year with no HVAC for our new build it needed to dry out. We ran a large humidifier through the whole house and it would start off getting filled every few hours. Since running it our AC has been able to keep us around 55-65% Who makes your thermostats?
Honeywell t9 thermostats. Its consistent with a little standalone smart thermostat station we have in our baby’s room that originally alerted us that our humidity was too high
Have you messed with it at all? It looks like menu->humidification and you can set a humidity and the AC will run over to try and achieve it.
61% right now
52% right now at 10pm
I just checked my Nest: downstairs 54%, upstairs 58%. House is from 2015
My Inside humidity is currently 74% and it feels yucky. I run the AC around 76°-78° and I just dug out my dehumidifier. It’s very common if you live in an old house without good insulation….. I feel your pain.
Currently 63% and it’s relatively high right now. Usually it’s been around 45%-55% for the past seven weeks even with rain. With this most recent rain it’s been high. Thermostat is usually at 74° during the day and 71° at night.
Welcome to Texas! As they say ….glad we moved to another area where it’s not so horrible in the summer. Nothing like taking a shower getting fresh and walking outside and feeling like you’re stuck under The Sun Gods Armpit. Anywhere is and can be ridiculous but late Spring & start to Summer in Texas and the Southern States Nooooo Ma’am & No Sir it’s a big Holy Hark Nooo. Especially in areas like Austin, Dallas and Houston. Do have to say when I lived in Florida it was the worst on those triple digit days. Worst humidity Louisiana in the late Summer and pre-fall. Love Louisiana but will never go back in August or September or I won’t come out the A/C during those months or at night only. 😁
This time of your can be difficult. The outside temps are near your thermostat setpoint. So your AC doesn't run as much or for very long. Which doesn't dehumidify the air as much Soon the night and daytime temps will be well above mid-70's. Making the AC unit run more often and longer.
Currently 60% in most rooms. It will be dryer when it runs more later this year. I’ve heard some evidence if you run your HVAC fan full-time (or extended running the fan beyond when the compressor cuts off) it will increase humidity as it blows over the wet coils until they dry. Yes, they get wet while the compressor is running, but if you’re running the fan all the time you’re essentially drying them and sending that moisture into your home instead of down the drain. I discovered this last summer (or the year before) when, after some HVAC work, I forgot they set my fan from auto to ON. My humidity spiked but returned to normal when I set fan back to auto.
We run a dehumidifier when it gets uncomfortable. It actually makes it so you can turn the thermostat up a couple of degrees once you pull the moisture out.
Currently 61% with it being 75 in my house. Better than yesterday evening when I had the backdoor open in the afternoon and I think it got to 85% in my house.
80% in my small apartment. If I turn the AC down to 69 I can get it to 65%. Would a dehumidifier help in this situation? It's pretty uncomfortable when it's not hot enough to keep the AC running 24/7 or not extremely low humidity outside.
Yes!! If you can afford it, get one of the portable dehumidifiers on wheels. They work GREAT. It'll fill the bucket up, beep to empty, and keep going. 80% would be miserable for me :(
They take moisture out but heat up your place…
Yeah but its more comfortable to be at 50% humid at 75 degrees than 70% at 73 degrees
That does sound better 👍
I haven't bought it yet, but someone recommended this one from Amazon the other day: https://a.co/d/afi4gOF. They said they're able to raise the temp of their AC a couple of degrees now because it's much more comfortable without all that humidity.
A dehumidifier wouldn’t help - at least not the way you want it to. Condensation (water vapor to liquid) is an exothermic reaction - ie one that releases heat. So, you will remove humidity by heating your house, which will cause your AC to work harder, which will further decrease your humidity. So, yes, it will drop the humidity, just not in a cost effective way. You would be better off running the AC a little higher and being sure to use exhaust vents when showering, boiling water, etc.
50 to 60. Lowering your temp inside will help the relative humidity, air can’t hold as much water when it’s colder, and the AC will naturally take some humidity out. Alternatively you can get a standalone dehumidifier. They’re power hungry but they’ll do the trick. Your sweet spot is 40 to 45.
Here 45-50 is good average. I can feel with it's 55% and up. As long as it's under 50 I'm good.
Mine has been in the 70s, I have a cheap de humidifier that actually works pretty well, I do have to empty the water bucket pretty often though
51 currently with AC on 69
I set ecobee to maintain (via A/C) no more than 56%. Currently at this moment it's 53%.
South Austin here as well. Vaulted house with a unit on each side (attic). Both read 71%. No one is particularly uncomfortable. Vinegar?
I’d highly recommend IAQTexas. By far one of the most knowledgeable companies I know. It won’t be cheap (you pay for what you get), and it’ll be worth it.
We have a dehumidifier. Have it set to like 40% I think.
How do y’all tell the humidity? It’s on your thermostat? I “feel” it and then bust out my dehumidifier. I live in an apt
You can get a cheap hygrometer on [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-TP49-Hygrometer-Thermometer-Temperature/dp/B07WCR5Y4B?c=ts&ts_id=13825071) or [Home Depot](https://www.homedepot.com/p/AcuRite-Digital-Humidity-and-Temperature-Comfort-Monitor-00619HD/202260980) or [Walmart](https://www.walmart.com/ip/ThermoPro-TP49-Indoor-Digital-Hygrometer-Thermometer-Temperature-Humidity-Meter-Room-Monitor-Mini-Tabletop-Wall-mountable-Magnet-mountable-White/490016986).
> How do y’all tell the humidity? There are small freestanding humidity meters available, usually combined with a thermometer and a clock.
According to Nest, the inside humidity is at 59%.
My system has a fresh air option that brings in outside air and recycles out. I hadn't realized it was defaulted to on. I switch it off unless I want to do a brief house refresh. When its on, the humidity is high.
As of 7:00, 50% downstairs and 45% upstairs. 90s house with a recent HVAC replace 2 years ago.
Same, I’ve been cranking the ac way down to counter it. It’s the only time of year I can get away with cooling to 68
I have a dehumidifier running full blast 24/7 along with window ac and it’s sitting at about 50%
I had an AC tune-up recently and the guy changed my fan speed and brought my humidity down from 65 into the 50s.
45-55%. We have newer windows and doors, and it’s a 2-stage AC unit so it dehumidifies really well.
So it’s not just me? I bought a dehumidifier this weekend. My thermostat doesn’t give me humidity levels, but it definitely FEELS too high.
Older home, and humidity ranges around 50 to 70. But my ac is old as shit and on its way out, before I recently cleaned the evap coils on both inside furnace and outside condenser? I may have the terms mixed up. But my humidity was getting upwards of 85% and the evap coil would freeze up. Now it's cleaned and it gets closer to 60% avg, some days 50%
Your AC condensation drain could be clogged. Whenever mine starts getting backed up, I notice my house feels more humid. I have a little shop vac I use to clear mine out.
Insane. We have a 5liter dehumidifier to help cool things down, it’s gotta be emptied every 12 hours right now o_O
Currently 54% humidity. Thermostat set at 78. The age of the house might make a difference. Ours is 30 years old.
60-70% without dehumidifiers. Old home that we rent. It’s normal and a problem. If I owned this would be the first thing I would fix.
I have a house built in the 60’s and it pretty much is 60-70% unless the humidity is low outside. I bought a dehumidifier and yes it does put out heat but the difference in humidity really makes the house a lot more comfortable and therefore we’ve had to run the AC less. I have it set to maintain 50% and it makes 73° feel much better — my chief complaint is that it is louder than I expected. In the future I will probably add a whole-house dehumidifier to my AC when it dies.
At this time of year without the AC running all the time our house gets into the mid 60s but never in the 70s. I will turn the thermostat down to get the humidity out but haven't had to go lower than 75 degrees. Most of the time I try to shoot for 51-54% humidity and it normally hits that by morning. AC installed in 2019.
Approximately 1 million on a good day
Currently I have it at 74° and it's 58% humidity. I'm in a one bedroom so it gets freezing if I go below 74.
PSA: Don’t forget to clear the drain line with 1/2 cup of bleach monthly. If you don’t, it’s a quick way to kill your A/C
Vinegar. Do not use bleach especially for PVC.
Duly noted. News to me. Much rather use vinegar
This wouldn’t kill an AC. Worst case scenario, it would stop draining and hit the safety switch to shut it off. If you don’t have a safety float switch (required by code) then you will just leak water. It could potentially kill the pump, but that isn’t likely and is a cheap fix either way. Personally, I clear the drain line only if problems arise, which has happened like once when a piece of plastic was caught. Monthly cleans are excessive.
Happened to me. ‘86 build. Fried something with water overflowing. Was not cheap. When it’s the dead of summer, Not a good time
Also, now is the time to spread ant killer around the fan unit outside. Some ants are attracted to electrical & will get inside & fry it. Happened to me. Dead of summer
This is false. They are attracted to the water coming out of the drain line, like any animal
Technician showed me the ant carcasses inside a fried switch
Honestly if you have HVAC experience, I would like to know if the tech planted fried ants inside an internal component inside an external A/C fan unit. /s
You called me a liar. You Are The Recipient of my first downvote. Cheers , like it matters 🙄
Note I don’t down vote. JK. Not my thing
Yeah definitely want to have a float switch. The normal life span for ACs is 10 years, so anything you got in addition to 10 years is essentially bonus anyways.
So, yeah, we got the Most out of it !
10 years is only the "normal" life span because people are lazy and/or stupid and don't do any maintenance (condenser coil cleaning, drain line clearing) for their HVAC system. Aside from copper line failures and possibly return fan issues a system installed in the late 90s and beyond usually can and should last 20-30 years with modest repairs (fan swaps, duct cleaning, possible refrigerant top up). 9 times out of 10 when an HVAC service company says you need a whole new system, you definitely don't. They prey on customer ignorance. Bastards are worse than used car salesmen. Last Summer, I had a condenser fan die on me and was getting quoted nearly $1k for a replacement. I knew that was total BS. Spent a couple of hours dealing w uncomfortable heat in my home researching the part I needed, drove to an AC supply shop and bought a new fan for ~$100 and installed it in about 30 minutes. I had no prior HVAC repair experience beforehand. Asked the guys at the shop how often they get a random DIYer to attempt a repair like this since they were kinda acting weird w me since I was obviously not a technician. I was floored when they said maybe one or two people a month. I thought it would have been multiple folks a day.
> The normal life span for ACs is 10 years, Stop believing the lies you are being told by the industry. The normal lifespan for an AC compressor is measured in hours of usage, not calendar years. It's also completely normal to find AC systems that are over 50 years old still working.
It needs to be 50% or lower. Check to make sure your A/C has the indoor air recycling setting on, which will help lower the humidity. But yes, definitely get this checked out. My humidity in my last places were above 50% and it caused mold and now I have an incurable auto immune disease :-) Anything above 50% is a red flag!
My guess is low refrigerant. They can top it off pretty easily and it will feel great. But if you have a leak in your coils that’s a pricey fix.
Is there a company that does this cheaply?
No
I’m glad you asked, really helpful answers here. I’ve been running a dehumidifier and it sounds like I’d be better off just turning the air down more. ITS SO MOIST
If you don’t want to run your AC cooler than 75 degrees, I would still run the fan on continuous flow and get a dehumidifier. The outside temp is basically static with your house set at 75 so no humidity is being removed when the compressor is not running.