How to best handle low humidity events

Humidity can sound like a really difficult aspect to broach in your home. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. The relative humidity (RH), which is expressed as a percentage, is the amount of water vapor the air contains compared to the maximum possible at that temperature and pressure.

What is a low humidity event?

A low humidity event is any time where your home's indoor humidity drops below 40% relative humidity. 

• Low humidity can affect our bodies and our home, it can lead to dry skin and hair, increased susceptibility to colds and respiratory illness, and can allow viruses and germs to thrive. Wood floors, furniture, and millwork begin to split and crack, paint can chip, and electronics can be damaged due to static electricity generated by an absence of humidity.

What can you do to mitigate low humidity? 

• Simply opening a window or patio door can increase air movement and raise the home's humidity.
• Hanging your laundry indoors
  • As your clothes dry, water vapor evaporates a small amount of moisture is added to the air in the room
• Adding houseplants and flowers to your home.
  • Aside from making your home look better, the moisture content held by plants will evaporate during the heat of the day, further humidifying the rooms we spend time in.
• If humidity is an ongoing issue in your home consider adding a humidifier. These come in a range of sizes and applications.
  • To control your humidity speak to your HVAC contractor today about adding a central humidifier that HAVEN can control for you. 

What your HVAC system can do 

Your HVAC system can introduce fresh air to your home which can help regulate your home's humidity

• One of the first steps to ensure good indoor air quality (IAQ) is to reduce indoor sources of pollution, ventilation is also an essential strategy. Proper ventilation reduces pollutant and moisture levels that may directly or indirectly result in poor occupant comfort and/or adverse health effects.
• ERV/HRV

What HAVEN can do for you

We've developed a range of products and software to ensure we can both monitor & solve IAQ events, including high humidity. Talk to a HAVEN Expert today about what options you have for regulating your home's humidification

• The HAVEN Central Air Monitor is a solid-state IoT device that continuously monitors your air, capturing tVOC and PM data and notifying you directly of any IAQ issues you need to be made aware of.
• The HAVEN Central Air Controller works in tandem with the Central Air Monitor to react to IAQ events and control your HVAC equipment in order to solve IAQ problems.
  • eg. when the Monitor senses a chemical spike, the Controller can activate your ERV/HRV to introduce clean fresh air.
  • You'll receive notification of this action via the HAVEN IAQ App, just like the image below.
    
    
    
    
  • Once the Monitor is satisfied that your air has re-entered EPA-approved thresholds, the Controller will shut down the ventilator.
    
    
• If you don't already have HAVEN products installed, peak to your HVAC contractor today about adopting HAVEN products to control your air.
  • They can reach out to us at prosupport@haveniaq.com for more information.