Humidity can affect more than just your hair and skin; it can take a toll on your ductwork. All homes have at least some humidity. Humidity is defined as airborne moisture. More specifically, relative humidity is the percentage of moisture vapor in the air relative to the air’s current temperature. While some humidity is completely normal and even beneficial, high humidity can affect your ductwork in the following ways.
Mold Growth
Humidity can lead to mold growth inside of your ductwork. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that indoor environments with a relative humidity of 60% or higher are susceptible to mold growth. If your home’s relative humidity exceeds this limit, it may succumb to mold growth. Mold may grow inside of the ductwork where it’s able to “feast” on dust.
Leaks
If your ductwork is leaking, humidity could be to blame. Air ducts are designed to be sealed so that all of the conditioned air produced by the furnace and air conditioning system will be vented into the home’s living spaces. But air ducts can sustain damage that causes them to leak conditioned air into attics, walls, crawlspaces and elsewhere.
Allowing humidity to go unchecked can place your air ducts at risk for leaks. As moisture vapor builds up inside of your ductwork, it will saturate the inner walls of the ducts. Assuming your heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system uses flexible air ducts – the most common type for residential HVAC systems – it may leak. The moisture vapor will essentially weaken the walls of the ducts, and the next time your blower turns on, they may begin to leak.
Poor Cooling Performance
Your air conditioning system may struggle to cool your home if there’s too much moisture vapor in the air. Air conditioning systems work by removing heat from the air inside of homes. They will absorb heat at your HVAC system’s evaporator coil, and they will release this heat at the condenser coil. As a byproduct of this heat exchange process, they will also remove moisture vapor from the air.
High humidity will strain your air conditioning system. Your air conditioning system may have to run for a longer period to cool your home. The condensate drain may line may also become clogged. Air conditioning systems have a condensate drain line, which they use to flush water from the evaporator coil to the exterior of homes. High humidity will result in more water running through this line, thus increasing the risk of a clog.