# 7 — Humidity: Why a hydronic heating system is better for your home’s comfort level than forced air

And finally we're at number seven of the Top 7 reasons why a hydronic heating system is a better choice than forced air — humidity.

If you’ve lived with a forced air heating system for any amount of time, you’re quite aware of the drawbacks associated with managing your home's winter humidity levels. You’ve experienced the static shocks, the dry throat and skin, the stuffy nose and even nosebleeds. You might even have grown to accept it as a normal part of the winter heating season. Or maybe you invested in a humidifier to add moisture back into your home.

I’m here to tell you it’s not normal. It’s your heating system working against you by drying out the air as it’s being blown throughout your house. Your furnace acts like a wringer to squeeze the moisture out of the air. The air dries up as it’s repeatedly heated up and cooled down. The furnace blower also pressurizes your house — it forces conditioned (heated and humidified) air out of any little cracks or crevices and draws cold, dry air in to make up for the warm, moist air you’ve lost. Then your humidifier kicks on to add that moisture back in. And the cycle repeats nonstop, every time your heat is on.

A hydronic heating system is better for you (and for your home) because it never dries the air out in the first place. A well-designed hydronic heating system generally operates at a much lower temperature than a furnace,  producing much longer and gentler heating cycles. The lower water temperatures keep the relative humidity at a comfortable level. There's also no blower, so there’s less air infiltration, meaning less of your conditioned air (that you're paying to heat) goes out the doors, windows and cracks throughout your house.

Most experts agree that a comfortable range of winter indoor humidity is 25% - 50%. Below 25% and you begin to experience the uncomfortable effects of a dry environment. Above 50% is concern for mold growth. Most of the homes in our area (upstate New York) outfitted with hydronic heating systems have no need for added moisture to the indoor air. There’s usually enough humidity added through showers and cooking that a supplemental humidifier isn’t necessary. Bathroom exhaust fans and kitchen range hoods help to keep the humidity below the high end of the comfort range. (Some very tight, well-sealed homes may require supplemental ventilation to maintain a healthy indoor environment but these are more the exception than the rule.)

Now that we've come to the end of this series on why a hydronic heating system is a better choice than forced air, I'm sure you can see that there are major advantages — not only in comfort, but also in long-term efficiency. And don’t forget the rest of these advantages:

• Reliability
• Versatility
• Quiet
• Cleanliness

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this information as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. And please — feel free to comment. I’d love to hear what you have to say. And let me know if you have a particular question or topic of interest you’d like to see discussed here in the future.

 

For next week, I’ll discuss what every boiler owner should know about indirect water heaters. (Also known as, why a boiler owner should never consider a tankless water heater!)

Heidronically yours,

Wayne