Whole Home Humidifier Services

Whole Home Humidifier Maintenance

Another difference between whole home humidifiers and portable humidifiers is the level of maintenance they require. 

Portable humidifiers require you to frequently clean the device and change the water in the tank. Failure to do so can lead to mold and bacteria growth, which causes unhealthy air to circulate.

Whole home humidifiers, on the other hand, only require maintenance once a year. Basically, this just consists of cleaning or replacing the filter, steamer, or humidifier pad (depending on the type of humidifier you have). This is something you can do yourself, or we can do it for you during routine maintenance of your HVAC system.

Benefits of Whole Home Humidifiers

There are many benefits to having a whole home humidifier, including healthier air, increased comfort, and protection for materials in your home.

Healthier Air

Another benefit of a whole home humidifier is healthier air. One of the reasons that colds and the flu are more common in winter is that those viruses can survive longer outside the body in dry air. Keeping the air in your home at the proper humidity levels makes it harder for those viruses to spread, and also keeps your nasal passages and airways healthier.

Lower Energy Costs

Moist air feels warmer than dry air, that's why, in the summertime, the local weather forecast reports a "heat index" that reflects what the temperature actually feels like due to humidity in the air. The higher the humidity, the hotter it feels, even if the air is actually the same temperature.

In the winter, you can use this phenomenon to your advantage to reduce your heating bill. By increasing the humidity of the air in your home, you can keep your home at a cooler temperature and still be comfortable.

Materials Protection

A final benefit of a whole home humidifier is the protection of certain materials inside your home, especially hardwood floors, musical instruments, electronics, and some types of furniture. All of these things last longer in air that has the proper level of humidity.

Evaporative Power Humidifiers

Evaporative power humidifiers are used on heat pumps and forced air furnaces and are attached to the up-flow supply plenum. These humidifiers (which, for Aprilaire, are the Model 700 series), are easy to install and work well with systems that have variable or low-speed air handlers.

Evaporative Bypass Humidifiers

Evaporative bypass humidifiers offer high efficiency, simple design, and minimal maintenance (once a year). They can be installed with automatic or manual control, and are available in different sizes depending on the capacity of the HVAC system.

Aprilaire humidifiers that fall into this category are the 400, 500, and 600 series. The 400 series humidifiers use 100% of the water supplied to the water panel, which eliminates the requirement for access to a drain.

Steam Humidifiers

The 800 series steam humidifiers are the highest capacity humidifier produced by Aprilaire. They can deliver up to 34.6 gallons of water to the air per day, and thanks to an available fan pack they can be used in homes where duct work is not available or accessible.