One of the great things about modern life is that there are plenty of ways to improve the comfort and quality of air in our home. That means we won’t have to suffer from the effect of extreme temperatures, humidity, or harmful components due to pollution any more. Indoor home can be cleaned or enhanced easily using an air conditioning system or a humidifier.
While it is certainly nice to have different options to choose from, this can also be a problem when many homeowners don’t know which device is suitable for their needs. To help you with it, we’ll show you the differences between the two most popular units to deal with indoor air: humidifier and air conditioner.
Brief definitions
Before we make a comparison between two units, it’s good to have an overall understanding of each device.
What Is An Air Conditioner?
An air conditioner is mainly used for comfort purposes. It cools down your house by expelling hot air flows out of the indoor space. At the same time, the refrigerant in the unit will cool the left air by changing it from liquid to gas.
Then, the fan unit will spread these cooled air flows into the whole living space while the coils keep absorbing heat to continue the cycle. Through the dehumidification, an AC unit can change the level of humidity, temperature, as well as the quality of air inside your living space.
What Is A Humidifier?
A humidifier can be used for both personal well-being and comfort purposes. This unit adds water and moisture to the indoor air, thus increasing the relative level of humidity in your home.
When there is more water, ambient heat in the air will be retained and make your rooms feel warmer. Adding moisture with a humidifier can help keep your skin from being dried out and relieve irritation in a few areas of the body like lips, throat, and nose.
What Is The Difference Between A Humidifier And An Air Conditioner?
Humidifier and air conditioners don’t usually get compared to each other as they perform completely opposite tasks. However, here are a few differences that you need to know about how they work.
Basically, an air conditioner is used to reduce the inside the temperature by absorbing humidity and hot air out of your room and releasing it outside. After filtering the hot air, the unit will cool the left air and spread it into your home. In other words, an AC unit decreases the level of moisture through dehumidification.
A humidifier, on the other hand, increases the humidity level inside your room and is mainly used for health purposes. A relative amount of moisture might be helpful in nourish your skin and keep it from drying out. Regulating temperatures is only a minor side effect of humidifiers.
Can You Use An Air Conditioner And Humidifier At The Same Time?
Many homeowners have both units in their house to create a comfortable atmosphere inside. However, it is essential to know whether you should use them together or not.
The main issues with operating a humidifier and an air conditioner at the same time are that both devices can fight against each other.
Since an AC system cools your indoor air by pulling humidity, you might waste energy by putting more humidity continually with a humidifier. However, when the air gets unbearably dry due to the air conditioner’s operation, the options might be limited.
In fact, there are some models of air conditioning on the market that come with special features of a dehumidifier or humidifier. They will keep you from the hassle of using multiple units while still ensuring a suitable level of humidity and temperature in your house.
Conclusion
In overall, a dehumidifier tends to be smaller, less noisy, and more affordable than an air conditioner, and also consumes less electricity. However, it can’t reduce the temperatures in a hot space to the normal level as an AC system. The main function of this unit is to keep a low level of humidity and protect your family from condensation, mould, and dampness all year round. On the other hand, an air conditioner helps to keep you cool during the summer months.
