[Grumpy218]

I recently purchased a home in the villages. The house was built in late 2017, so it's fairly new. I've noticed that it feels very humid in the house. The thermostat is set on 74 degrees and it maintains that temperature but it registers a humidity of 63%. The humidity would be great if I wanted to turn my home into a humidor!!! I don't think my wife would go along with that idea.

I moved here from Poinciana, FL so I'm familiar with the Florida humidity. My home A/C in Poinciana was set at 75 degrees and it was cool to the point we used blankets in the evening to watch TV.

Is there something I'm missing, e.g. have the freon checked in the A/C unit? Flush out the condensate line (although there doesn't seem to be much condensate exiting the house). Or could it be something else. Is a whole house de-humidifier the answer?

All feedback is welcome!

[Garywt]

We keep our AC at 72 usually and we set the humidity to below 50%. What is you thermostat set at for the humidity.

[kkingston57]

Check with an AC company. Too much humidity could be caused by having a Too Large AC. If you have too big of an AC it cools house down too quickly and does not remove the humidity.

[Fredster]

How often does your AC run?

“Keep the AC running
One of the best ways to dehumidify your home is to keep the AC running at all times. Yeah we know, it doesn’t sound cost effective. But when you’re not running it, it’s not doing its job of dehumidifying your home. Yes, duh. Thank you Captain Obvious! So let’s say it’s raining outside and your AC is set on Auto. It will shut off once the rain has cooled the house down, but if it’s muggy outside, it will eventually get that way inside too. And while the temperature inside might be fine, it’s still going to get muggy due to the excess moisture in the air. Keeping your AC running all day during muggy weather might not sound like the ideal solution when it comes to energy efficiency, but it helps.”

[Fredster]

Just checked....my thermostat is set at 75 and the humidity is 46%... house feels very cool.
Also have two ceiling fans running on low.

Found this....

“But if your air conditioner isn’t dehumidifying the air properly, it’s probably because of one of these issues:

Thermostat is set to “ON” instead of “AUTO”
Dirty evaporator coil
Leaky ductwork
Oversized air conditioning system

[retiredguy123]

Something doesn't sound right. My house is 78 degrees and the humidity is 45 percent, and I am not using any humidity control. The basic thermostat installed by the builder doesn't control the humidity on the normal setting. But, there is a special "dehumidify" setting that will allow the air conditioner to overcool the house by about 3 degrees when the humidity goes above the setpoint. So, if you set the thermostat for 75 degrees, and the humidity is higher than the setpoint, the air conditioner will cool the house down to about 72 degrees in an attempt to reduce the humidity. I don't use that feature because the house can get too cold. Most people in The Villages do not have a whole house dehumidifier and their houses stay pretty comfortable. I would suggest you buy a 10 dollar device from Home Depot that will measure the temperature and humidity in various locations in your house.

[Grumpy218]

Thanks to all of you for your feedback. I re-examined my thermostat and found that it does have a humidity control. I’m not used to that! All my previous controls were simple, set and forget.

I’ve adjusted the controls this afternoon and the humidity has already dropped from 63% to 58%. Remarkable! Thanks again.

[Topspinmo]

Humidistat - How to Set It - YouTube

I was told when occupying the house set to on?

Anybody notice when it rains the A/c kicks on more? It feel it feels cooler due to all the moisture in the air?

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by Fredster

Just checked....my thermostat is set at 75 and the humidity is 46%... house feels very cool.
Also have two ceiling fans running on low.

Found this....

“But if your air conditioner isn’t dehumidifying the air properly, it’s probably because of one of these issues:

Thermostat is set to “ON” instead of “AUTO”
Dirty evaporator coil
Leaky ductwork
Oversized air conditioning system

Yes, one possibility I’ve seen before is an air leak in the return vent in the attic, caused by some repair guy bumping it or stepping on it. That will let humid, hot attic air be sucked into the system. The system may cool it down, but the air may need to be recirculated a few times to remove the extra moisture, yet with the leak, it doesn’t get the chance.

A more common reason is leaving doors open when the temperature is pleasantly cool, but the humidity is high, such as early morning. Having an outdoor humidity gauge is a good idea. Another common reason is taking long showers without adequate ventilation. I have Panasonic ultra quiet exhaust fans in my bathrooms that draw about 100 cubic feet per minute and use them for a half hour after a shower. This helps towels dry, too, and makes mold less likely. A third reason is boiling water on the stove. Cooking can steam up a house quite quickly. A fourth reason is using a humidifier at night. That can add a gallon of water to the air overnight!

[toddsmig]

Also for maintenance...a 50/50 mix of bleach and water down the condensate tube twice a year to keep the mold/critters down and make sure it is draining out. There is a cap at the furnace that unscrews and just pour it in.

[richs631]

Originally Posted by Grumpy218

I recently purchased a home in the villages. The house was built in late 2017, so it's fairly new. I've noticed that it feels very humid in the house. The thermostat is set on 74 degrees and it maintains that temperature but it registers a humidity of 63%. The humidity would be great if I wanted to turn my home into a humidor!!! I don't think my wife would go along with that idea.

I moved here from Poinciana, FL so I'm familiar with the Florida humidity. My home A/C in Poinciana was set at 75 degrees and it was cool to the point we used blankets in the evening to watch TV.

Is there something I'm missing, e.g. have the freon checked in the A/C unit? Flush out the condensate line (although there doesn't seem to be much condensate exiting the house). Or could it be something else. Is a whole house de-humidifier the answer?

All feedback is welcome!

Along with the temp control you can also set the humidity if most likely you have the same thermostat as everyone else

[RICH1]

Originally Posted by Grumpy218

I recently purchased a home in the villages. The house was built in late 2017, so it's fairly new. I've noticed that it feels very humid in the house. The thermostat is set on 74 degrees and it maintains that temperature but it registers a humidity of 63%. The humidity would be great if I wanted to turn my home into a humidor!!! I don't think my wife would go along with that idea.

I moved here from Poinciana, FL so I'm familiar with the Florida humidity. My home A/C in Poinciana was set at 75 degrees and it was cool to the point we used blankets in the evening to watch TV.

Is there something I'm missing, e.g. have the freon checked in the A/C unit? Flush out the condensate line (although there doesn't seem to be much condensate exiting the house). Or could it be something else. Is a whole house de-humidifier the answer?

All feedback is welcome!

I purchased the Sensi Emerson WiFi Thermostat which has multiple functions to address your humidity/temp issue.. it has programs which you can set to set your AC on and off Duty cycle and drop your humidity level!
You still will need to do your AC basics , filter changes, clean evaporator, spray and clean your condenser... run a shop vac on your evap drain line, it might be partially clogged...therm was 110.00 on the Amazn

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Garywt

We keep our AC at 72 usually and we set the humidity to below 50%. What is you thermostat set at for the humidity.

We don't have a humidity setting on our wall thermostat but we do have a little gadget that we bought that monitors humidity and temperature that we can carry from room to room. We set our thermostat on 79 when it is set to cool and on 72 when it is set to heat. It feels comfortable at both settings and FEELS the same temperature although they are degrees apart. I think the cooling itself dehumidifies.

[Hiltongrizz11]

Originally Posted by Garywt

We keep our AC at 72 usually and we set the humidity to below 50%. What is you thermostat set at for the humidity.

Not everyone has the ability to set their humidity level on their indoor ac

[gmdds]

As yet, no one has addressed the whole home dehumidifier aspect of your question.

We have a whole house dehumidifier. Our relative humidity is 40%, and our A/C is set on 81*...any cooler setting than that and we are cold. Yes, when ones A/C is on, it dehumidifies, while running. Why run the A/C, at 240 volts, just to get the moisture out of the air, when you can do that with a whole home dehumidifier, at 120 volts...way less energy, and way more comfort. Also, when we are out of town, the A/C is set on 87*, but the relative humidity is still 40%.

Go to You Tube and look for the This Old House feature on Whole Home Dehumidifiers.

Just another option...to each his own.