Turn Off Your Furnace Humidifier After Heating Season
During heating season, your furnace operation does more than heat your home. It also reduces moisture in the air, which can cause an unhealthy living environment and affect your home’s building materials. For this reason, your furnace most likely includes a humidifier designed to provide humidity to your entire house during the winter. Using your home humidifier in the winter can reduce static electricity, alleviate dry skin, reduce cold and asthma symptoms, and help you extend the lifespan of building materials and furniture. However, the air in the summer is moist, which makes using your humidifier unnecessary. The use of your humidifier during the summer months can actually reduce the effectiveness of your AC and lead to increased energy bills. For this reason, it’s essential to shut down your humidifier once heating season is over.
When spring arrives, it’s important to prepare your home for the summer months by addressing energy-efficient ways to keep your home cool. This includes turning off your furnace humidifier, closing the damper, and shutting off the humidifier water supply. You can learn how to complete this task on your own, or contact an experienced HVAC professional to complete the task for you.
How To Turn Off Your Furnace Humidifier
It’s important to note that turning off your furnace humidifier requires more than flipping a switch. Still, it’s a reasonably simple process that some homeowners prefer to take care of themselves. When the heating season ends, take these steps to turn off your central humidifier to ensure your air conditioner will be able to work efficiently.
Step 1. Turn off the Humidistat
Like your HVAC system, your humidifier has a device to regulate the way it works. Typically, the humidistat is installed above your humidifier on the return air plenum or on the wall near your thermostat. Turn the humidistat to the off position, or the lowest humidity setting.
Step 2. Close the Duct Damper
Some humidifiers have a bypass duct damper to prevent cold air from your AC from entering your humidifier. If your humidifier includes a bypass damper, it will be located at the humidifier or in the connected duct. Simply turn the duct to the “Summer” position or close it off entirely. If your humidifier doesn’t have a damper, skip this step.
Step 3. Turn Off the Water Supply to Your Humidifier
This is the final step to turning off your humidifier for the summer. Locate the plastic or copper water line attached to the unit and follow it back to the water supply. When you reach a water supply valve, turn the valve to shut it off completely.
With these simple steps, your humidifier is turned off for the summer. However, it’s a good idea to take the time to clean the humidifier so it will be ready for the next heating season. If you choose to prepare your humidifier for summer yourself, it’s a good idea to follow this checklist to ensure you don’t forget anything. If you prefer to turn this seasonal maintenance task over to the professionals, get in touch with the heating and cooling experts at Cedarwood Heating & Cooling for assistance.
