Should you run a dehumidifier and air conditioner at the same time

Are you wondering if you should run a dehumidifier and an air conditioner at the same time or it will be just fine to use one of them at once?

Well, it’s completely okay to have such questions because there are so many confusions out there about “Should you run a dehumidifier and air conditioner at the same time or not”.

Even though there are many people who claims that running a dehumidifier and an air conditioner at the same time is the best and fastest way to reduce the humidity in a room/house. However, there are many other exists too who claims that it’s not a good idea to use both of them at the same time.

Basically, there are some common misconceptions when it comes to air conditioning & humidity and how exactly they affect each other. But don’t worry cause I am here for you to explain everything that you should know about and what’s the real truth behind.

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How does an Air Conditioner Work?

An air conditioner’s primary purpose is to circulate cool air all around the house to maintain the desired temperature with the help of a small device that is attached to an indoor wall. After choosing the right temperature, the air conditioning unit will pull the warm air in and start re-circulating the cool air back into the home with the help of the Freon cooling agent. 

This whole process will be continued until the home temperature is achieved at your preferred temperature.

As I said earlier that first, the air conditioner blower will draw warm air from your house/room, and then start re-circulating it through the evaporator and the ductwork. However, you should also know that the condenser and the compressor are normally situated outside the house to pump the splendid chemical compound called the refrigerant.

[Refrigerant: Basically the job of the refrigerant is to travel through the system to the different parts of the air conditioner, changing from a low-pressure gas to a high-pressure liquid.

In simple words, you can say that this liquid-gas substance can absorb heat from the air as it passes the evaporator.]

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How does a dehumidifier Work?

A normal dehumidifier work in two major ways…

1. By refrigeration: In this way, a dehumidifier removes moisture from the air by cooling. You can also compare it with any Air conditioner or refrigerator technology.
2. By absorption/adsorption: Here the moisture will be absorbed onto a drying material and then removed.

In simple words, a dehumidifier works by drawing warm air currents into its coils via a fan. The hot air shrinks as it is fed through the machine’s refrigerated coils and condensation, which is left inside the dehumidifier.

After cooling down the air it will release the dehumidified air back into your home through the other side of the machine, and as promised the dehumidifier will bring the moisture in the air down to a relative humidity of 30 to 50 percent.

Well I do understand that you have a feeling like it’s a lot sounds like an air conditioner but, to be honest, it’s not completely…because a dehumidifier will only help you to reduce moisture from your house/room.

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Humidifier and air conditioners

As you can understand now that an air conditioner helps incoming dehumidified air slightly while cooling down the room. However, if you wanna reduce extreme levels of humidity in a room/house then you must have to use a dehumidifier.

In case you are thinking about running your AC unit for a long time to get rid of the high humidity levels then let me tell you that this won’t work because it is something impractical and also gets very expensive for running the AC unit for a long time.

For example, basements are the places where the humidity level is always high, no matter whether it’s finished or unfinished, or you are running your Ac unit all the time. In the end, you will still feel a high humidity level in your basement.

So in this situation, you must have to use your dehumidifier to reduce the humidity level… because Air conditioning thermostats are activated by a control gauge for your home’s upper portion.

However, if you want to get quick/faster results then you can use both at the same time to maintain the comfortable temperature of the house. After all, running these two together will not only help you get rid of the moisture faster but it will also cool down your room faster.

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When to use a dehumidifier with an air conditioner

The perfect time to use a dehumidifier and an air conditioner simultaneously is when your AC unit can’t decrease the humidity level any longer by itself. As I said earlier that there are times when the humidity level is too high that an AC unit can not get rid of the moisture.

However, we need to be aware of one very important thing:

The purpose of the AC unit is to lower the temperature not to reduce the humidity level. But some humidity levels can be decreased by AC units while cooling down the room.

[Note: Just make sure that the place or room is not highly humid]

For example, if you have 80°F indoor temperature and around 75% of moisture level then your normal Ac unit can easily reduce the temperature from 80°F to 68°F and can decrease the moisture levels from 75% to 60%.

Now the problem is how to deal with the rest of the moisture that is left because when the room temperature hits normal, the AC unit will be turned off and on the other hand, the moisture level will be still high.

In this case, running a dehumidifier with an air conditioner at the same will be a smart move. After all the Ac unit will help you to get rid of the temperature and the dehumidifier will help you reduce moisture (between 30% and 50%) at the same time.

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When to use dehumidifier Alone

There are times when you can feel the humidity in the cool-down area. For example in winter sometimes you can feel the humidity in your room, and honestly, I believe that it is also the time when you cannot use the air conditioner… so the smart move would be to use a dehumidifier alone.

In other words whenever you feel the humidity in your room or area where the air conditioner is not required then you can use it alone without any second thought.

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Benefits of using a dehumidifier with your air conditioner

Since it’s proved that there are benefits of using a dehumidifier and an air conditioner at the same time so just let me tell you all of them clearly at once so that you won’t miss anything 😉

On hotter days if you will run both of them at the same time then you will not only just get proper levels of humidity but also you will experience a comfortable cool temperature of room/house. With this, you are also ensuring the safety of your wooden furniture properly with a sweet odor.

Even you are also ensuring that the paint on your walls won’t pill off because of added moisture. With proper humidity levels and temperature, you are also ensuring a healthier life for yourself and your family since your skin will remain free from stickiness, and cases of allergies will be reduced too.

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Increase Air conditioner energy Efficiency

It’s always better to use an air conditioner with a humidifier as high humidity/moisture can affect the performance of your air conditioner. But using a dehumidifier would be a smart move because the humidity that was reducing the performance of your air conditioner will no longer be there to hinder it.

If you will still force your air conditioner without a humidifier in high moisture places then you will face energy efficiency, which also has its downside. This is actually a disadvantage because, during times when your home is not actively cooling, active dehumidification is also not occurring.

Not to mention but high humidity can also slow down the cooling process, so it means that there will be an unusual load on your AC units in highly humid places. On the other hand, low humidity can help you to cool down your room faster. So if u ever feel like you have to cool down your room faster then a humidifier with an Ac unit will be a good combination.

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FAQ’s

Q. Can you run a dehumidifier and air conditioner at the same time?

Of course, you can. And if you read this article yet then I do believe that your other doubts are also cleared as well. however, if you still have some questions then let me know in the comment.

Q. Is it cheaper to run AC or dehumidifier?

If your goal is to reduce humidity in your room then it will be always cheaper to run a dehumidifier than an AC if both units are of average capacity and have typical running times.

Q. Do dehumidifiers help cool the house?

Although a dehumidifier does not produce cool air like your air conditioning system, it does remove moisture from the air. But it’s true that after running a dehumidifier you can feel several degrees cooler and significantly more comfortable.