The heat and humidity are a fact of life here in the Sarasota area. Humidity doesn’t only cause discomfort to humans, but it is not ideal to have anywhere in your home—humidity can ruin paint, rust metal, and significantly affect your home’s electrical system. Though short-term humidity is unavoidable, constant humidity should not happen and should be remedied.
What Is Humidity?
We’re plenty familiar with the humidity here in Florida, but what exactly is it?
Humidity is a measure of the water vapor content of the air. In the home, humidity is created when you shower, cook on the stove, wash dishes, or hang clothes up to dry. Your HVAC system also produces some level of humidity. When warm, humid air hits a cold surface such as a wall, it cools, and the water condenses, forming droplets. This is what causes the fog on a bathroom mirror. The condensed water can create issues if allowed to sit on a surface for too long without drying.
How Are Electrical Components Affected?
Electrical devices can only handle so much humidity before they become affected—at about 40-50% humidity, you will start to notice electrical problems.
- Corrosion: As mentioned, humidity leads to condensation. Any water that sits on electrical wires will cause issues, be it a diversion of electrical power or rust and corrosion of exposed metal wires and components. As the metal corrodes, you will notice that the amount of electricity emitting from the socket/device is low or inconsistent, causing flickering or surges.
- Short-Circuiting: Water is a good conductor of electricity, so when it touches a wire, it increases the electrical current and decreases the amount of resistance present, which will trigger the GFCI or circuit breaker to trip. It is important never to touch wires that are corroding or have water on them, as it can increase the shock you experience. Only a trusted professional electrician should handle these dangerous situations.
- Overheating: Humidity cannot happen without heat, so if the humidity in an area of your home is high, that means it’s hot there as well. High heat makes it more difficult for appliances like the HVAC system to keep themselves cool, and adding moisture on top of heat makes it even harder. If water damages the electrical components that power the internal fans of your appliances, heat management can become even more of an issue.
- Increased Electrical Bill: When the wires of your electrical system have eroded or have condensation touching them, the appliances have to work overtime to make up for the unstable current coming through. It will likely be evident if humidity impacts your system because you will see your electric bill skyrocket.
- Electrical Fires: Short-circuiting wires can allow electricity to arc through the air and potentially blow a fuse. Fuses help modulate the temperature of the wires; when a fuse is blown, the wires may heat up and catch fire themselves or set nearby materials on fire. If you ever smell burning or melting near an electrical fixture, cut power to that circuit and call an electrician right away to check for damage.
Promise Electric provides electrical services to residential and commercial clients throughout the Sarasota area. We can help you with projects or renovations while ensuring that your home and family are safe.
