How Important is Indoor Humidity in Commercial Buildings?

How Important is Indoor Humidity in Commercial Buildings?

Our experts at McLay Services have recently found that, according to the National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS), a study carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American spends about 92% of their time indoors. Whether this is your home, office or school, it’s undeniable that you spend a majority of your waking and sleeping hours under a roof. The significance of this number is that it emphasizes the importance of maintaining your indoor air quality, something that should be a top priority for any building or facility manager.

Today, our HVAC technicians from McLay have decided to dive deeper and investigate one of the factors that can greatly affect your IAQ: humidity levels.

Healthy Air

Different people have different preferences for humidity and temperature, and the same is true for the bacteria and viruses that travel through the air we breathe. Both extremely low and extremely high humidity levels promote an increase in numbers of certain disease-causing germs. Keeping your indoor humidity level between 40% and 60% greatly reduces allergenic and pathogenic propagation.

The HVAC technicians from McLay Services are NATE-certified and have extensive experience retrofitting humidifiers into existing HVAC installations. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to provide you with solutions to your humidity troubles.

Through the Ducts

Your commercial building’s ductwork should also be part of your humidification process. Have your contractor inspect problem areas and ask them to install at least two safety controls: an airflow proving switch and a duct-mounted humidistat. The proving switch will automatically turn off the humidifier should the airflow within the ducts stop for whatever reason, while the duct-mounted humidistat overrides the main humidistat control under extreme conditions.

Let Us Help You Improve Your Building’s Humidity Levels

At McLay Services, we’re your number one provider of HVAC and plumbing equipment, in addition to installation, maintenance and repair services. Give us a call at (909) 326-6106 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a visit today. We serve clients in Pomona, CA, and nearby areas.