There is no straightforward yes or no to this question. A dehumidifier helps in proper air conditioning and removes humidity from the indoor air, so yes, it gives a comfortable & cooler atmosphere. But the purpose of the dehumidifier for the home is to maintain temperature, and it could increase the heat instead.
We asked this question to a few HVAC technicians and a few customers. Their answers came opposite to each other. A dehumidifier warms the room for an HVAC expert, and it cannot cool it. And Customer said, dehumidifier indeed cool down the room temperature.
Confused!!!
Don't be. We will explain both and why HVAC experts & the customers stand correct in their own perspectives.
We will use the Second Law of Thermodynamics to explain the paradox.
Can a Dehumidifier Cool a Room?
The answer is no because it will increase the temperature. Whenever you start a piece of electronic equipment in a room. If there is no sufficient indoor and outdoor air exchange, it will raise the heat within the room.
Your air conditioner needs to work with outside air to reduce the temperature in the room. So, to balance the temperature, you need venting.
A dehumidifier works to decrease relative humidity at home from 70-100 percent to 35 percent. It does not require any heat exchange to perform its functions, and so the heat generated remains within the room. It means the temperature can rise, not reduce for cooling effects.
Why did the Customer feel that Dehumidifier Cool the Room?
A dehumidifier reduces relative humidity levels and increases room temperature. This reduction in humidity, generally from seventy to forty percent, makes us feel that the room is getting cooler. We feel comfortable after a few hours of running dehumidifiers indoors. That can be one of the main reasons.
Evaporation from Moisturized Skin
The human body works itself to cool it down and make us comfortable. It helps in moisture evaporation when there is a rise in temperature. Our system has its way of managing bodily functions.
The evaporation of the sweat is directly related to the humidity level at home and outside. Around 70% of a person living in a high humid area will experience less evaporation from the skin. It happens because air is already heavy with moisture and saturated for evaporation. This led to a low cooling effect in high humid areas.
A dehumidifier makes the comfortable difference here. The unit's primary function is to reduce relative humidity up to thirty percent. The air around you becomes light and starts evaporation. In some time, sweating stops, and you feel a comfortable indoor atmosphere.
Low humidity and evaporation from the skin are reasons why the Customer said that dehumidifier cools their room.
Conclusion
Our final response to this paradoxical question is dehumidifiers don't cool down the room temperature. We feel the cooling effect because of low relative humidity and sweat evaporation from the skin. It is the condensation process that makes us feel cooler. We hope our analysis answers this common question with two responses from HVAC technicians and users.
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