You’re familiar with the crackle of static electricity: shirts that cling together in the washer, hair that won’t stay tamed and doorknobs that shock you when you open them. But what you may not know is the danger that static can pose to computers and other electronics. It is capable of shorting out sensitive components and incurring costly repair bills.

Static electricity is the buildup of electric charge on a surface, such as the aforementioned shirts, hair or skin. The shock you feel is due to the charge on your skin discharging onto another conductive object. Because water is conductive, water in the form of humidity is generally enough to rid your home of static electricity.

But when winter rolls around and the humidity drops, the static electric charge has no easy escape routes. It builds and builds until a touch gives it something to discharge into, like another person’s hand, a car door handle or an unlucky hard drive.

There are many ways to prevent or safely discharge static electricity. A dryer sheet in the laundry will help keep your shirts from sticking together, and some people keep a small, conductive object like a metal plaque at their workstations to ground the electrical charge before they get to work.

But for the most long-term, effective solution, consider a humidifier. In addition to offsetting the dryness of winter and keeping static electricity down, humidifiers can also ease the symptoms of cold and flu and create a more pleasant living environment overall.

Curious about how a humidifier can work to make your home more hospitable this season and reduce static electricity? Contact the experts at Powers Heating & Air. We proudly serve homeowners throughout Peachtree City and the surrounding area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Peachtree City, Georgia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

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