The excess humidity that causes window condensation not only damages sills and trim, it can result in mold and mildew growth and degrade indoor air quality. If your windows have condensation, it’s important to identify the reasons why, such as:

• Insufficient ventilation. Without adequate ventilation and air exchange, excess moisture from respiration, cooking, bathing and other daily activities can stay trapped inside a dwelling.

• Inefficient windows. High humidity in a home is more likely to cause condensation on single pane windows that aren’t energy efficient.

• An oversized A/C. An air conditioner that’s not sized correctly cycles on, quickly reaches the thermostat’s target temperature and then cycles off. With this repeated short-cycling, the equipment doesn’t stay running long enough to pull moisture out of the air, so humidity levels stay high.

The most effective way to reduce window condensation is to address the underlying causes:

• Increase ventilation. The controlled air exchange provided by properly-installed ventilation fans or a whole-house system not only eliminates excess moisture, it helps remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other pollutants and improves indoor air quality. Filtered ventilation also prevents pollen and other outdoor allergens from entering.

• Operate the kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans. Cooking, running a dishwasher, showering and bathing can add a lot moisture to the air inside a home. Make sure the fans are vented outdoors, so that you’re not just re-circulating the moisture or moving it to the home’s unconditioned spaces.

• Check the clothes dryer vent. If it isn’t vented directly outdoors, you’re adding humidity to the indoor air every time you dry a load of laundry. Make certain that the ducting is properly attached to the appliance, that it’s not blocked by a lint build-up, and that there are no holes that leak moist air.

• Upgrade to energy efficient windows. Look for Energy Star-certified windows with a U-value of .30 and a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of .30.

If your windows have condensation and you need expert advice on how to solve the problem, contact us at Powers Heating & Air. We’ve proudly served Peachtree City and the surrounding areas since 1979.

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).

Credit/Copyright Attribution: “nexus-7/Shutterstock”