If you are looking at preventing mold, you might want to know the appropriate AC temperature to prevent mold.
In this article, I will share with you the right AC temperature to use.
So after reading this article, you know the right temperature that you should be using.
This will really come in handy if you are leaving your room for a long period of time.
The right AC temperature to prevent mold
Knowing the right AC temperature to set before leaving depends on a couple of factors.
One of them is your specific weather conditions.
You should run the air conditioner to dehumidify the home while you are away if the interior humidity rises to the point where moisture actually condenses.
The setpoint will be determined by the expected temperatures on the surfaces that will get chilly enough to cause water to condense at that particular humidity within your home.
There might not be a particular temperature that completely prevents mold from forming.
Mold like to grow in moist conditions.
You might be able to survive without using your air conditioner if you live somewhere like Arizona, where the climate is generally dry.
In fact, some of the common air conditioners in Arizona are swamp coolers, which chill by humidifying the air; hence, in such a case, turning off the AC might be the best option.
However, some locations are humid while still being relatively cool.
Although you end up wasting electricity in terms of cooling, these locations may require an air conditioner set to 74° F to keep the humidity low.
In general, choosing a temperature on a thermostat is not a great technique to manage humidity.
This is because the relative humidity can rise even at an acceptable room temperature if you are trying to control humidity alone and no one is around to perceive a comfortable humidity level.
To measure the relative humidity and change the air conditioner as necessary, you need some kind of humidistat.
This kind of task is challenging to complete with older thermostats.
If your thermostat is web-enabled and works with an automation app like IFTTT.
With IFTTT, could easily set up a rule so that when you are not at home and the interior humidity rises due to a high forecasted humidity level.
Your air conditioner will run for one or two hours to reduce the interior humidity.
Thereafter, it will turn off so you won’t have to worry about the temperature again until the forecasted humidity rises again, or after a few hours.
Of course, installing a dehumidifier is the less sophisticated, alternative solution.
A heater, humidifier, dehumidifier, and air conditioner are the minimum number of HVAC modules found in most big commercial buildings.
At the home level, you could install a dehumidifier near the ventilation return for the air conditioner in one of your rooms, ideally near a drain so it won’t need to be emptied, and run your air conditioner in fan mode, which simply circulates air without using a lot of electricity, while allowing the dehumidifier to run.
You can probably set it to run on a timer for a few hours each day if you don’t want to use it constantly, but you should first determine how much humidity it can remove from the air in an hour and then compare that figure to the size of your home to make sure it runs for long enough.
To be more specific, however, for a sizable portion of the continental US, you can probably get by with 78-79° F for a week or two.
However, keep in mind that one of the other options I suggest might be preferable if you’re gone for months because the temperature isn’t always a good indicator of humidity in general.
I hope this gives you an idea about the best AC temperature that you can use to prevent mold.