Why is there so much static electricity in my home?

In the wintertime, it seems that it’s not just the cold weather that is shocking—static electricity increases and you may find yourself getting shocked after shuffling across the room to get the remote or on your way out the door in them morning.

So why is static electricity more common in your home during the winter months? It has a lot to do with the increased use of your furnace and warm air it produces. Although your furnace may help you beat the winter chills, it also is leading to those sparks when turning off a light or reaching for the phone.

When you heat your house to combat cold Ohio winters, the humidity level drops and the air becomes drier. Dry air is mostly to blame for shocks caused by static electricity.

When it’s cold out, the outside air is inherently drier and as you warm your house, your indoor air becomes very dry as well. Drier air has lower levels of humidity and enhances static shock—in addition to causing dry skin, bloody noses, and more.  When humidity is much lower in the winter and heating units reduce the humidity even more, static shock could happen frequently.

Humidifiers are your main tool for decreasing static electricity and preventing static shock. Humidifiers, especially whole-house humidifiers, greatly increase the humidity in your house—putting moisture back into the dry, heated winter air and creating a lower level of static electricity throughout your home.

Smaller, portable humidifiers can do the trick for one room or area in your home, but whole-house humidifiers are able to take away the annoyance of regular shocks in your home and more! There are more benefits to increasing the humidity of your home’s indoor air, including feeling more comfortable, improving energy efficiency, preventing dry skin, breathing easier, and more. Contact the professionals at Rick’s Heating & Cooling to get an estimate for installing a whole-house humidifier.