How to optimise temperature and humidity
in your home

Home should be somewhere you enjoy being. It should be comfortable, relaxing, and calming. The ideal place to wind down after a busy day, and a place where you are happy to spend a significant amount of time. But if your home environment is too hot, too cold, or at the wrong humidity level, it can quickly become an uncomfortable, unpleasant, and even unhealthy place. At its worst, a cold home can increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke, breathing problems, flu, depression, and falls for a vulnerable person.^*1 Luckily, there are plenty of ways of optimising the temperature and humidity levels of your home. Here are some of the best.

^*1 https://www.nice.org.uk/about/nice-communities/social-care/quick-guides/helping-to-prevent-winter-deaths-andillnesses-associated-with-cold-homes

• What’s the ideal home temperature and humidity level?
• Effective devices to maintain optimum temperature and humidity at home

○ Hygrometer and thermometer device
○ Air conditioners or fans
○ HVAC system
○ Humidifiers or dehumidifiers

• Temperature control during home construction and maintenance

○ Thermal insulation
○ Effective window insulation

• Quick temperature and humidity hacks to improve your daily life

• Panasonic air conditioners and dehumidifiers keep your home just right

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the ideal room temperature for your home is at least 18ºC, with at least 20ºC advisable for older people.^*2

Similarly, the French Environment & Energy Management Agency (ADEME) suggests living and dining areas should be at 19ºC, given we spend a lot of time inactive in those parts of the home. Again, for older people, 20-22ºC is more advisable.^*3 A temperature of below 13°C can increase your blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease, whereas 24-27ºC is too warm and can put babies and young children at risk. Finding the sweet spot between the two is the key to a comfortable home.^*4 It is also recommended that the indoor relative humidity at room temperature in your home is between 40-70%,^*5 and it’s surprisingly easy for it to fluctuate more than you’d like. Luckily, help is at hand.
>The key to comfortable living: perfect room temperature and humidity
>Sleep hygiene - 11 tips to help you sleep better

^*2 https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1161792/retrieve#page=54
^*3 http://multimedia.ademe.fr/infographies/infographie_mieux_se_chauffer/
^*4 https://www.cse.org.uk/advice/advice-and-support/heat-and-health
^*5 https://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/ocs/300-399/oc311_2.htm

Thankfully, modern devices now make reaching the ideal room temperature and humidity much easier than ever before. Here are a few of the latest technologies that can help improve your home environment.

The first step in reaching the ideal indoor temperature and humidity is to obtain an accurate and reliable measure of your current situation. That’s where these two technologies come in. Whilst a hygrometer measures the amount of water vapour in the air, a thermometer takes care of temperature; together, they can give you an accurate picture of the condition of your home environment. These days, they’ll almost always come as a pair.

An air conditioner or fan is the next logical step for tackling your domestic climate control. Fans are typically used during summer months, when the temperature gets too hot. However, they are only effective when the air outside your home is warmer than the air indoors because they simply move cooler air towards you rather than having any direct impact on temperature. Once the air temperature goes over 35ºC it’s important to avoid the use of fans altogether, as they inhibit your body’s ability to sweat and can therefore make you hotter rather than cooler.^*6 Air conditioning systems, on the other hand, actively alter the temperature of the air as it passes through them. They’re a highly effective way of controlling your home’s environment.

A full heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is a no-holds-barred approach to managing your home’s climate. It can quickly and effectively help you achieve the best room temperature and humidity levels throughout your home, supporting restful sleep and a more comfortable living environment.

Humidity is often one of the most overlooked factors in your home’s comfort. However, it can have a significant impact on comfort and contribute towards damp, mould, and mildew that can affect your health. A humidifier (or dehumidifier, as the case may be) is one of the best ways of monitoring, controlling, and maintaining an optimum humidity level in your home.

^*6 https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/6594

Climate control is increasingly at the forefront of building regulations, and considerate construction practices pave the way for a more easy-to-manage home.

During the construction or renovation of your home, effective thermal insulation not only reduces your energy consumption costs but can also make it much easier to maintain a safe and comfortable living environment. At best, a thoroughly insulated home can require just 10% of the costs of heating a “leaky house”, making a big impact on your bills and environmental impact.

Modern double- or triple-glazed windows can make a significant difference to the temperature of your home. Keeping your rooms warm in winter and cool in summer reduces the need for any additional heating or cooling measures. At the same time, make sure to install appropriate ventilation throughout your home when installing modern windows, so as to keep your humidity levels in check.

^*7 https://shrinkthatfootprint.com/house-insulation-value/

To control the temperature and humidity of your home today, there are a few quick changes you can make without needing to spend much money.

Eliminating gaps around doors and windows in your home helps create a more stable environment for heating and humidity control. When air can travel too freely around and through your building, it can be difficult to keep the heat in when you want it most.

Blocked gutters and dirty external walls hold onto moisture throughout much of the year, and in certain types of properties this moisture can seep through the walls and into the home. Not only does this raise internal humidity and damp levels, but it also impacts airflows and affects your building’s temperature exchange. Cleaning your gutters, downpipes, and external walls on a regular basis will help you keep your temperature and humidity levels in check too.

Drying laundry indoors is one of the most common contributors to home humidity. Where possible, dry your clothes outside or in an externally venting dryer to reduce the impact. You should quickly see a drop in your relative humidity.

Most house plants contribute to raised humidity levels in the home. As they naturally respire, they absorb water in order to photosynthesise, and then release 97% of this moisture into the air through transpiration and evaporation.^*8 If you have a lot of plants, they could be raising your home’s humidity. Take stock of your plant collection, and regularly open neighbouring windows to keep things in check.

Opening windows and doors to allow air to circulate will help you tackle irregular moisture and humidity levels. Ventilation is particularly important during cooking, hot showers, or when drying clothes. For a more powerful solution, a ventilation system will make sure air is constantly circulating throughout your home.

It might sound like one of the most unusual methods, but charcoal is a proven way of naturally reducing indoor humidity. Charcoal is highly absorbent, and a few briquettes placed strategically in the home can be surprisingly powerful in reducing humidity.

^*8 https://plantophiles.com/plant-care/do-houseplants-increase-humidity-i-knew-it/

Panasonic’s world-leading range of air conditioners make it easy to monitor and optimise the temperature and humidity of your home. With humidity sensors,^*9 remote controls, and easy management and maintenance, it couldn’t be simpler to create a better environment. Combined with nanoe™ X, our technology cleans the air and surfaces, inhibiting pollutants with nature-derived hydroxyl radicals. With Panasonic, you can enjoy a more comfortable, healthier home environment, every day of the year. Just the way it should be.

> How nanoe™ X works
> nanoe X Generator Mark3

^*9 Some air conditioners don’t have a humidity sensor. Please check the Panasonic website for detailed product information.

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