Furnace humidifiers save energy

Have you ever felt cold, even with the thermostat turned way up. There is a good chance that this was due to dry air making you feel colder than the actual temperature setting because the moisture evaporating from your skin has a noticeable cooling effect. A furnace humidifier can help reduce heating bills because humidified air feels warmer and as such you can feel the same warmth at a lower temperature as long as the humidity is high enough. For example, a 20°C or 69°F temperature at 35% relative humidity feels just as warm as a 22°C or 72°F setting at 19% relative humidity. Setting your thermostat three degrees lower can reduce your annual heating costs by as much as 5 %.

Air acts like a giant sponge, soaking up whatever moisture is available. The dryer the air the better its ability to absorb moisture. When that moisture is taken from your skin, it cools the skin and you feel cool, often cold. To ward off this chill, many people turn up their heat until they start to feel warm again, thus using more electricity or gas (we all know how much it costs to heat a home these days, especially considering gas and electricity prices). It is much cheaper to simply raise the moisture level (humidity) in the air and decrease the rate of evaporation of moisture from your skin, leaving you comfortably warm at a cooler temperature.