The humidity that we care about is relative humidity which is the amount of water in the air relative to the maximum it could hold in that moment. Cold air can hold less water than hot air. If you run AC while showering you are effectively limiting how much water the air will be able to absorb. Then when it warms again it will have the same absolute amount of water, but the capacity to hold water of the now warm air has increased. Thus the relative humidity has dropped.
This is why fire risk goes up with temperatures. As the temp rises the air gets relatively drier and things are easier to burn. It is also why dew happens overnight. As the air cools it cannot hold as much water as it did when it was hot. Whatever it can’t hold falls out of the air as dew.
All of that to say that this ia a great idea I would never have thought of for managing moisture in a bathroom. Very interesting!
Thanks! Very helpful explanation! The online articles i found didnt explain how it works, just that it does.
Why does it cause less condensation on my ceiling? Like normally, when i step out of the shower wo ac, my ceiling is drenched. But with the AC on, my ceiling is less wet. The AC is like 1.5 m away from the ceiling and it’s not pointed at the ceiling.
Only guessing, but I think it is because the air is cooler than the ceiling when you’re running the AC. Condensation happens when warm air meets something cooler and drops its water as the thin film of air near the cold object cools and loses its capacity to hold water.
If you only run AC while in the shower the walls/ceiling haven’t had time to come down to the same temp as the cooled air and condensation can’t happen because you will have cool air meeting a warmer object.
The humidity that we care about is relative humidity which is the amount of water in the air relative to the maximum it could hold in that moment. Cold air can hold less water than hot air. If you run AC while showering you are effectively limiting how much water the air will be able to absorb. Then when it warms again it will have the same absolute amount of water, but the capacity to hold water of the now warm air has increased. Thus the relative humidity has dropped.
This is why fire risk goes up with temperatures. As the temp rises the air gets relatively drier and things are easier to burn. It is also why dew happens overnight. As the air cools it cannot hold as much water as it did when it was hot. Whatever it can’t hold falls out of the air as dew.
All of that to say that this ia a great idea I would never have thought of for managing moisture in a bathroom. Very interesting!
Thanks! Very helpful explanation! The online articles i found didnt explain how it works, just that it does.
Why does it cause less condensation on my ceiling? Like normally, when i step out of the shower wo ac, my ceiling is drenched. But with the AC on, my ceiling is less wet. The AC is like 1.5 m away from the ceiling and it’s not pointed at the ceiling.
Only guessing, but I think it is because the air is cooler than the ceiling when you’re running the AC. Condensation happens when warm air meets something cooler and drops its water as the thin film of air near the cold object cools and loses its capacity to hold water.
If you only run AC while in the shower the walls/ceiling haven’t had time to come down to the same temp as the cooled air and condensation can’t happen because you will have cool air meeting a warmer object.
the ac ends up blowing on my feet somewhat so maybe the condensation is happening within the shower.