When the Wind Blows, Here’s What to Know!
If you’ve ever been in the Palm Springs area in April, you’ve already seen and felt the signs—must be the Season of the Wind!
This time of year, winds in the valley are high, and so are the levels of fine desert dust in the air. It’s important to keep tabs on the local Air Quality Index for your health, especially if you’re part of a sensitive group. At the same time, don’t forget to keep an eye on your HVAC system—the dust not only causes your equipment to work harder, but can also creep inside and lower your indoor air quality!
In this blog, we’ll break down the trouble wind-kicked dust can cause and what you can do about it.
A Hard Day’s Night for Your Equipment
Whatever the season, there’s always something in the air, and your HVAC system’s primary line of defense is the filter. When there’s a lot of something in the air, like during windy season, the filter fills up with dirt, mold, and other pollutants much more quickly. Pretty soon, you have a filter caked with grime!
An overfull filter doesn’t let air pass through as easily, which makes your HVAC system work harder and reduces energy efficiency. That hard work strains the blower motor in particular and shortens its lifespan.
Dust also collects on the condenser coils of outdoor AC units, where it acts as an insulator and prevents the coils from releasing heat as well as they’re supposed to. Some signs of dirty coils include longer running times, higher energy bills, and an overall lower ability to cool your home. Your unit will wear out faster this way, and it can even cause the compressor to overheat and break down. You definitely don’t want that—compressors are the most expensive part to replace!
Breathe In the (Clean?) Air
Besides messing with your equipment, air contaminants can get indoors through open doors and windows, cracks in your air ducts, or a filter too saturated to work efficiently. If not taken care of, they can seriously impact your indoor air quality!
Much of the dust is made up of fine, abrasive particles from the desert soil, but it doesn’t come alone. It brings along irritants like pollen and mold—including Valley Fever spores—as well as bacteria and harmful chemicals from industry and agriculture. Ick! While all this can affect anyone, children, the elderly, and those suffering from asthma, allergies, or heart and lung conditions could be more seriously affected. That’s nothing to sneeze at!
So, what can be done?
Takin’ Care of Business With Some DIY
One key fix is something you can do yourself: change your HVAC filter! Manufacturers usually recommend that you do this every 60-90 days, but if you see that your filter is very dirty when you change it, you should do it more often.
Once you’ve taken steps to keep pollutants out of your home, you can also do something about what’s already inside: invest in a high-quality indoor air purifier. These devices, often portable from room to room, catch dust, allergens, and other contaminants and release clean air back into your home. The best are Energy Star-certified, have highly efficient filters, and feature a clean air delivery rate (CADR) appropriate to the size of your space.
Speaking of CADR, it can be tricky to choose the right products with all the “alphabet soup” of product ratings. Here’s a handy guide:
- MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values), measuring a filter’s ability to catch very small particles. Look for a filter with a minimum MERV-13 rating, or the highest rating compatible with your system.
- HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air), the most efficient filter type, which can remove at least 99.97% of those small particles. Look for these when you really need to screen things out!
- CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate), measuring the speed and volume of air an individual purifier can clean. Look for a number that is two-thirds the square feet of the room you’ll be using the device in.
If you’re ever unsure which filters your HVAC system would be compatible with, go ahead and ask a tech! Which brings us to another point…
Help, I Need Somebody!
For other maintenance needs, such as cleaning air ducts or condenser coils, you’ll want to hire a professional. HVAC technicians have the tools and expertise to do a thorough job without causing harm to the equipment.
For HVAC maintenance in Thousand Palms and the surrounding communities, lean on Timo’s. We can test your home’s IAQ and recommend solutions that fit your needs, such as indoor air cleaners or UV purifiers. We can also clean out your air ducts or repair, seal, or replace them when needed.
To schedule an IAQ test, ducting services, or an AC tune-up, contact us online or call 760.459.5034. Until then, stay safe in the wind and rock on this spring!
