Numerous different factors can impact how well your HVAC system performs and how likely it is to experience various issues. One important factor is obviously the local climate, i.e. how hot the summers are and how cold it gets during the winter. In terms of climate, one thing you may not fully realize is that all of the dust that comes along with living in a desert area can also have a big impact on your air conditioning and heating. In this article, we’ll explore the various issues that desert dust can lead to and what options you have for overcoming them.
Dirty Evaporator and Condenser Coils
The biggest effect that dust has on a standard air conditioning system or a heat pump system is that it quickly builds up on the condenser coil in the outdoor unit. If you don’t use a fairly efficient air filter, you can also end up with quite a bit of dust collecting on the evaporator coil inside your house. That’s because desert dust is often so fine that it can pass straight through a less efficient air filter, whereas a higher-efficiency filter can trap fine dust particles far more effectively.
If your HVAC system’s evaporator coil and/or condenser coil are dirty, it results in poor performance and increased energy consumption. The reason is that the layer of dust interferes with the ability of the refrigerant to capture and transfer heat. When your HVAC is running in cooling mode, a dirty indoor coil prevents the refrigerant from absorbing as much heat as it should as it flows through the coil. This issue can also result in the evaporator coil freezing up, resulting in the system no longer being able to cool at all. If you have a heat pump, a dirty indoor coil will also lead to poor heating performance since the dust creates a barrier that traps heat in. That means you’ll have less heat flowing out of the refrigerant into the air, resulting in the air the system puts out not being as hot as it normally should.
A dirty outdoor coil also creates major issues when your AC is running or when your heat pump is cooling and heating. In this case, the issue is still dirt making it hard for the system to release and absorb heat. The result is that the refrigerant won’t cool down as much as it should before getting pumped back inside, which then reduces how much additional heat it can capture as it moves through the evaporator coil. A bigger concern when the refrigerant retains more heat than it should is that it makes it more difficult for the compressor to pump the refrigerant through the system. The reason this is a concern is that it can often lead to the compressor overheating and possibly getting damaged, especially on hotter days. If the outdoor coil is covered in dust, it also interferes with a heat pump’s ability to heat effectively by reducing how much heat the refrigerant can capture from outside.
Dirty HVAC Blower
If your air filter isn’t efficient enough, you can also end up with lots of dust collecting on the cage that surrounds your HVAC system’s blower. A dirty blower always makes a furnace, AC or heat pump system work less effectively. That’s because it reduces the volume of air the blower can pull into the system and thus how much hot or cool air the system puts out. Dust also makes the blower work harder, which increases wear and tear on its motor and can lead to it needing some type of repair or failing sooner than it normally would. When there isn’t enough air coming into your HVAC system, it can also cause the evaporator coil to freeze up or your furnace to overheat.
Dirty Furnace Burners
Another potential issue that can occur in a dry, desert climate is that dust ends up getting inside the burner ports in a gas furnace. While some types of dust will quickly burn up, desert dust is a different story since the burner flames don’t get nearly hot enough to melt or burn sand. The main issue when a furnace has dirty burners is that it can sometimes lead to the gas flowing out of them not fully combusting. The result when this happens is that the flames won’t put off nearly the same amount of heat as they normally do and your furnace will heat more slowly. The more serious concern is that carbon monoxide is produced as a natural byproduct of natural gas not fully combusting. While you normally don’t have to worry about being exposed to carbon monoxide, it can happen if your furnace isn’t properly vented or there’s a crack or hole in its heat exchanger.
Clogged Air Filters
Even though a less efficient filter can allow quite a bit of dust particles to pass through, dust will always end up clogging your filter more quickly no matter what type you use. In many parts of the country, you can usually get away with replacing the air filter in an HVAC system every three months. In a desert climate, dust can cause the filter to clog up so fast that you’ll need to replace it every two months or potentially even monthly. If not, your heating and cooling performance can eventually start to suffer as a result of the filter getting so dirty it restricts how much air the blower can draw into your HVAC system. Poor performance in turn means your energy bills will increase and various components in your system will experience greater wear and tear. The increased wear and tear is the reason that an HVAC system typically won’t ever last as long if its filter isn’t changed regularly.
How Regular HVAC Maintenance Helps Prevent Issues
The only way you can really minimize the effect that desert dust has on your HVAC system is to have it professionally maintained every year. This means getting your cooling system serviced sometime in the spring and then having a technician service your heating system in the fall. The reason that maintenance helps to resolve and prevent the various issues dust can have on your HVAC system is that one part of it involves the technician cleaning components like the blower, coils and furnace burners.
While you can obviously replace the air filter yourself as needed, it’s more difficult to effectively clean these other components yourself. For instance, the only way to clean the burners in a furnace is to remove them, which can create major issues if not done properly. Trying to clean your system’s evaporator coil or condenser coil yourself is also risky since the fins can be particularly delicate.
Expert HVAC Services You Can Count On
For the past 40 years, General Air Conditioning & Plumbing has been providing top-notch heating, air conditioning and plumbing solutions to customers in Palm Springs and the nearby areas. If you’re looking to lessen the impact dust can have on your HVAC system, you can trust us to professionally handle all of your air conditioning system’s maintenance requirements. We can also repair any issues your system has or help if you need to replace your home’s air conditioning or heating. To schedule an AC maintenance appointment or any other home service, contact us today.
