As the weather turns cold, now is the perfect time to winterize your air conditioning system. In addition to preparing it for the off-season, HVAC winterize helps significantly reduce dust buildup that plagues systems come spring. Following these winterization steps before shutting down the unit for winter will lead to cleaner air and less dust next year.
why shut down your system?
First, understand shutting down your HVAC during winter offers benefits beyond reducing dust. Namely, it saves energy and money. Heating or cooling an empty house wastes energy and costs more on your utility bills. Thus, by turning your system off when not needed you conserve resources and cut costs.
Second, winterizing the HVAC allows time to perform maintenance that prepares the system for optimal functioning come warmer weather. This includes tasks like replacing filters, lubricating parts, and cleaning dust and debris that accumulates while the system runs. Performing such maintenance while the unit sits idle ensures it’s ready when you need it most.
Cleaning Out Dust Prevents It Accumulating
However, the primary benefit of HVAC winterization relates to reducing dust that builds up inside the system over time. As the air conditioner runs through the spring, summer and fall, it pulls dust and debris into the ventilation system. This creates a perfect environment for dust to collect undisturbed for months.
Consequently, a lot of dust accumulates inside air ducts and the HVAC unit itself during this time. Then, when you turn the system back on the following spring, all that built-up dust circulates throughout your home. This triggers sneezing, itchy eyes and other symptoms for allergy and asthma sufferers.
In contrast, by shutting down the HVAC unit for winter and thoroughly cleaning air ducts and components at that time, you remove existing dust before it has a chance to multiply. You then start fresh come spring with clean air ducts that will collect dust at a much slower rate initially. Therefore, winterizing your AC leads to significantly less dust circulating through your house the following year.
Additional Winterizing Steps
Beyond cleaning ducts and components as part of winterizing your HVAC, consider additional steps like replacing or washing filters, lubricating moving parts, and sealing leaks. These maximize the system’s efficiency and performance for the next season while helping keep dust levels low.
All in all, following a simple winterize routine for your air conditioner delivers multiple benefits. However, the most impactful may be dramatically reducing dust accumulation that plagues the system come spring.
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