Dust, dirt, debris, or even biological growth in your HVAC system is not only unsavory, but has lasting consequences on the efficiency and safety of your heating and cooling equipment. While contaminants in your home are an issue solvable with proper Filtration and Air Purification, before you can focus on prevention, you must first focus on removal. There are many interconnected parts that work together to heat and cool your home; each with a specific role and necessities in order to function properly. When contaminants enter the equation, it compromises the reliability of your HVAC system to safely and efficiently provide comfort on demand.
At Hey There Heating & Air, we have the right solutions for your needs to restore your HVAC system to factory fresh conditions!
Air Handler & Furnace Cleaning: Main Base of Operation
The home for all your heating and cooling equipment lies in the air handler or furnace cabinets including all the air that cycles through your home and all the heat transfer. Unfortunately what that means is that all the contaminants in your home's air also run through your furnace or air handler. All the dust, dirt, debris, dander, smoke, bacteria, viruses, fungal spores and more in your home's air are drawn to and collected in one place. Often going unnoticed because they're hard to visually spot, once aggregated in your equipment, they pose substantial challenges to your home's heating and cooling operations. First and foremost, your unit will have either gas or electric heating elements that reside in the furnace or air handler cabinet that provide heat to the air in your home. When they become soiled they lose their heating capacity, forcing your system to work harder and run longer to achieve the same result, reducing the equipment's lifespan. The second concern is the spread of contaminants to pieces of equipment such as the blower wheel and evaporator coil. These two pieces of equipment are the foundation of your HVAC system's heating and cooling cycles, providing the airflow and cooling power respectively. If one or both of these become compromised it can lead to inefficiencies and even premature part failure with expensive repairs. The final consequence is the spread of these pollutants throughout your home. With a large aggregate of pollutants, your HVAC system inadvertently becomes a dispersal mechanism for all the collected particles, germs and gases as the air passes through into each and every area of your home.
Protect your valuable investment and your home in one fell swoop:
- Maintain high system efficiency – better heating and cooling
- Prevent equipment breakdowns and expensive repairs
- Provide clean, healthy air in your living space
Evaporator Coil Cleaning: The Cooling Center
The main cooling component of your HVAC system is what's known as the evaporator coil. It is the piece of equipment that refrigerant flows through in order to condition your air before it returns to your home. As warm air from your home passes over the cool coil, it draws the heat out of the air and into the refrigerant to be displaced outside (this effect is reversed if using heat pump heating). The key to its function is a steady supply of air for it to treat. Too much airflow means insufficient cooling; too little airflow means an overactive coil. If your ducts are designed well, you may be led to believe that your airflow is appropriate, but that's where the secret danger lies: Particles. Even with a good air filter, microscopic particles find their way through the gaps and on to your evaporator coil, clogging its airflow. Over time they build up on the coil and prevent air from passing through as designed. Even more sinister is that with the presence of particles, your coil is now also at risk of: Germs. Biological growth takes advantage of the food source found in particles and can begin growing on your coil as well, further clogging your airflow and also spreading infectious bacteria, viruses and fungi throughout your home's air. As a result of poor airflow, your evaporator coil is prone to failure be it through freezing over or springing a leak, causing large damage and expensive repairs.
"Another important result of this study is that, over the 0.01 – 100 µm particle diameter range considered, the particles that are most responsible for [coil] fouling are those between 1 – 10 µm…. [They] exist in indoor air at very high concentrations and are relatively unlikely to be filtered." – The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Keep the heart of your HVAC system alive with an Evaporator Coil Cleaning:
- Clean health of your evaporator coil with proper airflow
- Diminish the spread of contaminants through your home
- Increased efficiency of your home's cooling – don't overpay utility companies
Blower Wheel Cleaning: The Driving Force
The air flow driver of your HVAC system is what's known as the blower wheel. It's a metal fan on a motor whose responsibility is to push air through your HVAC system. It does this by rotating at 800-1,200 times per minute and forces air through small fins to create the pressure that leads to your heating or cooling cycle. It is imperative to the design of blower wheels that the fins remain clean to be able to push the amount of air required for your system to operate as intended. As disposable filters are good at capturing large particles but allow smaller particles to escape through, this allows them to find their way onto the blower wheel and build up over time. When blower wheels accrue dust, dirt and debris on them, it can cause a great many issues. Firstly, a dirty blower wheel can cause the fins to become clogged and as a result, will overwork the motor to compensate for that lost efficiency. The effects of this are increased static pressure and higher blower wheel amp draws, both of which lead to higher energy usage and can cause premature failure. In addition, a clogged blower wheel jeopardizes the evaporator coil as its functionality is dependent on proper airflow as well. As mentioned with the issues of a clogged coil, if the blower wheel is unable to provide proper airflow to begin with, even a healthy coil will struggle.
"Airflow across the evaporator coil was restricted by… dirty blower wheels, and with time dirty evaporator coils themselves, to reduce heat transfer to the coil." – Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service
Breathe new life into your HVAC system's airflow with a Blower Wheel Cleaning:
- Ensure proper airflow of your HVAC equipment
- Extend the life and health of your blower wheel and evaporator coil in one
- Restored efficiency means more air, less electricity usage
Plenum Cleaning & Changeout: Air Central Station
As the air cycling through your home gets dispersed through the vast network of ducts that deliver comfortable air to each room, they all connect to one place: The Plenum. Positioned on both ends of your primary heating and cooling equipment, the plenums serve as the main hub for all air transfer in the home. As such, they are susceptible to becoming infested with contaminants in your air, being allowed to collect each and every day unbeknownst to you! Dirty plenums can have a few unintended consequences including: restricted airflow, circulation of polluted air, and biological growth (if it's not already in there)!
Depending on the variety and quantity of contamination in your plenum, a cleaning or changeout may be in order.
Take control of your airflow with a plenum cleaning:
- Removal of dust, dirt, debris, biological growth and more
- Sanitization to clear out invisible bacteria, viruses and spores
- Better airflow – stops spread of contaminants to ductwork and into home
"Open air plenums should be inspected and cleaned periodically since airflow throughout these spaces can create an increased risk of contamination, odors, condensation, microbial growth, and other conditions that may require attention and cleaning." – National Air Duct Cleaners Association
Revitalize your air with a plenum changeout:
- Free and clear of any and all contaminants – ultimate return to factory fresh conditions
- Added adjustments for airflow control including balancing dampers for supply plenums
- Sealed duct connections at the unit to prevent conditioned air from escaping
Our system restorations are exactly what you need to breathe new life into your home. No new system necessary; just a restoration! At Hey There Heating & Air, our HVAC cleaning services are unparalleled at removing any and all contaminants from your system. When paired with our premier Duct Cleaning Services, or advanced Filtration and Air Purification products, we can ensure that your home's air stays clean and fresh for years to come!