You might think that yard work is just necessary to keep your lawn and landscaping looking good. However, it also affects your home's HVAC, because key components of the system are located outdoors, including the compressor and condenser coil. If you're not taking steps to protect the HVAC unit, you'll see the effects in various ways, including higher energy bills, costly repairs or a premature component replacement.
Here's what you can do to safeguard the unit during yard care activities:
Shut the unit down at the breaker, then take off the protective metal shield so you can access inside to remove debris like clumps of grass, rodent nesting materials, cobwebs and dead leaves. Doing this periodically helps preserve vital airflow and the coil's heat transfer capabilities.
When you mow, keep the discharge aimed away from the unit, so cut grass doesn't get blown into it and clog the coil.
Once you're done mowing, give the condenser unit a light rinse with the garden hose to remove any clinging debris so it doesn't impede air movement through the coil.
Trim back any vegetation or shrubs around the unit so there's at least two feet of clearance on all sides. Gather up and dispose of the clippings afterwards so they don't accumulate on the coil.
Take care using yard equipment like the weed trimmer around the outdoor unit. If you're not careful, you might accidentally bend the coil fins, damage the tubing and cause a refrigerant leak, or cut the control wires.
If the area around the unit is bare soil, mud can splash up on the coil and fan when it rains heavily and make heat transfer less effective. To prevent this, lay out landscape fabric topped with decorative stones or mulch in a two-foot radius.
Invest in a protective filter for the outdoor unit to keep fine bits of debris away from the coil and fan. These filters are inexpensive, easy to install and don't block essential airflow.
To learn more about how yard work can affect the HVAC system in your Broken Arrow home, contact us at Air Assurance.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about yard work and other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273.