If you’ve lived in Gilbert, AZ for over a year, you’ve likely experienced our annual monsoon season. It routinely brings high humidity, severe thunderstorms, stifling dust storms, and torrential rain. When the severe weather hits, you’ll want to stay inside of your house as much as possible.
However, when you take refuge at home, you’ll depend on its HVAC system to keep you comfortable. To ensure that it can, it’s a good idea to understand how monsoon season affects HVAC units here. That way, you can prepare yours to handle the unusual weather. Here’s everything you need to know about the effects of monsoon season on your HVAC system and how to prepare.
How Monsoon Season Affects Your Home’s HVAC System
Although many parts of the US experience turbulent weather and heavy rains during certain seasons, few experience anything like our monsoon season. Since we live in a desert climate, our seasonal storms produce an unpleasant side effect: huge dust clouds. With winds that often reach up to 50 miles per hour, dust storms can appear quickly and swallow whole neighborhoods within minutes.
The wind can also send debris flying, impacting the exterior of your house and outdoor HVAC unit. Simultaneously, the storms can produce lightning strikes and several inches of rainfall per hour. All those things will have profound effects on your HVAC unit.
The dust can coat the surfaces of your HVAC’s condenser coil, hampering its ability to expel heat. The extra humidity can overwhelm your HVAC unit’s dehumidification capacity, leaving your home feeling hot and sticky. And nearby lightning strikes can damage your system’s electronics, leading to component failures.
How to Prepare Your HVAC System for Monsoon Season
If you expect your HVAC unit to keep running through the monsoon season, it will need your help. The following are some of the things you should do to prepare.
Stock Up on HVAC Air Filters
Our monsoon season begins on June 15 and continues until September 30 each year. That means your HVAC unit will require extra attention for several months. Before that start date, you should prepare by purchasing at least four HVAC air filters for your equipment. Ordinarily, your filter only requires replacement roughly once every 90 days. However, when the dust storms arrive, you’ll be lucky for them to last 30 days.
When your air filter gets caked with dust, it will hamper airflow through your HVAC unit. Having replacements already on hand will prevent that. It will also help you avoid needing to go shopping for more filters in inclement weather.
Periodically Check Your HVAC’s Condensate Line
As your HVAC system runs, it extracts moisture from your home’s air as a consequence of the cooling process. That moisture turns into condensation on the surface of the unit’s evaporator coil. Then, it drips into a pan and drains to the outdoors via a condensate drain line. When dust storms arrive, it isn’t uncommon for condensate line outlets to get clogged with dirt. A clogged condensate line can allow water to back up into your HVAC equipment.
Eventually, it will leak into other parts of your HVAC indoor unit and possibly onto the surrounding floor. To prevent that, make a habit of checking the drain line’s outlet periodically. You should see a steady drip of water while your HVAC system runs. If you don’t, then reach out to A/C & Plumbing Doctors to address the problem.
Watch for Debris Around Your Outdoor Unit
The high monsoon season winds can lead to debris buildup around your HVAC’s outdoor unit. That can obstruct airflow through your condenser coil and reduce your system’s cooling capacity. You should occasionally inspect your HVAC’s outdoor unit to prevent that. It should have at least two feet of unobstructed space on all sides.
If you find debris within that perimeter, use a broom or garden hose to clear it away. You should also check the outdoor unit’s fan to ensure no obstructions. If you find any twigs or leaves stuck in the fan grille, carefully remove them.
It’s also wise to use your garden hose on a low setting to rinse your outdoor unit after any dust storm. A coating of dust on the condenser coil will hinder its operation and harm your HVAC unit’s efficiency. Rinsing dirt off the coil takes just a few minutes and will prevent buildup. Beware, however, not to use your hose at full power. Doing so can bend the delicate fins on the coil, which you’ll need help to repair. For best results, spray the condenser coil from the inside out using a side-to-side spraying motion. Then, repeat the process on the outside of the coil.
Consider Whole-Home Surge Protection
The frequent lightning we experience during monsoon season can seriously threaten your HVAC equipment. Any nearby strike that energizes the power lines serving your home may destroy your HVAC’s circuitry. It may also harm your house’s other sensitive electronics and cause an electrical fire. The good news is that there’s a simple way to protect your HVAC unit and the rest of your home from lightning.
You can have an electrician install a whole-home surge protector. These devices can block a lightning-induced power surge and shield your home from its effects. The surge protector routes the excess voltage to the ground when a power surge occurs.
Schedule Regular HVAC Maintenance
Finally, the best way to prepare your HVAC system for monsoon season is to schedule regular professional maintenance. Your HVAC unit needs bi-annual visits from a qualified technician to stay in top shape. Seeing to those maintenance needs will maximize your HVAC’s lifespan. It will also reduce the chances of unexpected part failures. Generally, you want to schedule an appointment before each heating and cooling season begins.
During a heating and air conditioning maintenance visit, our technician will inspect your HVAC equipment from top to bottom. That includes checking both your condenser and evaporator coils for cleanliness. If necessary, they’ll clean the coils to ensure efficient operation. They’ll also check your refrigerant levels. Low refrigerant can indicate the presence of a leak, which you wouldn’t want to ignore. Running for extended periods with low refrigerant risks damaging your system’s compressor. Our technicians will also lubricate your unit’s moving parts and tighten its electrical connections.
Your HVAC Service and Support Experts
If you want professional services for central HVAC systems or any other HVAC equipment to prepare for monsoon season, A/C & Plumbing Doctors can help. We’re a family-owned and -operated HVAC company with over 20 years of industry experience. When you work with us, expect same-day appointments and upfront, competitive pricing. We even offer a service agreement plan to eliminate the hassle of meeting your HVAC maintenance needs. Plus, our team can help with installations and repairs.
If you’re interested in credentials, we have plenty. Our HVAC technicians are NATE-certified. Our firm is accredited by the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating. We’re a winner of the Angi Super Service award and a Nextdoor Neighborhood Fave. We also hold the CommunityVotes Platinum Award for both Gilbert and Tempe. And we have a long and growing list of positive customer testimonials. Ask about our Service Agreement to make HVAC tune-ups effortless and get perks and discounts.
If you need an HVAC company to prepare your Gilbert home’s HVAC system for monsoon season, call A/C & Plumbing Doctors today!
