How Salt Is Corroding Your Air Conditioner
Florida homeowners are pretty lucky. After all, we get to take advantage of beautiful beaches and a mild climate almost year round. But living in paradise comes with certain downsides too—one being salt in the air.
Due to its corrosive properties, salty air poses numerous threats to homeowners who live on or near a coastal area. Your home, your car, and even the outside component of your air conditioning system can sustain damage when exposed to salty air over time. Fortunately, when it comes to your air conditioning system, there are easy ways you can protect your investment.
How Salt Air Affects HVAC Equipment
Considering your air conditioning system is one of the biggest investments you’ll make for your home, it’s important to take action to counter the effects of salt-air exposure. Continuous exposure to these coastal elements can shorten the life of air conditioning equipment and raise energy bills too. Specifically, coastal air can damage the metal coils within the air conditioning system’s condenser unit.
Coatings for New AC Condensers
HVAC manufacturers know that corrosion can be problem, which is why they coat new coils to protect them. If the coils are aluminum, manufacturers often coat them with aluminum oxide, while iron coils are coated with iron oxide. Although these measures can help protect the coils, the chloride in salt eventually breaks down this protective layer.
Corrosion can impede air conditioning systems from cooling efficiently, which can increase the amount of energy your system needs to provide the same cooling comfort. In fact, a study found that it costs 220 percent more to operate HVAC systems with uncoated coils compared to systems with coated coils. Property owners living in salt-air environments will have to replace their HVAC equipment more often than people who do not live in coastal areas.
Pockmarks on the cooling equipment are a sign of corrosion. Corrosion is worst in areas that have high temperatures and high humidity. Of all the states, Florida has some of the most corrosive environments.
Ways to Minimize Corrosion on HVAC Equipment
So, can you prevent corrosion damage from overtaking your air conditioning system? Yes. Something as simple as washing it daily with a hose, or coating the condenser with a protective coating can be tremendously helpful in protecting your investment.
Protect Your HVAC System from Corrosion With Sea Coast Air Conditioning
If you live in a coastal area and are concerned that corrosion is impeding the function of your HVAC system, call Sea Coast Air Conditioning today. One of our skilled technicians will discuss the best corrosion-fighting solution for your system.