Hail Damaged Air Intakes
April showers bring more than May
flowers. Powerful spring storms roared their way across
the country recently, toppling trees, smashing buildings and
injuring many people. To date, we've had a record breaking
292 reported tornadoes in April alone. Sudden, violent
downbursts included tornadoes, with their columns of rotating air.
Straight-line winds erupted from thunderstorms in unpredictable
downdrafts that spread across the landscape in all
directions. The possiblity of extensive HVAC air intake
damage became very real for many. Well thought out
equipment protection preparations could have helped protect
costly equipment, minimized fin and coil damage and
brought some peace of mind to many facility managers.
As 80 mph winds gust through, not just rain and
golf ball sized hail are tossed around. Debris from nearby
construction sites, leaves, and trash join the airborne
environment. The outdoor component of an HVAC system houses
the condenser coil. These coils are protected by delicate aluminum
fins that that allow air flow to reach the coils and assist with
heat transfer. Hail hits and bends these thin fins, which, in turn,
reduces air flow and subsequently the cooling capacity
of the entire HVAC system. Significant bending of these
fins leads to loss of system efficiencies that can damage the
unit's compressor by causing it to overheat. Airflow obstructions,
dirt and debris get thrown about by high winds and end up being
pulled into air intakes, causing similar results in
efficiency, plus escalated power costs. Hail guard netting is
available and easy to field install as a lightweight, but
durable defense.
In addition to hail damage, dirt and debris get
thrown about by high winds and end up being pulled into the air
intakes. With coil-cleaning procedures costing anywhere from
$500-$6,000 per cleaning, a large facility with 100 air-handling
units can average 200 coil-cleaning procedures
annually. When used as a pre-filtration defense,
PreVent® Equipment Protection filters help prevent the damage and
extensive maintenance that large volumes of debris can cause.
Custom sized to fit any air intake, a PreVent air intake filter is
UV protected and stands up to extreme outdoor exposure, corrosive
environments, and high velocity air flow.
These simple air filtration and hail guard solutions for air intake protection help facilities managers reduce operational and maintenance costs over a long useful life.
Case Studies
- Equipment Maintenance & Protection Filters
Predictive maintenance looks for signs of trouble, intending to prevent costly repairs down the line. Preventative maintenance is the regular, prescheduled service of a system or piece of equipment. Facility managers and building owners are faced with the challenge of maintaining the overall quality of a building, its ongoing operations and system performance needs.
Related Products
PreVent Model U
PreVent® Model U filter is constructed with 1 or 2 layers of three-dimensional black polypropylene electrostatic media and encased in a 1-1/4" sewn vinyl edge.
PreVent Model BHA
PreVent® Model BHA filter is constructed of black PVC coated polyester high abrasion media and encased in a 1-1/4" sewn vinyl edge.
Hail Guard Product
Media is a rigid black PVC coated polyester netting used to deflect airborne objects such as hail which damage fins.