10 Tips to Protect Your HVAC During Construction

10 Tips for HVAC Protection During Construction

HVAC protection during construction is crucial to a successful remodel. HVAC systems can get damaged, broken, or clogged with dust during home renovations. The following tips can help you protect your HVAC system and ensure that your repairs don’t damage your current HVAC unit. 

1. Make a Plan

 The first step when thinking about any construction project is to create a plan. Before starting the remodeling process, it is essential to consult with the proper professionals to ensure everything runs smoothly. Make sure to be in contact with a professional HVAC technician so they can answer any questions you may have. For example, will you need to change your duct placement with the remodel? Does your current HVAC system have the capacity to serve the newly renovated home? Questions like these need to get answered before any work begins; that way, you are prepared for any additional costs or renovations. 

2. Cover Your Vents

The remodeling process is messy. Dust and debris are likely to get kicked up into the air and will enter your heating and cooling system. To protect your HVAC system, cover all of the vents in the construction area. Covering vents helps to keep the air filter clean and reduce the amount of dust in the unit. Keep in mind that when you turn your HVAC system on, there are closed vents that can restrict airflow. 

3. Turn Your Heating and Cooling System Off

When the actual work is being performed, you should turn your HVAC system off. Your HVAC equipment should be off, especially when some vents are covered. The covered vents can put extra strain on the system. Turning off the unit is an additional precaution that helps to keep the dust and debris out of your HVAC equipment. 

4. Do the Messy Work Outside

The easiest way to keep dust and debris to a minimum in the house is by doing the messy work outside. Usually, cutting and sanding kick up the most considerable amount of dust, and so if you can do this work outside, it will reduce the potential for dust in the house and your HVAC equipment. If all of this dirt is inside, it can clog up your air filter and damage your air conditioner. 

5. Clean Often

One of the things they may not tell you when beginning a remodeling project is that you are going to have to clean more often during the process. It seems redundant to clean more often when your house most likely gets dusty again the next day, but this keeps you from having a dust buildup in your air filter. Dust cleaning and vacuuming every few days will reduce the amount of dust in your air filter. Cleaning will help reduce the number of clogs you may get.

6. Check Your Air Filters Regularly

The main reason you need to clean more often during a remodeling project is to keep your air filter from clogging up. If the filter becomes clogged, it reduces the amount of air intake, as well as output, and puts a strain on the system. You should be checking your air filter regularly, but make sure to check it more often to ensure there is no dust buildup. Try an keep track of the most recent time you replaced your air filter so that you have a better knowledge of when it needs to be replaced again. Checking on the air filter routinely will ensure that everything runs smoothly.

7. Get a Professional Duct Cleaning

The last thing you must do before relaxing in your newly renovated home is to get a professional duct cleaning. Although you took the necessary precautions by covering your vents and cleaning often, dust still managed to get into your HVAC system. When they clean your system, they will check the air filters, clean the duct system, and ensure that there is no buildup of dust in the furnace. This buildup causes the furnace to work harder, which puts a strain on the heating and cooling system. HVAC protection during construction is vital, so ensuring you take this last step will protect your HVAC system. 

8. Purify the air

When your home gets renovated, all sorts of materials are being cut and sanded, and so all types of dust particles are entering the air. Advanced air purifiers can work to eliminate these dangerous particles of dust in your home. They keep these dust particles out of your HVAC unit as well. It may be worthwhile to get an air purifier for the next home renovation project you may have. HVAC protection during construction isn’t the only reason for wanting to purify the air. Some of these dust particles can be harmful if we inhale large amounts of them as well. The air purifier can help reduce your exposure to these possibly harmful dust particles. 

9. Block off the construction area

Blocking off each vent in the construction area is essential as well as blocking off the entire construction area. Plastic sheeting can be used to contain dust and dirt in the construction area. This keeps the dust and dirt away from the rest of the house.

10. Upgrade power tools

There are tools out there that focus on reducing the amount of dust they produce when cutting or sanding down materials. These advanced power tools extract dust from the air, which reduces the number of dangerous particles that can get into your HVAC system. If you are doing your home renovation project and need to buy a new tool or upgrade an old one, consider one of these tools designed to help keep your house clean from dust and debris. 

How eSUB Can Help

eSUB is a cloud-based project management platform built especially for subcontractors. It seamlessly integrates with leading construction software systems so you can easily switch from your current document process to a cloud-based system to upgrade your construction project management process.

eSUB organizes all of your project information in one place, allows for smooth collaboration, and streamlines communication through its intuitive interface. It also works on your mobile, so you can track projects on the go—no matter where or when—and stay up-to-date.