If you live in California, you’re well aware of how common it is to experience the effects of wildfires.

Because wildfires tend to cover a lot of ground, the resulting smoke severely affects air quality. When air quality suffers due to the threat of impurities like mold spores and other pollutants in the air, it makes good sense to head indoors.

Unlike other pollutants, is there a chance that smoke from wildfires gets pulled inside and circulated throughout your home by turning on the AC?

Outside Air vs. Filtered Air

When the outdoor air is thick with pollutants, there’s no surefire way to keep polluted air from getting inside your home. All it takes for outdoor pollutants to get inside is to open a window or door.

When the outside air quality becomes unsafe due to high levels of smog, pollen, high humidity, or other factors, it’s time to keep doors and windows closed.

On days when the air is thick from wildfire smoke, the way to keep air quality in your home safe is to seal things up and turn on the AC.

Contrary to popular belief, air conditioners don’t bring outside air inside. The air running through your AC unit is recycled air already inside your home. The job of your AC unit is simply to cool down hot air, pass through a filtering system, and re-circulate.

Your AC unit works on a heat exchange principle. The AC compressor, refrigerant, evaporator coils and fans all work together to remove heat from the air and circulate filtered processed air.

If you have poor air quality inside your home, it’s due to an existing issue already inside your home.

Smoky Air Precautions

There are some methods of keeping indoor air quality safe that are not recommended during high smoke pollution days.

While your central air unit or heat pump does an excellent job of keeping that wildfire smoke out of your home, the same cannot be said for window or portable AC units.

Window AC Units

While most window AC units don’t actually pull outside air in, the problem comes in with the seals around the window unit. If there are any gaps, cracks, or spaces between the AC unit and its placement in the window, the smoky air can get inside.

Some older window AC units do pull outdoor air in for ventilation purposes. If your model pulls outdoor air in, turn off this setting or close the damper.

Portable AC Units

Portable AC units should never be used on especially smoky days. These units circulate air by using hoses and not surprisingly, smoky air is either drawn in directly from the outside or can get inside through the exhaust hose.

Portable units are also known to throw indoor air pressure off balance because they continuously pump indoor air out through the exhaust hose.

Relief from Smoke-Filled Air

Although there are no iron clad ways to keep all the wildfire smoke from getting inside your home, there are things you can do to minimize its negative effects.

Here are some tips for good air quality:

  • Change the HVAC filter more often to capture smoke and polluted air particles
  • Switch to higher MERV rated filters to capture more of the bad stuff
  • Use portable air purifiers
  • Talk to your HVAC professional about installing a whole-home air filtration system

Conclusion

While wildfires and smoke are a reality of life, you don’t have to compromise good air quality inside your home.

For the best in service and solutions, schedule an appointment with the air quality experts at Dale HCS in Santa Rosa.