Why is Denver’s air so hard on homes and HVAC systems?
Denver’s air poses unique challenges for homeowners because of low relative humidity, seasonal wildfire smoke, and heavy dust, all of which put extra strain on an HVAC system.
Denver sits at roughly 22% relative humidity year-round, comparable to conditions in the Sahara Desert, and wildfire season adds smoke that gets pulled into the home through the furnace. Wind-driven dust gets sucked in the same way, every time a door or window opens.
In the first episode of Airing it out with Joe, High 5 HVAC technician Joe Romero breaks down exactly what Denver homeowners are dealing with and previews the filtration, cleaning, and humidification solutions the rest of the series will cover.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Denver’s typical relative humidity?
Denver’s relative humidity stays around 22% year-round, comparable to conditions in the Sahara Desert.
Does wildfire smoke affect HVAC systems, not just health?
Yes. Smoke pulled into a home gets circulated by the furnace, putting strain on the system itself in addition to affecting indoor air quality.
Full Transcript
Welcome to Airing it out with Joe. A lot of people don’t realize Denver Air is really hard on your home. You got to deal with smoke coming into the house.
We have a lot of wildfires out here. We’re high desert. We’re actually not that far off from the Sahara Desert for relative humidity. Our relative humidity stays around like 22% every year. On top of that, we have wildfires that just break out during fire seasons summer and spring time.
That smoke coming into your home is not only an impact on your health, but it’s an impact on your home system itself. What that systems breathing in and dispersing throughout. Then you’re talking about dust.
We have so much dust in our air because of that humidity. We kick up so much dust from the wind and everything else that comes into your house. Every time you open a door, you open windows, that, that furnace then again is sucking all of that in and dispersing it throughout the home.
We’re gonna give you some solutions throughout this whole video series on how you’re gonna rectify that, how can we take care of our system, how can we keep it clean, how can we make sure we’re getting the most life and the healthiest home