Filter Material aroundoutdoor A/C Compressor Unit

last year

last modified: last year

I have a new A/C system. The Compressor is 4 feet away from my drier vent. The last compressor would always have a small amount of lint on the coils. I would like to put filter material around the outside of the compressor unit. I have tried to search the internet for examples of people doing this to see if there are any drawbacks. Hard to find any videos or comments in the billions of search results that describe Condenser Filters.

Any concerns??

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Comments (4)

Elmer J Fudd
last year
Can you move the dryer vent?
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Charles Ross Homes
last year
"Any concerns??" Yes. What you are proposing to do will reduce the air flow rate across the outdoor coil, and reduce the amount of heat exchanged. While lint (and other debris) can build up in the coil, that occurs over a longer time period and can be managed with routine maintenance. Relocating the dryer vent, if possible, is a better solution.
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3onthetree
last year
Do not cover your condenser with anything to reduce airflow, which is why there are no videos. A dryer vent 4' away should not be emitting that much lint, nor should it carry that distance. Make sure you clean the dryer's lint collector after every load, clean the duct, and if it hasn't been done in several years clean the dryer's internal duct. Do not put any sort of screen over the dryer's wall termination cap.
outpaientzero
last year
No filters, close privacy screening or low canopies.

I worked at a food processing company in Texas who built 2 new massive cold storage warehouses and a very large blast freezer. The HVAC contractor installed the compressor units on the roof and the HVAC designer included canopies over the top of compressor units to block the hot sun.

At startup they didn't work good at all with high pressure in the compressor coils. Four tech/installers including the designer stood around the units scratching their heads wondering what the problem was. The owner of the company came to take a look and took him only 5 seconds to yell at his employees to "RIP OUT THOSE CANOPIES"!! They were 3 feet above the units but were able to somehow reduce air flow across the coils.

Your compressor unit is designed to work with a designed number of Cubic Feet per minute passing over the coils and with just a small amount of resistance to air flow it will mess with your units efficiency including causing the compressor to work harder. Even a new clean filter you're considering will change the amount of air passing through the coils, don't do it. To screen the unit from the dryer vent refer to your owners manual how far from the sides you can erect a screen. Some can be as close as 12" but it depends so check the manual.