Wildfire Smoke and Zehnder System Performance

This summer the Western USA was heavily impacted by wildfire smoke.  In late September we sent out a survey to our customers in smoke affected states to find out how they felt their system performed during the wildfires and what steps they took to ensure their system was prepared for operating in fire system.   In a subsequent article we’ll feature recommendations received from Zehnder regarding best practices in wildfire/extreme smoke situations.

Survey Results

By the time we closed the survey, we had 56 respondents who completed the survey.  Here is what they had to say about how their system performed and action they took during the wildfires.

Survey Question: How much difference did you notice between the air inside your home and the air outside?  

As the results show, a majority of Zehnder system owners (68%) noticed a large difference in their indoor air quality.  A sizeable number (27%) reported a little difference and a small minority (5%) reported no difference or that air was worse inside their home.

Survey Question: During the time your area was experiencing smoke, did you do any of the following with your Zehnder System?  (Check all that apply)

We were curious to see what steps customers took to prepare their system to respond to smoky conditions.  As you can see the three actions taken most were checking the filter (29%), decreasing the fan speed (25%) and replacing the filters (24%).

Survey Question: Some Zehnder owners have elected to add fine particle or smoke filters to their system.Does your system currently have this additional filter box and filters?

The majority of owners (70%) reported that they didn’t have filters, while around 18% reported they had the smoke filters installed in their system.  Around 11% were unsure whether they had smoke filters.

In a subsequent question, we asked Zehnder owners who didn’t have (or didn’t know whether they had a smoke box with their system) if they would be interested in adding this as an option, 46% of owners indicated they would be interested.

Survey Question: How likely would you be to recommend a Zehnder system to a friend?

The answer to this questions was a pleasant surprise.  88% of respondent said they were likely or very likely to recommend a Zehnder system to a friend.

Comments and Discussion

The comments from customers were helpful for us at Small Planet Supply to understand what additional information is needed so that owners can best manage their systems in adverse smoke events.  Zehnders aren’t designed as smoke filtration systems but the unfortunate truth is these occurrences may become more frequent in the future. 

Zehnder systems are designed to bring in clean fresh air from outdoors but when outdoor air quality is worse, Zehnder owners should understand how to determine the best course of action in caring for their system and their home.  We’re working with Zehnder to develop best practices in regards to operating your Zehnder during wildfire smoke events.  We intend to share this information with all of our Zehnder customers and all survey respondents.  A big thank you to all who participated in the survey and shared their experiences with us.