Protect Outdoor Equipment Against Cottonwood Seeds
The St. Louis area, where UAF is headquartered, is experiencing an early cottonwood tree ‘bloom’ this year: those puffy white seeds are already floating everywhere you look! In addition to causing allergies in many people, cottonwood season wreaks havoc on outdoor air-cooled equipment. Everything from 5G telecom enclosures, EV chargers, power stations, and HVAC units have fans that will pull cottonwood seeds into the electronics if not properly protected.
The scale of the cottonwood seed problem is enormous: a single mature tree can produce up to 48 million seeds a year, over a 1 – 2 month seed dispersal period in the late spring / early summer. If your outdoor electronics were designed without a filter, this dispersal period will quickly remind you of the important role an air filter plays in keeping your equipment safe from environmental hazards. Fortunately, these airborne seeds are large enough that even a simple metal mesh filter can keep them from infiltrating your cabinet.
Cottonwood season is also a good time to engage in preventative maintenance: even the most effective filters can get clogged with these seeds and experience air flow drop and overheating issues. Most UAF filters are cleanable, providing an easy solution for removing these seeds and keeping your costs down. Uncertain how to clean your filter? We’ve demonstrated four simple options to help keep your filter in good shape in a short video.
Whether you are designing a new piece of equipment that will be exposed to the elements or have equipment in the field that you need a new protection solution for, UAF can be your partner in integrating strategic filtration that will increase the reliability of your electronics. Stay tuned for upcoming articles highlighting some of our more innovative solutions to customer problems in coming weeks!
Should your equipment be protected by UAF? Reach out to us here to start a collaboration on your protection needs.