We have all been living with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aside from re-learning the Greek alphabet with the emerging variants, there are new words to learn as we adjust to the “new normal”. Social distancing was once a term used with groups like the Hatfield and McCoy clans. They practiced social distancing to avoid being riddled with buckshot. Now it is used for individuals to stay separated from each other. The term “flattening the curve” once meant the effect of a ladies’ foundation garment. Now it refers to a graphical representation of spreading the number of COVID-19 cases out over a longer time. COVID-19 causes respiratory distress. This is connected in many ways to a home’s HVAC system that brings respiratory comfort to folks with allergies and other breathing issues. New terms brought on by the pandemic have a cross-over into HVAC. Changing the filters regularly is the equivalent of a mask protocol. They don’t stop the tiny virus but face masks and HVAC filters both help clear the air we breathe of dust and particulates. The term “essential business” was rarely used before the pandemic. With HVAC, it is essential business to have your furnace and air conditioner cleaned and serviced on a regular schedule by a qualified HVAC technician. My favorite term that has come into common use is “efficacy” defined as the ability to produce a desired or intended result. The term is normally used to describe a COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness against the virus. But it can also be used with HVAC. If you take care of the essential business described earlier, the efficacy of your HVAC system will be high. If not, it could drop to zero and will make any “shelter-in-place” experience quite unpleasant.