Prepping Your Home’s HVAC Equipment for Storms
Sometimes it feels like storm season is all year. Spring arrives with rain storms and tornadoes, while summer ushers in hurricane season. By the time the Atlantic hurricane season comes to a close in November, snowfalls are upon the north. The safety of your family during treacherous storms should invariably be priority. But even as the winds die down and the rain dries up, you still need to be sure that your home and family are safe. Check out these tips for preparing your home’s cooling and heating equipment for storm season.
Attach Your Air Conditioning
Your outside AC equipment should be placed on a concrete pad and properly anchored to avoid the air conditioner from going up in the air or washing away in a storm. If you live in a climate that produces hurricanes, it may be necessary to fasten your AC with hurricane straps to keep the equipment safe from high winds. Ask your professional technician about fastening down your home’s AC during your AC Tune-up.
Stop the Surge
You can’t actually avoid the surge that often happens during a storm, but you can shield your heating and cooling equipment from it. Install a high-quality surge protector where any sizable appliances, like a furnace, are plugged into a standard wall outlet, to automatically shut down your heating system if there’s an increase in the line voltage. This will help shield the electrical components in your HVAC equipment that the power surge could harm. Be sure never to touch any electrical components, and request professional help if you are not familiar with using surge protectors properly.
Provide Cover
You and your family need to acquire shelter first and foremost, but if there is time, shut down your heating and cooling system and cover the outdoor equipment with a tarp. Before you turn your system back on after the storm, make sure you remove the tarp and get rid of any debris.
This, Too, Shall Pass
After the storm ends, be sure the system is safe before starting up your heating and air conditioning system. To get started, confirm there are no indications of damage and get rid of any debris from around the equipment. Try to check and make sure there is no visible harm to any of the refrigerant or electrical lines running from your air conditioning system. Call 954-736-4314 for an AC inspection if seems like there is any damage or flooding to the air conditioning. Once you’ve had the equipment checked by a professional to ensure safe function, turn the heating and cooling system back on ASAP to help dry the home and restrict mold from getting into the equipment or ductwork.
If there was any damage to your equipment, check out these suggestions on What To Do If Your Air Conditioning System Experiences Flooding or Hail Damage and then call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and find out about our membership options to help keep your heating and cooling system in working order all year long.