It feels like storm season is every season. Spring brings rain storms and tornadoes, while summer ushers in hurricane season. As the Atlantic hurricane season tapers off in November, snowstorms are upon the north. Most recently the floods caused devastation for our family in Louisiana. The safety of your family during dangerous storms should always take priority. But even as the winds die down and the rain dries up, you still want to be sure that your home and family are safe. Check out these recommendations for preparing your home’s heating and air conditioning equipment for storm season.
Anchor Your AC
Your outdoor air conditioning equipment should be placed on a concrete pad and properly secured to keep the air conditioner from going airborne or washing away over the course of a storm. If you live in a climate that produces hurricanes, it may be critical to fasten your air conditioner with hurricane straps to protect the equipment from high winds. Ask your expert technician about fastening down your home’s air conditioner during your Precision Tune-up.
Stop the Surge
You can’t really avoid the surge that often occurs during a storm, but you can shield your heating and cooling equipment from it. Install a high-quality surge protector where any heavy appliances, a furnace for example, are plugged into a standard wall outlet, to automatically shut down your heating system if there’s a jump in the line voltage. This will help safeguard the electrical components in your HVAC equipment that the power surge could damage. Remember to never touch any electrical components, and request a technician’s help if you are not familiar with using surge protectors properly.
Provide Cover
Your family and you need to find shelter first and foremost, but if time allows, shut off your heating and air conditioning system and cover the outside equipment with a tarp. Before turning your system back on after the storm, you must remove the tarp and remove any debris.
This, Too, Shall Pass
After the storm ends, ensure the system is safe before turning on your HVAC system. To get started, verify there are no indications of damage and remove any debris from around the system. Try to evaluate and make sure there is no apparent harm to any of the refrigerant or electrical lines running from your air conditioning system. Call 210-404-4233 for an AC inspection if seems like there is any damage or flooding to the air conditioning. Once you’ve had the equipment inspected by a professional to ensure safe working, turn the heating and air conditioning system back on ASAP to help dry the home and restrict mold from getting into your system or ductwork.
If there was any damage to your equipment, check out these recommendations on What To Do If Your Air Conditioning System Experiences Flooding or Hail Damage and then call Aramendia Plumbing, Heating and Air and find out about our membership options to help keep your heating and cooling system in working order all year long.