It feels like storm season is every season. Spring comes through with rain storms and tornadoes, while summer ushers in hurricane season. Before the Atlantic hurricane season ends in November, blizzards are upon the north. Most recently the rains caused destruction for our family in Louisiana. The safety of your family during hazardous storms should invariably be priority. But even while the winds die down and the rain dries up, you still want to make sure that your home and family are safe. Check out these tips for preparing your home’s heating and cooling equipment for storm season.
Anchor Your Air Conditioning
Your outdoor air conditioning equipment should be positioned on a concrete pad and properly anchored to prevent the air conditioner from being thrown in the air or washing away during a storm. If you live in a climate that is subject to hurricanes, it may be critical to fasten your equipment with hurricane straps to keep the system safe from high winds. Ask your expert technician about anchoring your home’s air conditioner during your Fall Tune-up.
Stop the Surge
You can’t literally prevent the surge that often occurs during a storm, but you can safeguard your heating and cooling equipment from it. Install a high-quality surge protector where any sizable appliances, a furnace for example, are plugged into a standard wall outlet, to automatically shut off your heating system if there’s a spike in the line voltage. This will help protect the electrical components in your HVAC equipment that the power surge could hurt. Make sure you never touch any electrical components, and seek a technician’s help if you are not comfortable using surge protectors properly.
Provide Cover
You and your family need to acquire shelter first and foremost, but if time permits, shut down your heating and air conditioning system and cover the outside equipment with a tarp. Before you turn your system back on after the storm, you must remove the tarp and remove any debris.
This, Too, Shall Pass
Once the storm is over, ensure the system is safe before turning your heating and cooling system back on. To get started, verify there are no indications of damage and remove any debris from around the equipment. Try to examine and verify there is no visible harm to any of the refrigerant or electrical lines running from your air conditioning system. Call 303-647-5749 for an equipment inspection if it looks like there may have been any damage or flooding to the equipment. Once you’ve had the system inspected by an expert to ensure safe operation, turn the heating and air conditioning 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 tips on What To Do If Your Air Conditioning System Experiences Flooding or Hail Damage and then call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and ask about our membership options to help keep your heating and cooling system in working order through all the seasons.