Sometimes it feels like storm season is all year. Spring comes through with rain storms and tornadoes, while summer starts the hurricane season. By the time the Atlantic hurricane season comes to a close in November, blizzards are upon the north. In August the rains wreaked havoc on our family in Louisiana. The safety of your family during hazardous storms should absolutely take priority. But even while the winds die down and the rain dries up, you still need to be sure that your home and family remain unharmed. See our recommendations for preparing your home’s heating and air conditioning equipment for storm season.
Attach Your Air Conditioner
Your outside AC equipment should be installed on a concrete pad and properly attached to avoid the air conditioner from going airborne or washing away over the course of a storm. If you are in a climate that produces 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 fastening down your home’s air conditioning system during your AC Tune-up.
Stop the Surge
You can’t really prevent the surge that often comes during a storm, but you can protect your heating and air conditioning equipment from it. Put in 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 harm. Be sure never to touch any electrical components, and request a technician’s help if you are not familiar with using surge protectors properly.
Provide Cover
You and your family need to find shelter first and foremost, but if time allows, shut off your heating and air conditioning system and cover the outside system with a tarp. Before you turn your system back on after the storm, be sure to remove the tarp and clean up any debris.
This, Too, Shall Pass
When the storm has passed, be sure the system is safe before turning your heating and cooling system back on. First, confirm there are no signals of damage and clean any debris surrounding the equipment. Try to examine and confirm there is no visible harm to any of the refrigerant or electrical lines running from your air conditioner. Call 630-246-2698 for an AC inspection if appears there has been any damage or flooding to the equipment. Once you’ve had the system checked by an expert to ensure safe function, turn the heating and cooling system back on as soon as possible to help dry the home and prevent mold from getting into the 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 Golden Seal Service Experts and learn about our membership options to help keep your heating and cooling system in working order all year long.