It feels like storm season is every season. Spring arrives with rain storms and tornadoes, while summer starts the hurricane season. Before the Atlantic hurricane season ends in November, blizzards are upon the north. Last month the floods caused devastation for our friends in Louisiana. The well-being of your family during perilous storms should absolutely take priority. But even when the winds die down and the rain dries up, you still need to make sure that your home and family stay safe. Check out these recommendations 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 attached to prevent the equipment from going up in the air or washing away over the course of a storm. If you reside in a climate that generates hurricanes, it may be critical to fasten your air conditioner with hurricane straps to protect the system from high winds. Ask your expert technician about anchoring your home’s air conditioner during your Precision 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. Get a high-quality surge protector where any sizable appliances, such as a furnace, are plugged into a standard wall outlet, to automatically shut off your heating system if there’s a jump in the line voltage. This will help protect the electrical components in your heating and cooling equipment that the power surge could damage. 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 seek shelter first and foremost, but if time allows, turn off your heating and cooling system and cover the outdoor equipment with a tarp. Before you turn your system back on after the storm, you must remove the tarp and get rid of any debris.
This, Too, Shall Pass
After the storm ends, make sure the system is safe before turning on your HVAC system. First, confirm there are no signs of damage and clean any debris surrounding the equipment. Try to check and verify there is no apparent harm to any of the refrigerant or electrical lines running from your air conditioning system. Call 301-747-3140 for an AC inspection if seems like there is any damage or flooding to the system. Once you’ve had the system inspected by a technician to ensure safe operation, turn the heating and cooling system back on as soon as possible to help dry the home and limit mold from getting into the system 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 A-PLUS Service Experts and find out about our membership options to help keep your HVAC system in working order through all the seasons.