Sometimes it feels like storm season is all year. Spring comes through with rain storms and tornadoes, while summer starts the hurricane season. Before the Atlantic hurricane season comes to a close in November, snowstorms are upon the north. Last month the storms caused destruction for our friends in Louisiana. The safety of your family during perilous storms should invariably be priority. But even while the winds die down and the rain dries up, you still need to make sure that your home and family remain unharmed. See our tips for preparing your home’s cooling and heating equipment for storm season.
Anchor Your Air Conditioner
Your outdoor AC equipment should be placed on a concrete pad and properly secured to prevent the system from being thrown in the air or washing away over the course of a storm. If you reside in a climate that is subject to hurricanes, it may be required to fasten your AC with hurricane straps to keep the equipment safe from high winds. Ask your air conditioning technician about securing your home’s air conditioner during your Fall Tune-up.
Stop the Surge
You can’t actually prevent the surge that often occurs during a storm, but you can protect your heating and cooling equipment from it. Install a high-quality surge protector where any large appliances, like a furnace, 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 safeguard the electrical components in your heating and air conditioning equipment that the power surge could hurt. 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 acquire shelter first and foremost, but if time permits, turn off your heating and cooling system and cover the outside system with a tarp. Before you turn your system back on after the storm, you must remove the tarp and clean up any debris.
This, Too, Shall Pass
After the storm ends, ensure the system is safe before starting up your heating and air conditioning system. To get started, make sure there are no signs of damage and clean any debris from around the system. Try to examine and verify there is no visible harm to any of the refrigerant or electrical lines running from your AC. Call 301-476-4577 for an equipment inspection if seems like there is any damage or flooding to the air conditioning. Once you’ve had the system checked by a technician to ensure safe operation, turn the heating and air conditioning system back on immediately to help dry the home and prevent mold from getting into the system or ductwork.
If your equipment has suffered any damage, check out these tips on What To Do If Your Air Conditioning System Experiences Flooding or Hail Damage and then call Parker Pearce Service Experts and find out about our membership options to help keep your HVAC system in working order through all the seasons.