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 comes to a close in November, snowfalls are upon the north. Most recently the floods wreaked havoc on our family in Louisiana. The welfare of your family during hazardous storms should always take priority. But even as the winds die down and the rain dries up, you still want to make sure that your home and family are safe. Here are some recommendations for preparing your home’s cooling and heating equipment for storm season.
Secure Your Air Conditioning
Your outdoor air conditioning equipment should be installed on a concrete pad and properly attached to prevent the air conditioner 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 AC with hurricane straps to protect the system from high winds. Ask your professional technician about anchoring your home’s AC during your AC Tune-up.
Stop the Surge
You can’t actually prevent the surge that often occurs during a storm, but you can safeguard your Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment from it. Put in a high-quality surge protector where any sizable appliances, like a furnace, are plugged into a standard wall outlet, to automatically shut down your heating system if there’s an increase in the line voltage. This will help safeguard the electrical components in your heating and air conditioning equipment that the power surge could hurt. Remember to never touch any electrical components, and seek expert 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 allows, shut down your heating and cooling 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, make sure the system is safe before turning your heating and cooling system back on. First, confirm there are no signals of damage and get rid of any debris from around the equipment. Try to check and verify there is no apparent harm to any of the refrigerant or electrical lines running from your AC. Call 405-432-2197 for an equipment inspection if appears there has been any damage or flooding to the system. Once you’ve had the equipment checked by a technician to ensure safe function, turn the heating and cooling system back on immediately to help dry the home and limit mold from getting into your 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 Gordon's Service Experts and ask about our membership options to help keep your heating and cooling system in working order all year long.