You may start to think that storm season is year around. 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, snowfalls are upon the north. Most recently the storms wreaked havoc on our friends in Louisiana. The safety of your family during dangerous storms should invariably be priority. But even as the winds die down and the rain dries up, you still want to make sure that your home and family stay safe. Here are some recommendations for preparing your home’s cooling and heating equipment for storm season.
Attach Your Air Conditioner
Your outdoor air conditioning equipment should be placed on a concrete pad and properly fastened to avoid the equipment from going airborne or washing away in a storm. If you live in a climate that produces hurricanes, it may be critical to fasten your AC 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 Precision Tune-up.
Stop the Surge
You can’t literally prevent the surge that often comes during a storm, but you can shield your heating and air conditioning 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 shield the electrical components in your heating and air conditioning equipment that the power surge could hurt. Remember to never touch any electrical components, and ask for expert help if you are not accustomed to using surge protectors properly.
Provide Cover
You and your family need to seek shelter first and foremost, but if time allows, shut down your heating and cooling system and cover the outdoor equipment with a tarp. Before you turn your system back on after the storm, make sure you remove the tarp and get rid of any debris.
This, Too, Shall Pass
After the storm ends, be sure the system is safe before turning your heating and cooling system back on. To begin, confirm there are no signs of damage and remove any debris from around the system. Try to check and verify there is no visible harm to any of the refrigerant or electrical lines running from your air conditioner. Call 281-407-9478 for an equipment inspection if seems like there is any damage or flooding to the system. Once you’ve had the equipment checked by an expert to ensure safe working, turn the heating and air conditioning system back on as soon as possible to help dry the home and limit mold from getting into your 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 Finch Air Conditioning & Heating and find out about our membership options to help keep your heating and air conditioning system in working order through all the seasons.