You may start to think that storm season is year around. Spring brings rain storms and tornadoes, while summer ushers in hurricane season. As the Atlantic hurricane season ends in November, snowstorms are upon the north. Most recently the rains caused destruction for our loved ones in Louisiana. The safety of your family during hazardous storms should absolutely take priority. But even when the winds die down and the rain dries up, you still want to make sure that your home and family remain unharmed. Here are some recommendations for preparing your home’s heating and air conditioning equipment for storm season.
Attach Your Air Conditioning
Your outdoor AC equipment should be positioned on a concrete pad and properly anchored to prevent the equipment from being thrown in the air or washing away in a storm. If you reside in a climate that produces hurricanes, it may be critical to fasten your AC with hurricane straps to protect the system from high winds. Ask your expert technician about securing your home’s AC during your Fall Tune-up.
Stop the Surge
You can’t literally prevent the surge that often comes during a storm, but you can safeguard your Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment from it. Get 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 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 ask for expert help if you are not familiar with using surge protectors properly.
Provide Cover
Your family and you need to acquire shelter first and foremost, but if time allows, shut off your HVAC 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 get rid of any debris.
This, Too, Shall Pass
Once the storm is over, ensure the system is safe before starting up your heating and air conditioning system. To begin, verify there are no signs of damage and remove any debris from around the system. Try to examine and verify there is no apparent harm to any of the refrigerant or electrical lines running from your air conditioner. Call 226-773-3357 for an equipment inspection if appears there has been any damage or flooding to the system. Once you’ve had the system inspected by an expert to ensure safe working, turn the heating and cooling system back on immediately to help dry the home and prevent mold from getting into the system or ductwork.
If your system has had any damage, check out these recommendations on What To Do If Your Air Conditioning System Experiences Flooding or Hail Damage and then call Bryant Heating & Cooling Service Experts and ask about our membership options to help keep your heating and cooling system in working order all year long.