2024’s hurricane season is projected to be supercharged. Intense storms will likely hit Baton Rouge and its surrounding areas between June and November. While this is both scary and inconvenient, you can decrease the impact of storms on your home or commercial building with some preparation. Read on to learn how you can have a hurricane-ready HVAC system in any building.
Schedule Routine Maintenance for a Hurricane-Ready HVAC Unit
You need to have a working HVAC system before hurricane season if you want to stay safe and comfortable. This means getting a professional inspection and learning about any issues with your unit.
Professionals can:
- Recommend changes and upgrades to keep your air conditioner in top shape so it doesn’t fail you when a hurricane hits.
- Help you move any components of the outdoor unit from flood-prone areas by elevating them on a platform.
- They can also protect the unit with a professional-grade tarp cover to stop hurricane damage from high-moisture rain and hail damage.
Indoor units are also easy to secure with professional tools, so inquire about mounting indoor systems properly and connecting loose parts.
Remove Surrounding Elements
Outdoor AC units often sit near trees, bushes, and other shrubbery. These are easy for hurricanes to break, snap, or even pull out of the roots. Branches and debris can hit and break the outdoor unit in heavy winds.
Indoor units often sit near chemicals for cleaning and other hazardous materials. Many of them connect to electrical sources that could spark if the power lines are hit.
Move these elements away from the unit whenever possible and ask a professional how to secure elements you can’t move.
Turn Off Power Pre-Hurricane
If you know that a hurricane is about to hit Louisiana, that’s a telltale sign that you’re in for a strong storm (if not the hurricane itself.) When your HVAC is on, electrical damage, like power surges, can damage or destroy it. These surges, along with electrical smoke, can also present a fire hazard.
To stay safe and protect your property, turn off the air conditioner when you hear a storm is coming. Ensure you do this at the main control panel so it doesn’t start automatically running again when the thermostat senses a temperature shift.
Get a Surge Protector
You can also combat power surges with a surge protector. Also known as surge suppressors, these small boxes have several utility outlets, a simple power switch, and a cord that plugs into any wall outlet. It looks similar to an outlet strip, but it specifically prevents damage from unpredictable electrical surges during a storm.
Professionals install these devices in your building’s alternating current utility line to stop the electronics hooked up to it from having problems due to spikes in voltage. Your HVAC unit is one such device, so a surge protector is a great way to keep it safe.
Safeguard HVAC Units: Prepare an HVAC for Hurricanes
In addition to turning off the power and getting surge protection, cover your outdoor units with a tarp or piece of plywood. This will prevent flying debris from getting into the air conditioner and clogging it up.
Then, secure the system with specialized hurricane straps (also known as hurricane ties.) These metal connectors have holes for fasteners and attach to your HVAC unit.
It straps them to the ground or wall with a plate to strengthen its attachment to the floor—preventing heavy winds from carrying your unit away.
Link Your HVAC Unit to a Generator
While turning off your power is important pre-hurricane, you’ll need electricity to power it if it shuts off for days after a hurricane. Louisiana can get hot, and you want to avoid being left in the heat.
Purchase a generator and store it in a safe and secure part of your home or commercial building. If your electricity goes out, link the generator up to your AC so it can run until the power returns.
This prevents potentially dangerous heat from becoming a reality. If you own a commercial building, it may also make the difference between needing to shut the workplace down versus keeping it open after the storm.
Cool Your Home Down
If you don’t have a generator and can’t access one, cool your home down before the storm hits. Turn the AC down a few degrees in the days leading up to a hurricane. You’ll need to turn it off when the storm’s about to hit, but this will get your house or commercial space cool enough to withstand the coming hot temperatures after a power outage.
You’ll also want to close all of your blinds, windows, and doors to prevent sunlight from creating too much heat inside your home. Remember that having a hurricane-ready HVAC system doesn’t just mean keeping the unit secure. It means keeping you and others in the building safe and comfortable, too.
Look Out for Common HVAC Problems
Hurricanes can bring many issues to your air conditioner because of lightning strikes and high winds. Common ones include high moisture levels, condensation, loud buzzing sounds, and noticeable damage from falling objects and debris.
However, these problems aren’t just limited to after hurricanes. HVAC units require emergency upkeep whenever there’s an issue, and calling in the pros when you see a common problem is essential to your system’s health.
You should call in experts to inspect your unit if you:
- See odd condensation,
- Hear strange clunking noises,
- Notice frost on AC coils,
- Or smell something weird when you turn on your AC.
Heavy storms make everything worse, and they can be even more detrimental to an already broken unit.
Enhance Your HVAC Hurricane Preparedness
Now that you know how to ensure a hurricane-ready HVAC system, it’s time to schedule seasonal maintenance. Our team is committed to helping Baton Rouge homeowners and business owners keep their units in top shape to prepare for both summer sunshine and hurricane season’s stormy weather.
Contact ClimaServ online or at the service number 225-572-6678 to discuss your heating and cooling needs.
