Protect Your Outdoor Unit from Falling Leaves

It’s easy to forget about the air conditioner when it’s not running daily to keep you comfortable. During the offseason, consider outdoor HVAC unit protection to keep it in good shape so it’s ready to go next spring. Heat pump users, especially, need to stay on top of the outdoor condenser to get the most efficient and effective heating from their units.

Why It Matters

The outdoor condenser contains the compressor and the condensing coil, both vital parts of any air conditioner or heat pump. The compressor changes the pressure of the refrigerant to make it cold enough to remove the excess heat from your home’s air. The refrigerant moves from the indoor air handler into the condensing coil, where a large fan blows away the heat it collected indoors.

When leaves or any other kind of vegetation block the air amount of air going through the condenser, it takes longer for the refrigerant to cool. It drives up energy bills and increases the time it takes to cool your home. Longer running times create excessive wear on the compressor, your system’s most expensive part.

Condenser Upkeep

Rake leaves away. Keep an eye on the amount of leaves building around the condenser and rake them away as they collect. Bag them, along with other landscaping debris, to keep them from blowing back.

Trim overhanging tree branches. Remove any branches that hang over the condenser or nearby by as part of outdoor HVAC unit protection. Throw a tarp over the condenser as you work to prevent sawdust and leaves from falling inside it.

Cover it. If you don’t plan to use the A/C or heat pump all winter, cover it for the season. You can find covers at home improvement centers or hardware stores. Be sure you check it periodically to make sure rodents aren’t living inside.

It’s important to provide outdoor HVAC unit protection from leaves even in the off-season to keep this appliance clean and unobstructed. To learn more, contact Air Assurance, providing HVAC services for Broken Arrow homeowners.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273.

How to Protect Your A/C in a Natural Disaster

Reading about natural disasters can make us anxious, as we compare our circumstances and ask, "Could that happen here?" Certainly, Oklahoma has gotten a lot of publicity for our frequent, deadly and disastrous tornadoes. Such weather keeps us on our toes in terms of emergency planning.As you think about emergency planning for a tornado -- although it could also easily be a flood, an earthquake or wildfire -- have you ever thought about protecting your HVAC system? Once the power's on and things are returning to normal, you'll want to be sure your air conditioning and heating are back on as soon as possible. So here are some valuable tips on HVAC protection:

Protecting the HVAC

Depending on the kind of disaster that strikes, you may be able to protect your HVAC system to a degree. If it's in a flood-prone area, you could raise it or move it. If you're worried about hail or flying debris from a storm, you could build a temporary protective structure to put in place, bolting it down to the ground. Also, remove tree limbs that might fall on it, as well as any garden structures that might be hurled into the fins.While your homeowner's policy probably covers storm or fire damage, it might also be a good idea to look into separate policies for flood or earthquake insurance, as your homeowner's policy may cover neither.Your A/C condenser can likely survive brief periods in a few inches of flood water, but if the water rises too high, you will probably need to replace the HVAC system. Regardless, do not turn it back on after the storm until you can get a technician to inspect it.

Survival Tips

Survival after a storm requires some common sense. Think carefully about what you would need to survive at least three days to a week: water for drinking and washing, bleach for disinfecting, medications, non-perishable food and possibly a generator to power appliances till the power comes back on.

To learn more about HVAC protection, contact Air Assurance. We serve Broken Arrow and the surrounding area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about HVAC protection and other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273.