Since your outdoor air conditioner unit sits exposed to the elements all winter, it’s important to take steps to keep it clean and protected from pests, corrosion and hazards like falling ice so it’s in the best possible condition when spring arrives.
Safeguard Your Air Conditioner in a Few Simple Steps
Protecting your A/C unit isn’t time consuming or difficult, and you just need a few basic “tools” like a garden hose, tubular piping insulation, a fitted HVAC cover or a piece of plywood and a concrete block or a couple of bricks. Once you’ve gathered these items together, here’s how to proceed:
- Clean up any yard debris from around the cabinet, such as fallen leaves and branches, dead vegetation or grass clippings.
- Rinse away accumulated dirt, dust and insects with a gentle spray of the garden hose. Allow plenty of time for the unit to dry before taking the next step.
- Once the A/C is dry, find the nearby shutoff box, open up the lid and disconnect the electrical supply by flipping the switch. Shutting off the power protects the outdoor unit if you accidentally switch the thermostat mode from heating to cooling during the winter.
- Next, cut piping insulation to fit and wrap it around the coolant pipes.
- Once you’ve completed all the above steps, you can place a fitted cover over the unit if you have one. Just make sure that it’s ventilated so moisture can escape.
- Don’t use a plastic tarp as a cover because it traps condensation that encourages rust formation, and it gives rodents a warm, sheltered nesting area.
- If you don’t own a cover or if the outdoor unit needs extra protection from falling ice, place a piece of plywood on top and weigh it down with a concrete block or bricks.
- Now it’s time to get your HVAC system ready for heating season, so change the air filter and schedule your furnace maintenance visit with a certified HVAC technician.
For more tips about getting your air conditioner ready for winter, contact the Lorain home comfort pros at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air conditioners and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 440-201-2959.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area