Winterizing Your AC Unit - Heather L.
Here it comes, the time of year when it’s so cold that all you want to do is stay in bed all cozy and warm. I remember as a kid every Christmas morning I would jump out of bed and look outside to see if it had snowed during the night and 9 times out of 10, it had not. Here in south Alabama snow is a VERY rare occurrence. There have been several Christmas days that we had to run the air conditioner, however, not everywhere in the world experiences this. I know that northern states experience winters filled with snow.
No matter where you live, if you experience cold weather, it’s recommended that you prepare your central air conditioning unit for winter. While it’s not always necessary to winterize your unit, doing so could prevent you from having to pay major out of pocket costs to get your unit repaired if it happens to get damaged by cold weather or snow. Saving yourself money all starts with you. You can follow these 4 simple steps to prepare YOUR air conditioner for the winter.
How to Prepare Your Air Conditioner for Winter
Things You Will Need:
- Duct Tape
- Foam Pipe Covers
- Square Piece of Plywood
- Bungee Straps or Rope
Step 1: After making sure that the unit’s turned OFF, clear your outside unit of debris such as leaves, twigs, and/or grass clippings. You will also need to wash the unit off with a hose to remove any dirt, dust, or bird droppings. Let it dry completely before continuing to step two.
Step 2: Cover exposed exterior pipes with foam pipe covers. Cut the foam the length that you need and wrap it around the pipes and wrap with duct tape to hold them in place. This insulates the pipes and will prevent them from freezing during cold temperatures. This step can also be applied year-round since it will not affect the functioning during the summer months.
Step 3: Place piece of plywood on the top of the unit and secure it with bricks or anything heavy that you may have lying around your house. This will prevent snow from falling into the unit and causing rust or damage.
***A lot of companies recommend wrapping the unit with a tarp but this could potentially cause moisture in the unit and lead to mold growth and that could lead to issues with your unit. However, this is entirely up to you and you can use your own discretion to decide which option you would like to go with.
There are many benefits to winterizing your air conditioning unit: it helps prevent pipes from freezing and/or rusting by insulating them with pipe covers. It also helps prevent any animals from getting in and around your unit to nest and potentially damage your unit. You definitely don’t want to turn on your unit on the first hot day of spring and it not blow any cold air out. That would be a disaster in Southern Alabama, and make for a very miserable day waiting on a repair man to come fix the unit. If you are uncomfortable in winterizing your ac unit yourself and you want to ensure that it’s done properly, you can always make a call to your local air conditioning company and they will send a technician out to get this taken care of for you. If you do take this route I would also recommend having your furnace tuned up to make sure that it will be ready to go once you need the heat.
I hope you found this information helpful and that it may save your from wishing you had winterized your AC unit when a hot spring day is among us next year.
Author: Heather L.
