Thankfully Hurricane Irma didn’t do the damage we prepared for in Citrus and Marion Counties. Power outages, downed trees, and wind debris clean-up are in full swing. Heating and cooling units will need attention as the storm may not have damaged them, but the resulting power outage or restoration may.

Storms such as hurricanes and tropical depressions can produce lightning, flooding, high winds, and many unfavorable weather occurrences. In the Central Florida region, we are accustom to the routine afternoon thunderstorms that can exhibit many traits these larger storms have, we just get them in smaller doses. No matter how prepared your home is, there is always a chance of storm damage especially if the power goes out. Whole home heating and cooling systems rely heavily on their electronic components and thus are more susceptible to the dangers of power surges, lightning strikes and electrical disturbances.

Rainbow Lakes Heating & AC (RLAC) has created the best practices listed below for restoring power to your central heating and cooling system.

• Turn thermostat off
• Inspect the outside unit for visual damage to the cage, fan, debris around it, or flooding when it is safe to do so.
• Once power returns, from the electrical box, flip the breaker for the central air conditioning unit from on to off and back on again. This is important because it will reset the circuit breaker inside the ac unit. Think about this much the same way as you would if your smart phone or computer locked up, you would do a hard reset by holding the power button down. The same principle applies here, you need to do a hard reset.
• Wait for 30 minutes.
• Turn the thermostat back on to the cool setting. If there is no damage, your air conditioning system will start cooling your home.

If Rainbow Lakes Heat & Air best practices do not reset your ac unit, then it may have more damage.

During storms and their aftermath, many local air conditioner fixers will be handling a multitude of service calls. Knowing how to preform minor checks on your HVAC unit will not only help your a/c repairman, you may not even have to call him!

Do-It-Yourself AC Unit checks:

• External circuit breaker won’t reset. This is a sure sign that your home has electrical damage that goes beyond the HVAC unit. Most likely a result of lightening or power surge, this fault requires assistance from a professional electrician. This will generally affect more than just the a/c unit.
• AC Unit circuit breaker repeatedly tripping. If the breaker that is tripping in your electrical panel is dedicated to your central heating and cooling system, then your HVAC system may be overheating. This uses a lot of power and will trip circuit breakers. Assistance from your favorite HVAC repair company is needed here. DO NOT TURN IT BACK ON this could cause more damage. Reasons that your circuit breakers continue to trip maybe refrigerant leaks, fan motor damage, compressor failure, burnt wires, damaged capacitor.

Recovering from storm damage can be overwhelming, Rainbow Lakes Heating and AC services Citrus, Marion and Levy counties ensuring residents in Dunnellon, Williston, and Beverly Hills and everywhere in between have the best quality HVAC heating repair services available. Warranty options for the air conditioning units vary per manufacturer, but most of them require registration and maintenance by a professional air conditioner fixer like Rainbow Lakes Heating and Air Conditioning. You can reach us at 352-489-6673 or Click Here to contact us.