Your equipment, before and after a storm

The work that is easy now and impossible later.

1. Photograph the outdoor unit, the air handler and their nameplates, including serial numbers. Keep it somewhere that is not in the building.
2. Find the breakers and the service disconnect for each system, and make sure whoever is around knows where they are.
3. Clear what is near the outdoor unit — anything loose becomes a projectile, and the unit is in the way.
4. Have the condensate drain cleared and the coil rinsed. A system that is working properly copes better with a hot week without power.
5. If the pad is low and the area floods, ask us about raising it before the season, not after.

The last sensible day to do anything is usually two days before, not the morning of.

1. Cool the building down in advance if power is likely to go — a house that starts cool stays tolerable for longer.
2. Switch the system off at the thermostat and at the breaker before the weather arrives, particularly if flooding is possible.
3. Do not cover or wrap the outdoor unit while it is running, and do not tie anything to it that could hold water.
4. Move loose items away from the unit and secure anything on a roof that could move.
5. Photograph everything now if you have not already. It is five minutes and it shortens an insurance claim considerably.

No water contact makes this simpler, but it is still worth a few minutes before switching on.

1. Look at the outdoor unit: debris in the coil, a bent fan guard, a unit that has shifted on its pad, or a disconnected line set.
2. Check that the disconnect and breaker are intact and dry before restoring power.
3. Switch on and listen. A unit that hums without the fan turning should be switched off again and left.
4. Check for water around the air handler — a blocked drain after a power cut is common.
5. If anything looks wrong, leave it off and call. A damaged system that is forced to run turns a repair into a replacement.

What matters now is what happens at the moment supply returns.

1. Switch the system off at the thermostat and at the breaker. Power comes back unevenly, and equipment started on a partial supply can be damaged.
2. Wait until supply is stable, then restore the systems one at a time rather than all at once.
3. Inspect the outdoor unit for debris and damage before the first start.
4. If the building has been shut and hot for days, expect the first run to be long — that is the equipment doing its job, not a fault.

This is the one stage with a single answer. Flooded electrical equipment is a safety matter, not a comfort one.

1. Leave the power off at the breaker. Do not test it, and do not let anyone else test it.
2. Equipment that has been submerged needs inspecting before it is energised — motors, boards, contactors and wiring all hold water and salt.
3. Where the electrical supply itself was flooded, that is an electrician's and the utility's decision before it is ours.
4. Photograph everything in place before anything is moved or cleaned, for the claim.
5. Then call us. Some flooded equipment is repairable and some is not, and the honest answer needs eyes on it.