Tips to Prepare Your HVAC Unit for a Snow Storm

When you’re preparing your burrow for the winter, put your HVAC unit on the top of that checklist. You’ll want to make sure it can weather the snow storms.

Your Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system needs regular checkups to keep it functional all through.

When winter comes knocking, and snow is piling up, you can never afford to have a dysfunctional HVAC unit. And that’s why you need to ensure yours is in good working condition to keep you safe from cold temperatures.

If your HVAC unit is dysfunctional or has broken down completely, winter is not the time to ignore the calls of working on it. You should call a technician to fix it for you.

The benefits of doing so are immense. You get to enjoy the warmth and comfort of your home in one of the most demanding seasons of the year.

But how do you get all these in place? Here are some of the best tips to follow when preparing your HVAC unit for a snowstorm.

Arrange for an Inspection

It might be that you cannot perfectly estimate whether your dysfunctional HVAC unit will make it through the entire winter period. Therefore, you will need to seek help from professionals who will have a look at it and give reliable feedback.

The inspection will help to determine whether your unit needs some slight repair or whether you should replace it with a new one altogether.

An inspection also helps you detect any impending electrical fault associated with the unit and save you from any electrical danger.

While an inspection is essential all year round, doing it just before winter assures you of uninterrupted warmth.

Clear the Area Around the HVAC Unit

All you need from your HVAC system during winter is nothing but a warm flow of air. And a maximum supply of it. Any obstacle that hinders the maximum flow of air into your room is something you should put out of the way early enough.

Some obstacles are costly and would block the flow of air and lead to your heating system spoiling. When this happens during winter, you can already imagine how devastating it could be for you.

When you leave objects closer to your unit during the snowstorm, the possibility of snow rising to the HVAC unit is higher. With the help of objects such as used furniture, snow will easily rise to block your unit, preventing it from functioning well.

For these reasons, you can’t afford to leave obstacles lying around next to your unit when winter approaches.

Have a Look at the Insulation

Improper insulation of your HVAC will mean that you will be contending poor heating in the snowy weather. Poor installation means that your unit will have to consume more energy to heat your home.

With proper insulation, your unit can achieve greater energy efficiency, which helps you save on your energy bills.

Your house will also be able to retain much of the heat from your HVAC system when you insulate it properly. If you fail to seal windows, doors, and other house openings, some drafts of cold air may get in to neutralize the effect of the warmth.

With cold air coming in, the HVAC unit will have to exert more, leading to dysfunction. The best solution to this is a regular inspection of your home insulation.

Ensure your windows, doors, and other openings are perfectly sealed anytime you are using the unit.

Inspect Your Filters and Replace them

Air filters are very important components of the HVAC system. They are responsible for processing and filtering the air before it spreads into your house. Air filters are prone to regular clogs and would therefore demand that you inspect them regularly for cleaning or, if possible, replace them.

A clogged filter will impact negatively on the performance of your unit. It leads to an increase in energy consumption and a slower heating process, which affects you negatively from both fronts.

Clear Your HVAC’s Heat Pumps

What would winter be like with an HVAC unit that has a dysfunctional heat pump? When the heat pump isn’t working well, your unit won’t transfer heat effectively, and it will be a total waste for the entire season.

Heat pumps facilitate effective heat transfer where the furnace picks the warm heat and blow it right into your house’s interior.

During winter, you ought to be checking the heat pump frequently as snow is more likely to gather inside the pump and clog it. This leads to your unit failing to transfer heat effectively hence poor heating of your house.

If you maintain regular cleaning, you will eject all the accumulating snow and other debris that may clog around the heat pump.

Get a New HVAC Unit

Purchasing a new unit may not be your run-to option every winter. But when there is no more hope of reviving the one you have, it may be the only viable option remaining.

It is better you have the assurance of warmth at your home rather than play a gamble with your nearly-dying HVAC unit. You should be thinking of getting a replacement, especially if the one you have is approaching its life expectancy or has hit double digits in age.

Consider Buying a Generator

Your HVAC system may not be the only cause of disappointment in the cold seasons of winter. While you might have done everything to ensure your units work perfectly, the frustration may come from another source-the power source.

And so to be safe in all quarters, you need to have a backup generator just in case power decides to misbehave in the cold nights of winter.

Your HVAC Unit Doesn’t Have to Fail During Winter

All these issues that deter your HVAC unit from working perfectly are common to all units and should not give you a difficult time-solving. With reputable technicians who can help fix the heating system when it breaks down, you should not have a reason to worry.

Davidson Heating & Cooling, we have trained and certified professionals that are ready to see your heating system working. We can clean up, tune-up, repair, and install HVAC systems in Michigan. Give us a call and request a service.