Maintenance··6 min read
Hurricane Season HVAC Prep: Protect Your AC Before and After the Storm
How to protect your AC and refrigeration equipment before a Florida storm, what to do during an outage, and the safe restart sequence afterward.
Storm damage to HVAC equipment on the Treasure Coast is usually preventable. Most of the failures we see after a storm come from water intrusion, debris, and improper restart — not wind.
Before the storm - Shut the system OFF at the thermostat and at the breaker once you lose confidence in the grid - Clear loose yard items, palm fronds, and furniture within 10 feet of the condenser - Do NOT wrap the condenser in plastic if the system may run — it traps heat; use a manufacturer-approved cover only while powered off - Photograph the equipment and note the model and serial numbers for any insurance claim - Strap or verify the hurricane tie-downs on the condenser pad
During an outage - Leave the breaker off. Utility power comes back with surges and brownouts that kill compressors - For commercial refrigeration, keep doors shut; a full walk-in holds temperature for hours - Run a generator only with the correct load rating — an undersized generator browns out the compressor
Safe restart sequence 1. Confirm utility power is stable for at least 30 minutes 2. Turn the condenser breaker on and wait 30 minutes so the crankcase heater warms the compressor oil 3. Turn the air handler breaker on 4. Set the thermostat to COOL, one degree at a time, and listen for a normal start 5. Check for water in the air handler closet and around the outdoor disconnect
Call a tech if you see - Water lines above the condenser base or inside the air handler - A breaker that trips immediately on restart - Loud humming with no fan rotation (likely a failed capacitor) - Bent coil fins or a shifted condenser pad
Surge protection is cheap insurance A whole-home or equipment-level surge protector runs $250-$600 installed and routinely saves a $1,200 control board. Ask us about it at your next visit.
Need help with this in Port St. Lucie?
Call our local team — same-day appointments available across the Treasure Coast.