Troubleshooting Your Air Conditioner After A Storm
Posted on: 14 August 2017
After a severe storm, you may be concerned that your air conditioner has electrical damage. Your HVAC contractor can help you to make any necessary repairs, but there are a few things you can do to troubleshoot your unit to see if it is in need of repair. Here are a few things you can do to inspect and troubleshoot your AC unit after a severe storm.
Check Your Breaker Box
It is possible that the storm might have tripped your circuit breakers. If your air conditioner has its own dedicated breaker, you may not notice any other power outages in your home. For AC units that share a breaker with other appliances or devices, you may notice that all of the items connected to that particular breaker are not working. Locate your breaker box and flip the switch dedicated to your air conditioner. If the AC doesn't power back on after flipping the switch, you may need to have the unit inspected or repaired. Remember to wait until the storm is cleared before attempting to flip any breaker switches.
Power Off The Thermostat
Your air conditioning system may need time to reset, even after flipping your breaker switch. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can power off the AC from the display panel. Otherwise, simply set a traditional thermostat to the off position. This will give the air conditioner a chance to reset, and it can also prevent the system from overheating. It's a good idea to turn the thermostat off as a severe storm approaches to prevent the AC from cycling on and off during power outages.
Check Your Thermostat
In some cases, a power outage may cause your programmable thermostat to malfunction. Your air conditioner may be in good working condition, but the thermostat isn't sending the message to cool your home. If this occurs, check to make sure that the date and time are set properly. During a power outage, the time may revert back to 12:00, which can turn your cooling program off. Reset the time and date, check to make sure that your batteries don't need to be replaced, and then attempt to power on the AC through the thermostat.
If you find that you are not able to get your air conditioner to power back on after a storm or power outage, contact your HVAC repair person to have the necessary repairs performed.
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