Did you know South Florida leads the nation in lightning strikes. . .
In honor of “Lightning Awareness Week” which is June 21-27, 2015 we updated this article on lightning hitting your air conditioner.
Early Summer in the SOUTH FLORIDA means three things: School is out, it’s getting very hot and your air conditioner is running constantly. Plus the summer thunderstorm and hurricane season officially begins.
Over the next 12-16 weeks we call summer, we will see many serious thunderstorms roll through the city and like every other year, we will be flooded with AC Repair calls from concerned homeowners when their home air conditioning system stops working after a storm passes their home.
In some cases, the air conditioning doesn’t work, but the fan runs non-stop, regardless of what you do, recirculating the warm air into your home!
In this article, we wanted to cover a few safety precautions you can take, as well as a few quick things to check before you call us for AC Repair.
While there is no way we can cover every component or equipment check our Advanced Cooling and Heating technicians will need to do after a lightning strike, it’s a good DIY starting point.
What to do if you think lightning hit your air conditioner:
1 – Document the Event!
The first thing we suggest you do, is document the storm and all possible damage for insurance purposes. You will want to get a note paper and write down the date and time of the possible lightning strike, as well as your recollection of what happened. If you have a small video camera, like a flip camera, that can come in handy as well.
While this may sound trivial, it can be important for insurance adjusters to have when they review your claim. Remember, the burden of proof is yours, and an ac repair could become a new ac unit if the lightning damage is severe.
2 – Check Your Air Conditioner Thermostat
Go to your thermostat in the hall or whatever room it’s in. If it is an electric thermostat, make sure the light is lit and the thermostat has power. Turn it on, and set the temperature to trigger the fan unit to come on.
- If the thermostat does not work, check your breaker.
- If it’s a battery operated thermostat, replace the battery.
- If all power issues have been checked and the thermostat still won’t work, call us at ADVANCED COOLING AND HEATING (561) 697-4247
3 – Check the Air Conditioner Fan Unit
In split system cooling, you have an indoor fan and an outdoor condenser. After you made sure the thermostat works and is telling the air conditioning system to start, you should hear the fan and/or outdoor condenser start up almost simultaneously.
If the fan unit does not start:
- Check the circuit breaker in your home.
- If you reset the breaker and it trips back off as soon as the system tries to start, call us at ADVANCED COOLING AND HEATING for AC Repair (561) 697-4247
- If the power is on but the air conditioner won’t start up, it may be related to the outdoor unit.
4 – Check the Outdoor Condenser
In almost all cases, your outdoor condenser, whether air conditioner or heat pump is likely to have 2 circuit breakers within a few feet of the unit. Follow the large gray colored electric whip to the panel and check the breakers inside.
- If the breakers are in the ON position, reset them by switching off, then back on.
- If one or both immediately trip back off, call us immediately ADVANCED COOLING AND HEATING for AC Repair (561) 697-4247
