Insight To Help You Winterize Your Outside Air Conditioner Compressor Unit

When the end of summer arrives and begins to bring cooler weather, it is time to start thinking about preparing your home and yard for winter. This preparation includes preparing your HVAC and air conditioning system for winter and its upcoming season of non-use. Here are some tips and insight to help you take care of and prepare your air conditioner for the winter season.

Clean the Unit

Your air conditioner's outside condenser unit can become quite dirty and collect a great deal of debris around its exterior and inside its protective cover. It is a good idea to clean around the exterior of your condenser to remove leaves, twigs, and branches that may have accumulated during summer and fall. Then, with your garden hose or a pressure washer with a low-flow tip, spray off the outside of your unit to remove bug debris, bird droppings, tree sap and other materials that may have become stuck.

If you have any vegetation growing around the condenser, make sure it still allows adequate clearance around the air conditioner unit. Your unit needs at least one to three feet of clearance around its exterior grills, where air will be pulled into the unit and heat is expelled during its use. If you plan to plant any bushes or other vegetation to help shield your condenser unit this winter or the coming summer, make sure to follow this clearance allowance when you position and plant them.

Protect It For Winter

One of the most common mistakes a homeowner makes when winterizing their air conditioner is wrapping the outside condenser unit in plastic or covering it with a tarp or similar cover. This type of plastic water-proof barrier actually harms your compressor instead of protecting it.

Using a plastic covering traps moisture within your compressor unit, which promotes rust and corrosion of the metal parts and can allow mold and mildew growth. A plastic covering over your unit provides a shelter for mice and other pests to make a home inside. Mice and other rodents and pests will chew on wiring inside, causing damage to internal wiring and other electrical components. If you need to cover your unit, cover it with a breathable cover made of canvas or other heavy-duty fabric.

Another option besides using a cover over your air conditioner is using a piece of plywood to cover the entire top of your unit. Secure the plywood in place on your unit by weighing it down with a couple of heavy bricks or cinder blocks. This plywood protection will protect your unit from water dripping into the unit, icicles falling onto it and causing damage, and snowfall building up on its top, and it prevents dirt and other winter debris from falling into the top of the unit.

If there are any pipes running to your outside compressor unit that are not covered in foam, you can complete this yourself. Placing foam over the pipes to your unit will protect them from freezing during winter. You can find and install foam pipe coverings at most home improvement stores. Secure them onto the pipe by wrapping them in duct tape.

Complete a Tune-Up

As part of your air conditioner's winter preparation, there are a few tune-up steps you can complete yourself. Change the air filter in your interior fan and blower unit and also vacuum out the air return and supply air vents to remove dust. If your air supply vents are situated in your home's floor, remove the vent covers and vacuum out any debris that has fallen inside your ducts.

It is also helpful to hire a professional to complete a tune-up on your air conditioner and to make sure your home's furnace is ready to begin warming your home. This step helps keep your air conditioner well-maintained and prepared to begin working again next spring. 

For additional advice, contact a company that offers HVAC services in your area.