How the low temperatures affects your home’s HVAC system in the Maryland
With weather experts predicting another snowy winter in Maryland, it’s a good time to talk about winter weather care for your HVAC units. We experience low temperatures during the colder months which brings a lot of snow and ice that we need to be prepared for. Unfortunately, you’re never going to be able to protect your outdoor equipment from all kinds of winter damage, but you can avoid a few of them by following some simple steps.
- Install an HVAC system on a platform instead of directly on the ground.
- Create a wind barrier at least 18 inches away from the HVAC unit.
- Make sure you keep the area on and around your heating unit clear and free of snow, leaves, pine needles, and overgrown vegetation.
Heat pumps can ice-up during the wintertime and it is normal for the entire coil to be covered in a white frost, even light ice, during certain weather conditions. But it is not normal if the whole unit becomes completely covered in ice for a long period of time, this includes the top of the unit as well as the inner coil. If you have ice on your outdoor unit, turn your system off, check for problems, and contact a professional to repair any damage. Do not try to scrape the ice off of the coils. Scraping or chiseling ice from your unit could cause more problems.
If you suspect that your heating system needs repair, don’t wait until you’re left in the cold. Our HVAC engineer can give you recommendations as to how best to increase the efficiency of your HVAC system as well as make repairs as necessary.
