Is Your HVAC Equipment Protected From Snow and Ice?

What will this winter bring – record-setting heat, or blizzards and low temperatures? It’s always a gamble here in Colorado. Sometimes you can see both in a matter of hours. 

But no matter what the weather blows in each day, protecting your HVAC equipment from snow and ice should be a high priority. 

Exhaust and intake pipes

While your furnace may reside in a utility room inside your home, the HVAC equipment snakes and moves throughout your home, ensuring it’s properly heated and cooled. An HVAC system needs an air supply for proper ventilation, and relies on exhaust and intake pipes to carry the air. If it’s not maintained correctly, it can freeze up and clog. This reduces performance, and can eventually cause a breakdown. If you’re not sure where these start, you locate the pipes at the source, and follow it as it heads out to an exterior wall. Then periodically check it from time to time, especially after a hard snowfall or cold conditions. 

Outdoor units

Most homes across the Front Range utilize forced-air systems for their heating and cooling needs. The outdoor unit can be put under harsh conditions, depending on the weather and temperatures throughout the year. In the winter, ice and snow can form and exist for weeks. Water melting and dripping from trees or rooflines can amplify the ice and snow. While covering the unit isn’t necessary, you should pay attention to it throughout the year, keeping it clear of landscaping, and excessive water. If you have a trouble spot, consider building a barrier to provide further protection. 

Maintenance works

While you can’t control the Colorado weather, you can control how well your HVAC is looked after. The best way to ensure a long life is to let a professional look at it once per season. That ensures your equipment is in top shape and the HVAC equipment is properly maintained. They’ll make adjustments, which may even help extend their life. 

Is your HVAC equipment in good working condition as we head into the winter months here in Colorado?