HVAC/R Hurricane Preperation:
Hurricane season is officially here and living in Florida makes us susceptible to more of these storms than any other state. Of the lower 48 states Florida has more coastline than any other, measuring in at 1350 miles of total coastline, with California coming in second at 840 miles of coastline. Our states unique peninsula shape also adds to the chance of getting hit by a hurricane and means that we can get hit at any time, from anywhere. Knowing what we know about the unpredictable nature of hurricanes, and our state wearing a bulls eye on its back for being hit; having a game plan for your HVACR system is vital. Just like anything else there are many crucial steps to preparing your HVACR system for the hurricane season.
One of the many steps to ensure that your outside units are ready for hurricane season is to have county approved straps to secure your unit to the roof or outside areas of your building. We recommend using stainless steel screws when securing the straps to the unit and the units’ base. Using stainless steel screws and parts whenever possible guarantee that you will be getting the strongest and most weather resistant product available. This is crucial with the salinity and demanding weather in South Florida. Strong bases are a valuable part of any units’ strength and should be installed whenever possible. You can secure the unit down with the best straps and fasteners on the market, but if it is not on a strong base or stand, the straps will do little to help in the case of a hurricane. Other than securing the unit with straps and fasteners, there are also many other things that need to be secured on the outdoor units for hurricane season.
Outdoor units are susceptible to the strongest winds of any hurricane and take the biggest beating of all. These units are usually placed on roofs or in alley ways, which create higher wind gusts than recorded. A step that should be taken to make sure there are less projectiles and less loss is to go through and tighten all of the screws; securing the panels onto the outside of the unit. This step should eliminate all but the highest winds from panel loss and less damage to property and the unit. While tightening the panels take a look around the unit and roof area for any metal, take the loose debris off the roof as it will become flying projectile if not removed. Another step that can be taken while on the roof is to secure the condensing pipe to the roof, giving it less chance to break and cause problems. Once again, stainless steel fasteners and parts are recommended for any possible application. If your building has roof top package units another step that should be taken is to secure all of your units drain lines. For those buildings with roof top package units, you should also ensure that your outside air intakes should be closed; if they are left open the hurricane winds can enter through the unit and blow the outside panels off. Going through all of the previous steps should be part of the routine, as well should preparing your units electrical system.
Preparing for hurricanes usually means we are outside strapping things down and making sure they do not fly away, but electrical seems to be overlooked for the most part. When it comes to preparing your units for a hurricane electrical should be looked at as heavily as any other preparation step taken. One of the recommended steps that should be taken is to protect three phase systems with phase monitor protection. The phase monitor will provide you protection from phase loss, phase unbalance, phase reversal and phase sequence on your buildings motors, compressors, pumps, or any other three phase electrical equipment. To protect single phase units from electrical problems and short cycling during power outages, time delays should be installed. Even with all the proper preparation we cannot prevent a hurricane from tearing through South Florida.
Getting things up and running after the storm is more of a battle than the preparation. With technology on our side there are many portable HVACR units that can be put into place to have your building up and running as fast as possible.
Post hurricane seems to be when everything settles in and the clean up begins. For office buildings and any building this means getting back to running capability as soon as possible. This may not be the easiest or most enjoyable thing to go through, but getting up and running is extremely important. Of the many stresses that go into getting back on our feet, your buildings HVACR system should not be one. Thankfully there are portable units of any size and shape to fit your needs and application. These units can be installed quickly and can satisfy your buildings air load, while problems on your main units are being fixed. The list of what is available is quite lengthy, but to provide a few main products there are air and water cooled chillers, cooling towers, dx units, pumps, and portable cooling units.
Hurricane preparation should be taken seriously for any buildings HVAC/R system and the steps covered should be taken to minimize the chance of product failure. While these steps will greatly increase your units chances of making it safely through a storm, there is no guarantee when it comes to hurricanes. In the event that you do lose your air, there are many portable products that can get you up and cool quickly. So go through the steps covered and hopefully we will have a smooth hurricane season!
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