If you live in a flood plain or an area with heavy rainfall, you’re probably concerned about the potential of experiencing an HVAC system damaged by flooding.
Galbreath Heating & Air has over 40 years of experience caring for HVAC equipment. Our experts can help you deal with flooding damage and will even give you tips to help prevent the issue.
How Flooding Damages HVAC Systems
How can flooding damage your air conditioner, heat pump, and other parts of your HVAC? Flood damage can wreak havoc on your system’s electrical components and leave your duct system vulnerable to mold, among other issues.
Outdoor Air Conditioners
Your air conditioning relies on a combination of your outdoor unit and indoor components. The outdoor pieces of your AC unit include the compressor, condenser coil, fan motor, expansion valve, and evaporator coil. This part of your system helps release the hot air from your home.
Can air conditioners get wet? An outdoor unit sits close to the ground, but can still hold up against moderate rainfall. If your air conditioner experiences more than 12 to 15 inches of standing water, it can experience electrical component failure.
Heat Pumps
Your heat pump acts as both a heating and cooling system but doesn’t actually heat your air. Much like your cooling system transports hot air outside your home, this form of heating system transfers hot ambient air into your home.
If you’re considering the potential impact of an HVAC system damaged by flooding, your heat pump has the same vulnerabilities as cooling systems, with the added risk of damage to its heating electrical components.
Flash flooding can damage your HVAC units in the following ways:
- It can clog your device with debris, jamming pieces or leading to overheating.
- Even without extensive damage, HVAC damage can reduce your heating and cooling unit’s performance, leaving you uncomfortable.
- If mold forms in your HVAC components, it can spread throughout your entire system and leave you vulnerable to potential safety hazards.
- Water damage can put you at risk of power outages and electrical fires.
Crawlspace Ductwork
Even if you don’t have a basement, you may have a crawlspace with ductwork. Because crawlspaces are underground, if flood waters infiltrate your home, they’ll fill this area first.
A flooded HVAC system can cause the following problems in your ductwork:
- Mold growth: The biggest threat with flooded ductwork is the potential for mold, which can start growing in just 24 hours. Mold brings serious health risks, so after your ducts flood, you’ll need fast replacement to prevent issues.
- Ineffective insulation: Your duct insulation helps keep your air at the right temperature so you experience optimal comfort. With flooded or damaged insulation, you’ll spend more money on your home’s heating and won’t feel as satisfied with the results.
- Water damage: The water damage from your HVAC equipment can spread to the rest of your home. From threatening your gas supply to making you vulnerable to burst pipes, ductwork flooding could lead you to replace your ductwork before the damage causes widespread issues.
If you’ve experienced an HVAC system damaged by flooding, ensure a certified technician inspects your home’s ductwork.
Duct System Vents
If your ductwork grows mold after a flood, the problem can spread to your vents. Even a small vent hole can blow a significant amount of mold throughout your home.
Flood waters can also carry corrosive chemicals. If your HVAC system floods, these can spread throughout your home, damaging your indoor HVAC equipment and other appliances like your water heater.
Solutions for Addressing an HVAC System Damaged by Flooding
What happens if your home’s heating and air conditioning system floods?
Shut Off the System
If you believe your HVAC system has experienced flooding, shut it off. This can help you prevent further damage to your flood-damaged HVAC equipment, like electrical shortages.
You may worry about going without your AC unit or furnace during the extreme temperatures. If you feel like you’re not safe at home, consider staying with friends, family, or at a hotel.
Inspect the Unit
You’ll need the entire unit fully inspected by a professional HVAC technician. You can perform your own basic investigation by looking for debris on your outdoor units, smelling your ductwork for a musty odor, and testing the performance of your HVAC units provided you feel safe doing so.
After you’ve discovered an HVAC system damaged by flooding, the professional technician will inspect everything from the refrigerant system to the air handler, circuit breaker, gas valves, and more.
Call Your Insurance Company
Contact your insurance company to determine whether you have flood insurance and what your policy covers. When you file an insurance claim, you may obtain compensation for most or all of your costs associated with the repair or replacement of your flooded HVAC system.
When your HVAC system floods, your policy may even cover staying in a hotel. Your insurance agent should advocate on your behalf, and the best HVAC repair companies will also help you navigate the process.
Prioritize Safety
Flooded HVAC systems can put you at risk of several health and safety concerns, so your priority should always include staying safe. If you’re worried about a leaking refrigerant system, experiencing an electrical fire, or a leaking gas furnace, you should leave your home rather than doing an inspection, cleaning up, or shutting off your system.
Clean and Minimize Damage
Provided you can stay safe, you should minimize the damage to your home and start cleaning up the water damage to reduce the risk of mold growth. This includes shutting down your unit during the flood if you notice the problem early enough. It can also mean turning off your main water supply to protect your plumbing pipes.
Call Your HVAC Technician
If you’ve taken all the above steps after discovering an HVAC system damaged by flooding, your final step is calling an HVAC expert. They’ll inspect every unit and component to determine the level of repair or replacement you require.
After a flood, they may find a repair for your heating or air conditioning unit adequate for your needs. However, if water infiltrates any part of your ducts, you’ll have to replace the affected sections. If the necessary repairs cost more than a newer unit, you’ll be better off if you replace it.
Protecting Your HVAC Equipment From Flooding Damage
How can you help reduce the risk of flood damage to your HVAC system?
Elevate Your Device
Ask your technician about elevating your outdoor air conditioner unit or heat pump. Whether you put it on an elevated concrete slab or use metal legs to lift it off the ground, it can increase airflow and make it more difficult for water to reach it. Many people skip this step because it requires an extra investment.
Improve Outdoor Drainage
Improving your drainage won’t help you resist catastrophic flooding from a hurricane or heavy flash flooding. However, it can prevent flooding from minor to moderate rains.
To improve your yard’s drainage, consider the following techniques:
- Create a rain garden
- Plant more trees
- Use the right type of mulch around your foundation
- Aerate your soil
- Gently slope your yard away from your home
- Clear branches and debris away from your foundation and your outdoor unit in particular
Install and Maintain a Sump Pump
If you don’t have a sump pump, installing one can help prevent you from experiencing an HVAC system damaged by flooding. If water enters your basement when your pipes rupture or you experience heavy rain, a sump pump expels it from your home, protecting your basement, crawlspace, appliances, and ductwork.
If you already have a sump pump, remember to schedule annual maintenance and test its capacity regularly.
Consider Alternative Systems
If worrying about a flooded HVAC system keeps you up at night, you can prevent most issues by looking into alternative systems, including:
- Window air conditioners: While a window unit won’t heat your house as efficiently and you’ll replace it more frequently, it doesn’t require an outdoor section. It also means you don’t need ductwork, but overall, this solution may cost you more in the long term.
- Furnaces: If you replace your heat pump with a furnace or propane heating, you won’t worry about flooding outside your home. While gas furnaces heat efficiently and for a lower cost, their vulnerability to gas leaks makes them less safe than electric furnaces.
In general, a central HVAC system will provide more savings in the long term. Unless you’re at a serious risk of regular flooding where you live, you shouldn’t prioritize a window unit. Ask your HVAC specialist for more advice about protecting your system from water damage after flooding.
Schedule Repairs for Your HVAC System Today
When you have an HVAC system damaged by flooding, you won’t find a better partner for repairs and replacement than Galbreath Heating & Air. We’ve provided expert heating & air conditioning services in Savannah, GA and the surrounding areas since 1980 and have a strong reputation for excellence. We’re also available for 24-hour emergency service seven days a week.
To schedule service, call (912) 756-3102.
