AC Not Working After Power Outage? Reset It in 5 Steps
Despite being called the “Sunshine State,” Florida is known for it’s hurricanes, thunderstorms, and summertime showers. One of the things that Florida homeowners face regularly is flickering power or outages due to high winds and lightning. Exciting!
Whether your power goes out for a few seconds or hours, it affects all of your electronics, including your AC. Sometimes after a power outage, you might find that your AC doesn’t kick on like everything else in the house. Why does this happen and what can you do about it?
Resetting Your AC System After a Thunderstorm or Hurricane
Most of the time, this problem is caused by the circuit breaker getting flipped during the storm. Luckily, there’s a short and simple procedure to getting your AC back up and running when this happens. We broke it down into 5 easy steps for you!
Turn Your Thermostat Off
When your thermostat is set to “Cool” but your AC unit isn’t working, you’ll need to turn it to “Off” before you reset anything. This will keep your thermostat from switching on your system as soon as you reset your breakers.
Turn Your AC Circuit Breakers Off
When your Ac’s circuit gets overloaded during a power surge, the circuit breaker gets tripped to protect your home and electrical appliances.
Go to your circuit breaker box. you’ll find that your air conditioner’s outside and inside components are on separate breakers – so turn both to the “OFF” position.
If you don’t have labels for your circuit breaker box, look for the circuits that are in the neutral position (the middle). This is the switch or switches that you’ll need to turn off.
Reset the Breaker
Now your entire air conditioner is shut down, and you’re ready to reset it. After a moment, you can switch the switch back to the “ON” position, restoring power to the circuit and resetting the breaker.
Wait 30 Minutes
You aren’t ready to turn your AC system back on yet. Your system’s internal breakers and circuitry needs time to reset as well, and so we recommend waiting at least thirty minutes before attempting to turn the air conditioning back on in your home. We know this can feel like forever, especially if you’ve been sitting in the Florida heat – but trust us, it’s an important step!
Turn Your Thermostat Back On
It’s finally time. Now that you’ve given everything time to reset, you can switch your thermostat back on to cooling. If your system wasn’t damaged during the power surge or storm, then it should start back up without any issues.
If your system still doesn’t start (or the circuit trips immediately), then you may need a professional hand to get your AC back up and running. Immediately turn your AC off again and call a local HVAC technician to inspect and repair your air conditioning system.
Is your system having issues after a storm or a hurricane? Then you might need a little help from Brevard’s best AC company! We can get you back on track to comfort with our routine and emergency AC repair services
