Can Rain Affect My Air Conditioning Unit in a Negative Way?

If you’re worried about how rain will affect your air conditioning unit, you may be concerned about the wrong things. Even with the occasionally heavy downpours we experience here on the Gulf Coast, your air conditioner is designed and constructed to resist rain damage and continue operating as usual.

Most of the parts incorporated in the outdoor compressor/condenser unit are aluminum, copper or metal and engineered to withstand even acute rainfall and keep on cooling and dehumidifying your home. The electrical connections and components are sealed to be impervious to the indirect moisture posed by rainfall.

So, heavy rain alone should have no effect on the reliability and performance of your air conditioning unit.  However, these few additional caveats highlight other potential weather-related air conditioning problems.

Potential Weather-Related A/C Problems

• Storm damage. While rain per se probably won’t damage your air conditioning unit, high winds that accompany it may cause falling objects like tree branches that damage the condenser fan grille or deposit leaves and other debris inside. Inspect the exterior and interior of the unit after any severe storm.
• Flooding. Even though several inches of rainfall from a coastal storm shouldn’t threaten your A/C, deep standing water from localized flooding could affect it. Generally speaking, as long as flood waters don’t exceed around 15 inches in depth, the moving parts and electrical components of the outdoor unit should weather the storm. If you experience more severe flooding, have your HVAC contractor check out the unit before your restart it.
• Internal corrosion. Many homeowners opt to cover the outdoor component of their A/C for the winter. If you’re one of them, select a commercially available cover with proper ventilation openings. Wrapping the unit in plastic for an air-tight enclosure subjects internal components to an environment of continuous moisture for months. Unlike rainfall that dries up with ventilation, trapped condensation will rot wiring and rubber as well as corrode metal parts.

Ask the HVAC pros at Davis Air Conditioning & Heating if you’re concerned about how rain or other weather events will affect your air conditioning unit. We’ve served the greater Houston area since 1971.

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