Preparing Your Home for Upcoming AC Replacement

Some heating and air jobs in your home will be much more significant than others, and one of the top examples here is any need to replace an air conditioner. New air conditioner installation is one of the more involved processes in the HVAC world generally, and it’s often prudent to take a few steps to prepare your home for this ahead of time.

At My Buddy the Plumber, we’re happy to provide air conditioning installation services to clients throughout Utah, plus assistance with everything you might consider doing ahead of your AC replacement. What are a few simple ways you can go about preparing your home to make life simpler for both you and our installation professionals if you have an AC replacement scheduled in the near future? Here’s a basic primer.

Clear Out Debris or Blockages

Firstly, ensuring that the area around your outdoor AC unit is clear of debris or other blockages is crucial. This will help our technicians gain easy access to the unit, and it will also promote better airflow and efficiency once we’ve completed the replacement and everything is up and running. If you have any potted plants, lawn furniture, or other objects around your unit, now is the time to move them.

Down similar lines, spend just a minute or two thinking about the basic path our technicians will be taking to reach your unit. If there are any potential obstacles in the way – such as a trampoline, kids’ playset, or the like – go ahead and clear them out of the way as well. This will help things run more smoothly on installation day.

Inspect or Clean Ductwork

One of the most important components of your entire HVAC system, both in terms of heating and cooling, is your ductwork. These are the pipes and passages that carry conditioned air throughout your home, and if they aren’t in good shape it can lead to all sorts of problems.

As such, it’s a good idea to take a look at your ductwork before our technicians arrive to handle your AC replacement. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this on your own, we’re happy to come out and take a look for you in advance.

At the very least, be on the lookout for any obvious signs of damage, wear and tear, or blockages that might be restrict airflow. In some cases, a good duct cleaning might also be in order. We can handle this as well, but it’s something you might want to take care of on your own in advance if possible.

Turn Off Power to the Unit

This one is important for both safety reasons and for practical ones. Our technicians will need to disconnect power to your old unit before they can start removing it, but you should also take care to do this on your own if at all possible.

Go ahead and find your home’s main breaker box. Once you’ve located it, flip the switch that controls power to your outdoor AC unit. This will ensure that there is no chance of electrocution or other accidents while our technicians are working.

It will also help things move more quickly on installation day, as our team won’t need to waste time disconnecting power before they can start.

Arrange for Kids and Pets to Be Out of the Way

Both for safety reasons and for simple practicality, it’s a good idea to have kids and pets out of the house – or at least out of the way – while our technicians are working. This will help prevent accidents, and it will also allow our team to work more quickly and efficiently without distractions.

If you have young children, see if a neighbor or family member can take them for a few hours while our team is working. If you have pets, consider putting them in a kennel or crate, or taking them to a friend or family member’s house for the day. If these things aren’t possible, do your best to at least move kids or pets to a separate room or area of the house that our technicians won’t need to access.

Be Available if Possible

If this is possible based on your schedule, try to be available – or at least have someone else in your family be available – when our technicians come to replace your AC unit. This will allow you to ask any questions that might come up, and it will also help things run smoothly if we need to communicate with someone about the process.

In some cases, our team might need access to certain areas of your home – such as an attic space, crawlspace, or the like. If you’ll be unavailable when we come to do the replacement, it’s a good idea to leave us a key or code so that we can get into these areas if needed.

Replacing an AC unit is a major job, but there are plenty of things you can do to prepare your home ahead of time. By following these simple tips, you can help ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible. And if you have any questions, our team is always standing by.

For more on this, or to schedule a consultation to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services and how they’ll benefit you, speak to our team at My Buddy the Plumber today.