Working as a Heating Professional Can Lead to Success

What To Do If Your AC Doesn't Turn Back On After A Storm

26 May 2021

Abbie Wade

Some areas are more prone to summer storms than others. If you live in an area where large thunderstorms and heat waves cause the power to go out, it is essential to know what to do if your air conditioner doesn't turn back on with the power. More often than not, you can fix the issue on your own.

Check the Thermostat

First, you are going to want to check your thermostat. Second, you are going to want to turn your thermostat off. It's important you follow this step as there are a few things you need to check before you turn it back on.

Reset Your Circuit Breaker

Second, you are going to want to go to your circuit breaker box. Find the breaker that is labeled for the air conditioning unit. Look at the switch to determine if it is off. Often, when the power goes out during a storm, the power surges and can overload various circuits in your home. A power surge may not overload all of your circuits but may impact just a few, such as those drawing the most power, like your HVAC circuit.

If the circuit has broken, the switch will be in a neutral position. So take the switch, and fully turn it off, and then flip it back on.

Wait a Bit

Third, now that you have flipped the circuit breaker off and back on, you will want to give your system a little while to allow the internal circuit breaker inside the unit time to reset. You are not going to want to turn your thermostat on during this time. Give your unit between thirty minutes to an hour to internally reset and get ready to go. It is essential to give your system this amount of time to reset internally.

Turn on the Thermostat

Now that you have reset the circuit breaker and allowed the system time to recalibrate, it is time to turn on the thermostat. You are going to want to put your thermostat to cool. Your HVAC system should immediately turn on now that you have gone through these steps.

If the above steps don't work, and you can't get your AC to turn back on, you may have burnt wires or a short in the system somewhere. You will want to call an expert HVAC technician to come out and repair your air conditioning system. Give them a call right away and let them know if you can wait for a regularly scheduled appointment or if you want an emergency appointment. Emergency appointments usually include a slightly higher fee as they are sending someone on-call out to you.

Share

Search