The Strange Reason Your HVAC Tech Might Not be Able to Service in the Rain

Scenario: It’s a rainy day. You head to the thermostat to keep things comfortable inside, and…. nothing. You wait a few minutes for it to kick on and still, nothing. After some basic troubleshooting you can’t seem to figure out the problem so you call up your local HVAC Company and the dispatcher tells you they can’t come out today… WHAT? Don’t they know it’s 40 degrees out, it’s raining, and you’re freezing?? Before you go all nuclear on the dispatcher, there just might be a reason they can’t send someone out… and it’s a pretty good reason at that! You might have a heat pump, and therefore it would be unsafe to service your system in the rain due to the electrical components in your outdoor unit.

No one likes to be uncomfortable; your HVAC company agrees with that. That’s probably why during the intense part of each season, their phones don’t stop ringing with endless calls pouring in every day…loyal customers and prospective new ones, both calling in to request service for their ailing heating and cooling systems. And they want to help…really, they do. But Mother Nature has other plans sometimes.

The thing with the HVAC industry is, safety always comes first.  Your local tech wants to take care of you, but working on electrical equipment in the rain can be dangerous. It can not only endanger the safety of your technician, but it can also cause damage to your system down the road. Let’s face the facts, water and voltage just don’t mix well together. So be nice the next time you get this unfortunate news and follow these tips to stay comfortable and keep your HVAC system safe too!

• Turn your system off at the thermostat. An HVAC system that is not functioning properly has no purpose running, it will likely only cause further problems to the situation.
• For those hot and humid storms, open windows, this will create a cross-ventilation so that you have air circulating through your home. Turn on ceiling or standing fans if you have them.
• Dress for the weather, remove or add layers of clothing to stay comfortable.
• Be reachable and let your tech know that you’ll be available as soon as the weather clears up.
• Your HVAC Company knows you’re uncomfortable, but calling every contractor in in town only to get the same response will increase your frustration. Remember that your HVAC repair company wants to take care of you and they will as soon as it’s safe to do so!