The 2-minute hurricane prep for your AC — the free checklist.

Every storm season we get the same two calls: the July panic when a surge fries a control board that a 30-second breaker flip would have saved, and the sadder one — the flooded condenser someone re-energized before it dried. Both are preventable, and prevention takes about two minutes. Here is the whole thing as a tap-to-check list; screenshot it, share it with your neighbors, and if a named storm is coming, do the "Before" section when you bring in the patio furniture.

Tap items to check them off. Worth asking about before next season: a dedicated HVAC surge protector — one of the cheapest insurance policies a Florida homeowner can buy. We'll measure what any storm did to your system — measured, never guessed.

• Turn the AC off at the breaker — not just the thermostat. Grid surges during a storm are what fry control boards and compressors.
• Clear loose items within a few feet of the outdoor unit — potted plants, patio furniture, toys. Flying debris bends fins and cracks fan blades.
• Snap a photo of your outdoor unit — an insurance "before" picture is gold.
• Do NOT wrap the condenser in plastic or a tarp — it traps moisture and causes more damage than the rain. These units are built for Florida weather.

• Leave it off through brownouts and lightning — a well-insulated home holds its temperature for hours.
• Stay heat-safe: NWS hurricane safety · CDC heat guidance.

• If standing water reached the unit — leave the breaker OFF. Flooded electronics can short the moment they're energized. Get it inspected first.
• No flooding? Check the condenser for debris, then restore the breaker.
• Listen for the first minute. Grinding, buzzing, or a tripping breaker → shut it down and call (407) 398-5929.

Why the breaker, not the thermostat?

The thermostat only tells the system to rest — it stays energized. When the grid flickers during a storm (and in Central Florida, it will), voltage spikes travel straight into energized equipment. Control boards, capacitors, and compressor windings are the casualties, and a compressor is the most expensive component in the machine. The breaker disconnects all of it. That single flip is most of the value of this checklist.

The flooded-unit rule is the one people break

If standing water reached your outdoor unit — even a few inches — the safe assumption is that water got where it should not be. Energizing wet electrical components is how a survivable flood becomes a dead system. Leave the breaker off and have it inspected first; we will measure what the water actually touched. See the National Weather Service hurricane safety guide for whole-home storm prep, and the CDC's heat guidance for staying safe if you lose cooling in the aftermath.

After any storm, if the system restarts but sounds different — grinding, buzzing, repeated breaker trips — shut it down and call us at (407) 398-5929. A surge can wound a system without killing it, and wounded systems fail in August. Worth asking about before next season: a dedicated HVAC surge protector, one of the cheapest insurance policies a Florida homeowner can buy.