Family energy efficieny

You probably love pets and animals; however you certainly don't love the fact that they can damage the equipment that improves your indoor air quality. The outdoor air conditioning equipment that you depend on for comfortable temperatures inside your home during scorching days is prone to damage from uninvited trespassers in your home. These are pets and wild animals that often roam around the neighbourhood. Part of your duty in maintaining the effectiveness of your air conditioning unit is to safeguard it from wandering creatures. This article explains tips to help homeowners stop pets and animals from causing havoc to their AC units.

Avoid leaving food leftovers outside

Although you may want to have your beloved pets feed anytime they wish to, including when outside in the garden, leaving the food outside in the backyard will certainly attract unwanted animals to come and enjoy the feast. When this happens, the animals will not only feed on the food but will also be attracted to the outdoor AC unit and probably cause damage to it. 

Maintain a clean yard

Maintain routine yard maintenance across the year. Keep the grass at a short height, and make sure the outdoor AC unit is not surrounded by any shrubs or debris. Remember, long grass is an invitation for animals to roam around and is a perfect habitat for them. If you are too busy to carry on with this task regularly, you can always hire landscapers and gardeners to do the job on your behalf. The cost of paying a gardener will be a drop in the ocean compared to the costly repair bill if your air conditioning unit is ruined. 

Set up traps and repellents

Some animals might still find their way around your yard despite the fact that you've left no food outside to lure them. In such cases, set up traps to catch them, and use repellents to bar inquisitive animals from coming near your air conditioning equipment.

Inspect the air ducts on a regular basis

Make sure your air ducts are free of critters. Once critters find their way in the ducts, they are likely to run rampant, inflicting damage of all sorts inside your AC unit. Of course, during the scheduled visits by your HVAC technician, he or she can inspect and clean the unit. 

If you've discovered that your outdoor AC unit has suffered damage in the hands of roaming animals, contact a professional HVAC technician to come over and assess the extent of the problem and possible repair measures.