Get Your HVAC Ready for Hurricane Season in South Carolina

Name: Precision Mechanical Services HVAC Specialist
Address: 316 Wembley Way, Murrells Inlet, SC, 29576, US
Telephone: 843-504-5974
Price range: $

Published July 16th, 2025 by Precision Mechanical Services

General

Hurricane season hits hard in South Carolina. The air gets thick, the power goes out, and the house heats up fast. If your HVAC system isn’t ready, you’ll feel it. Mold shows up. Electronics get sticky. The whole place turns uncomfortable in hours.

Real Storm Prep for Your HVAC

Every year, storms rip through neighborhoods and leave a trail of broken equipment. Outdoor units get tossed. Debris slams into metal. Wires snap. Insurance adjusters see the same mistakes over and over. Simple steps skipped, expensive repairs needed.

Lock down outdoor units with hurricane straps and brackets. Loose equipment turns into projectiles.
Clear every branch, rock, and piece of trash within five feet. Flying debris shreds fins and dents coils.
Reinforce every electrical connection. Loose wires spark and short out when water gets in.
Take photos of your system from every angle. Insurance claims move faster with proof.
Write down your emergency shutdown steps. Tape them near the breaker. When the power goes, you don’t want to make assumptions.

Skip these steps and you risk losing your HVAC installation investment. Repairs cost more than prevention. A few minutes now saves days of misery later.

Power Surges and Backup Power

Storms don’t just knock out power. They fry electronics. One surge and the control board is toast. Lightning doesn’t have to strike your house. Grid spikes travel through lines and hit every unprotected system. Surge protection isn’t a luxury. It’s a shield. Professional HVAC maintenance teams install whole-system surge protectors that take the hit so your system doesn’t.

Generators keep the lights on, but not every generator can handle an HVAC load. Portable units run a fridge or a lamp, but air conditioning needs steady, clean power. Undersized generators trip breakers and leave you sweating. Our HVAC repair professionals size backup power for your system. No guessing. No blown fuses. Just cold air when you need it.

What to Check Before the Storm

Waiting until the wind picks up is too late. A real inspection catches problems before they turn into emergencies. Here’s what matters:

Test every emergency shutoff. Don’t assume the switch works. Flip it and see.
Walk your ductwork. Look for gaps, rust, or spots where water can sneak in. Wet ducts breed mold fast.
Flush every drain line. Clogs send water back into the system. Water pools, then leaks into ceilings and walls.
Check refrigerant levels. Low charge means weak cooling and a system that strains under pressure.
Swap out thermostat batteries. Dead batteries leave you making assumptions at the worst time.

Storms push your system to the limit. Continuous run times, high humidity, and power blips stress every part. Regular indoor air quality checks matter even more now. Filters clog faster. Air gets stale. Mold spores multiply. Don’t let the air inside turn against you.

After the Storm

Storm’s over. The urge to flip the system back on is strong. Don’t do it. Water hides in places you can’t see. Boards look dry but hold moisture. Fans spin but grind against grit. Restarting too soon burns out motors and shorts circuits. Our professional HVAC technicians know where to look. We spot hidden water, test every connection, and clear out debris before power flows. Rushing this step leads to bigger repairs and longer downtime.

What Fails Most Often

Outdoor units get crushed or flipped. Brackets and straps prevent this.
Control boards fry from surges. Surge protectors take the hit.
Drain lines clog and overflow. Regular flushing keeps water moving out, not in.
Ducts fill with water or mold. Sealing and inspection stop this before it starts.
Thermostats lose power. Fresh batteries and backup settings keep you in control.

Every failure costs time and money. Some repairs take days when parts are scarce after a storm. Simple checks and upgrades now keep your system off the repair list.

Why Local Experience Matters

South Carolina storms don’t follow the rules. One year it’s wind, the next it’s flooding. Local HVAC teams see the patterns. At Precision Mechanical Services, we know which neighborhoods flood first, which homes lose power longest, and which systems fail most often. National chains miss the details. Our local pros bring the right parts, the right tools, and the right advice for your street, not just your zip code.