Power surges can hurt HVAC systems by overloading electrical components, which may cause them to malfunction or fail. Compressors, circuit boards, and capacitors are particularly susceptible to sudden spikes in voltage.
Common causes include lightning strikes, power outages, or grid switching, and HVAC repair services in Hanover by Beltway Air Conditioning & Heating can help address such issues. Installing surge protection devices or voltage regulators reduces damage and extends system lifespan, keeping units running smoothly.
What Are Power Surges?
Temporary though they may be, power surges can destroy electrical systems, HVAC units. They may be brought about by numerous causes—both internal and external—and an awareness of their causes is important to safeguard appliances and electronics.
External Causes
Lightning storms are a significant outside source of power surges — one strike can bring a tremendous voltage spike. Excessive winds and blown trees damage power lines, creating abrupt electrical peaks. Utility grid issues such as transformer malfunctions or substation failures tend to create surges that propagate to attached properties.
Flooding or thunderstorm damage breaks up electrical networks, creating even more surging potential.
Internal Causes
Weak or old wiring in a home is the largest offender of in-home power surges. Defective appliances unleash random amounts of power into the system. Overcrowded circuits with too many devices, especially in energy-guzzling homes, create surges.
Power-guzzling big devices like an air conditioner or a refrigerator are worse, even when all of them are used at the same time.
Surge vs. Outage
A power surge is different from a power outage, an outage being an entire loss of electricity, and a surge being a voltage spike. Surges usually happen when power comes back on after an outage and create a sudden rise in voltage.
While outages will reduce systems in the long run, surges will immediately ruin HVAC equipment and other electronics. Both are necessary to protect against to ensure long-term longevity.
How Power Surges Damage HVACs
Power surges, even temporary ones, can significantly destroy HVAC systems because the systems contain sensitive electronic components. The following is a breakdown of how the surges impact key HVAC components, with samples and repair prices:
- Circuit Boards: Fried circuits ($300–$600)
- Capacitors: Overheated and failed ($150–$300)
- Compressor Motors: Burnt motors ($1,200–$2,500+)
- Thermostats: Disrupted electrical links ($100–$300)
- Wiring: Degraded or frayed (varies, often around $500+)
1. Fried Circuit Boards
Circuit boards are the intelligence of the HVAC equipment, deciding everything from fan speed to thermostat temperature. A voltage spike can blow these devices, burning their complex circuits. When they are damaged, the system won’t function.
Circuit board replacement is hard and costly, ranging from $300 to $600. Surge protectors need to keep these boards safe from electrical spikes.
2. Damaged Capacitors
Capacitors provide the extra oomph to start HVAC motors and maintain them. Spikes, being sudden, heat capacitors, rendering them useless or inefficient. Defective capacitors render the system inefficient to start and function, resulting in unstable performance.
Regular maintenance identifies possible future capacitor problems, which saves on expensive repairs.
3. Burnt Compressor Motors
Compressor motors, charged with the critical function of heating and cooling, are especially susceptible to power surges. Overvoltage can cause overheating and permanent damage to these motors — often resulting in complete system destruction.
It can cost over $2,500 to replace a compressor motor that has burnt out, so surge protection is a smart purchase.
4. Compromised Thermostats
Thermostats use steady electrical connections to control HVAC efficiency. Surges will interfere with these connections and result in malfunctioning controls, inaccurate temperature readings, and less efficient systems.
Far from being the least of the benefits of protecting thermostats from surges is that they keep working.
5. Degraded Wiring
Power spikes cause HVAC wiring to fray, which degrades insulation and causes fires. Old wires undermine the reliability of the system, causing it to crash more frequently.
Scheduled professional checks are necessary to locate and replace aging wiring before a problem occurs.
See also: How Window Replacement Can Increase Your Home’s Resale Value
The Silent Killer: Micro-Surges
Micro-surges, or millisecond-pulse voltage spikes, are all but invisible yet potentially able to cause long-term harm to HVAC systems. In contrast to the more apparent surges of lightning flashes or blackouts, micro-surges are ubiquitous and generally unseen, insidiously damaging critical components like circuit boards, compressors, motors, and capacitors.
Cumulative Damage
Micro-surges weaken HVAC components over time, cutting efficiency. Even small voltage spikes put a strain on components such as capacitors, which absorb and discharge energy to run.
Small damages add up, raising the risk of a complete breakdown. For instance, ongoing micro-electrical stresses on an AC compressor ultimately necessitate an expensive $1,200–$2,500+ replacement.
Air conditioners operating during summer storms are especially vulnerable. Without surge protection, the likelihood of expensive, rapid repairs rises significantly.
Performance Decline
In addition to physical damage, micro-surges also reduce the efficiency of HVAC. They will most likely disrupt temperature control, making the system operate harder, consume more energy, and raise the utility bill.
Signs of such damage include unpredictable cooling and heating, along with sudden spikes in electricity use. Preventive maintenance and the installation of whole-house surge protectors will go a long way toward preventing and reducing such problems before they become major.
Shortened Lifespan
Recurring micro-surge exposure speeds up wear and tear, cutting the life of an HVAC system by years. It could take $300–$600 to fix a control board that has been destroyed by a surge, but to replace the entire unit, one may have to spend over $10,000.
Spike and surge protection protects expensive components from repeated electrical stress, protects the system, and provides long-term assurance. Waiting a few minutes after a power outage before switching on the system is a good but straightforward way of preventing unnecessary damage.
How to Protect the System
Shield HVAC equipment with whole-home surge protectors, point-of-use protectors, and manual shutdowns during storms. Whole-home units stop surges at the panel, with point-of-use protectors providing additional defense. Utilizing both methods, along with weather awareness, prevents expensive damage.
Whole-Home Protection
- There’s nothing quite like a whole-home surge protector to protect HVAC systems and other connected devices. These protectors are installed at the panel and are the first line of defense, preventing power surges from ever reaching appliances.
- By taking surge protectors to the breaker box, homeowners can shield the entire home – air conditioners, furnaces, and other sensitive electronics. It’s particularly important because power surges are to blame for approximately 75% of HVAC failures.
- Whole-home protection not just stops electrical damage from storms, but minimizes the impact of these smaller surges caused by internal power fluctuations.
- It will work optimally if professionally installed. A professional technician properly wires the surge protector into the system to provide extra protection and longer life.
Point-of-Use Protection
- Point-of-use surge protectors are a further safeguard in the form of specific appliance protection, such as the HVAC systems. These miniature devices are plugged directly into outlets or equipment connections.
- Cheaper and readily available, plug-in surge protectors are smart choices for homeowners seeking affordable solutions.
- While not a replacement for whole-house protection, point-of-use protectors offer an added level of protection, particularly for high-cost appliances like air conditioners.
- Combining whole-home and point-of-use protection will give the optimal overall surge protection.
Manual Shutdowns
- For storm or extreme weather, manual shutdown of HVAC systems can be used to prevent surge damage. Air conditioners, which normally run during thunderstorms, are most vulnerable.
- Shutting off at the breaker box is a good method of also safeguarding the system and other appliances.
- This method is especially important in storm weather areas, where the small advantage achieved by attentiveness can prove decisive.
- Monitoring weather and reacting in a timely fashion will maintain the system in the long term and avoid expensive repairs
Preventing HVAC Damage from Power Surges
Timely observation of the weather and response will maintain the system in the long run and avoid expensive repairs. Avoiding HVAC Damage from Power Surges. Power surges—transient voltage spikes or recurring micro-surges—can harm HVAC equipment by breaking down components, degrading performance, or even rendering the entire system useless.
Left alone, they can shorten equipment life and cost thousands of dollars to repair. To protect them, residents can put surge protectors in key areas, have semi-annual tune-ups, and obtain warranty protection.
Fixing small problems early prevents them from turning into an enormous issue. Such precautions save money and stress, but they also protect the HVAC system. Prevention is less expensive—and easier—than fixing surprise breakdowns, and this keeps the system running perfectly all year round.
