Hi , I have central air in my house and I live in the northeast. There is an outside unit that sits on a slab that I think brings in the air. Its a box and every side is metal screen. I was driving around my neighborhood yesterday and I saw that some people in my neighborhood had their AC units covered, just the top, with plastic. This would cut down on the air intake but maybe it is more important that ice and snow do not get inside? Are you supposed to cover the top of the intake in the winter? Thanks
That's simply the condenser unit. Similar to the AC in your car it blows air over the condenser coil that has tubing in it with the freon (working fluid) to cool it down after it's been compressed, then it's expanded in the coil above your furnace (assuming forced air furnace) and the air from the return plenum in your house is blown over that and cooled.
In short, there's no air being drawn into your house from the outside unit. But covering it may not be a bad idea when it's not being used just to keep leaves, dirt, etc. out which can reduce efficiency and/or cause corrosion of the condenser's fins and tubes.
NB: if you have a heat pump system, the condenser is actually used as an evaporator in heat mode (basically the inside and outside coils switch functions) and therefore the outside unit is used year round and therefore shouldn't ever be covered.
It's optional. If you have trees around, covering just the top will keep leaves out and would be a good idea. I would not cover the whole thing as trapping moisture in there, keeping it constantly wet, will contribute to rust, corrosion, etc. I just replaced one that was 27 years old, never covered and it was still working OK.
Yes. Helps keep snow and debris out. Leave the sides open for air circulation. The outside unit doesn't run during the winter.
The outdoor unit isn't an air intake, it's the machine that dumps the heat energy (BTUs) from the house. Sounds like you should ask your HVAC repair guy what each device does, in general terms.
I did look for a good website, but didn't find any that made sense, and easy to understand and all that.
I used to cover mine in the winter until I got a heat pump. Covering it did keep out a lot of leaves. The leaves tend to cause the bottom of the unit to rust out.
Those people are the same nutcakes that put cutesy little sweaters and booties on their dogs when they take them for a walk. Don't cover your AC/condenser unless you want people to think you're a nutcake too.
It DOES snow in Houston. About once every seven years. At least 1/4-1/2 inch! I'm not making this up - at least that much.
When snow is forecast, everybody goes home from work. The schools are closed. Church pews fill up. The Red Cross opens shelters and people stock up on beer and strawberry pop-tarts, then they huddle in the family room and profess their undying love for each other. Spontaneous prayer breaks out.
Officials scramble to close the freeways before 200-car pile-ups occur.
The kids scrape a wad of snow off car hoods, construct an 8" snowman and call it good.
Outside dogs get terribly confused. Outside cats don't give a shit.
Now you folks in Buffalo are giggling (I know you are), but it's really a question of what you're used to. Visitors to our area from Minnesota or Illinois, as soon as a hurricane enters the Gulf, they look down and say: "Feet! Make Tracks!"
We natives - or the acclimated - view a hurricane as God's invitation to party. It takes a few beers to laugh when a metal trash can, flying by at 70 mph, hits your car.
But snow? Heck, man, snow can kill you! Can't be too careful around snow. No, indeed.
You've got to get it out of storage (or make or buy a new one).
You've got to install it. Just laying a bit of plywood on top won't work. You have to belay it with bungee cords and turnbuckles so it will withstand the wind.
If it was just a freak cold-front, and it's 82 degrees tomorrow, you've got to remove it.
If you forget to remove it, after the freak cold spell or in the spring, you're out several hundred dollars as the whole condensing unit bellies up and washes ashore.
Admittedly, I'm in a pretty temperate clime, but I've never heard of anyone covering a condensing unit, much less seen one in the wild. If there's something destructive in your area about your particular brand of snow or ice (salt?), then cover away. Maybe even rig up some sort of heater...
Manufacturer, in my case Carrier must be nutcake. Custom fit cover was included in the system installation kit, very well made thick Tyvec fabric kind.
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