In Broken Arrow's hot summers, the last thing you need is for your air conditioner to stop working because of vandalism. Take steps to protect your HVAC system and you can enjoy reliable comfort and avoid high repair bills.
Scare Them Off
Your cooling system's outdoor condenser unit contains copper tubing. The valuable copper attracts thieves who remove the tubing to sell to scrap metal dealers. The refrigerant the tubing contains draws addicts who use the fluid for a quick high. Either one can severely damage your HVAC system. A motion detector light directed at your outdoor unit can scare off thieves simply by attracting attention to their activity and making it harder to hide. For an additional deterrent, install an A/C alarm. These devices sound an alarm when they detect interrupted electrical power, a drop in refrigerant charge or other signs of tampering.
Avoid using landscaping features such as tall shrubs and fences that make your outdoor unit harder to see from the street. These give thieves a convenient place to hide while they cut your refrigerant lines.
By spray painting your copper refrigerant lines a bright orange or green, you can make them less appealing to copper thieves. The paint raises the suspicions of scrap dealers who may refuse to buy the copper or attempt to trace the owner.
Lock Them Out
Some thieves are determined enough to steal the entire outdoor unit quickly despite motion detector lights coming on and an alarm sounding. Addicts won't care if your lines are painted. To stop thieves like this, surround your outdoor unit with a locked fence or cage. Steel-framed A/C security cages are designed to keep out thieves, but allow easy access for maintenance and repairs.
These cages are especially useful if you live in a remote area where there are few neighbors to notice your motion detector lights and alarm. As an added benefit, security cages also protect your outdoor unit from damage by animals and storm debris.
For help securing your HVAC system, contact us at Air Assurance anywhere around Broken Arrow.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Berents/Shutterstock”