In the fall and early winter, we get this question quite a bit. When an air conditioner is covered in the winter the unit is protected, but not in the way that most people think. We’ll look at when it makes sense to cover your air conditioner in the winter and, more significantly, when you don’t have to.
The most important thing any homeowner can do to winterize the system is to check it for leaves, pine needles, branches, animal nests, and other accumulations. These factors could weaken the device over time and affect how well it performs.
The likelihood that you will cover the unit during the winter may be more influenced by where you live and where your outside air conditioning condenser is located.
A covered or uncovered outdoor air conditioning unit, as you may expect, faces a lot of dangers during the winter. For some of them, your air conditioner can manage it on its own or the cover won’t assist; for others, it’s beneficial to protect it by covering it in the winter. The dangers consist of:
1. The air conditioner is getting covered in snow.
2. Wintertime lows that are incredibly low (or extremely high temperatures in the summer).
3. Dirt buildup within the air conditioner, small particles like dust, smoke, and other such ones are included in this.
4. Larger pollutants, such as leaves, small twigs, grass, berries, and other things, become stuck in your air conditioners.
5. More moisture might encourage the formation of mould.
6. icicles from your roof falling onto the air conditioner.
7. Your outside ac unit is infested with small rodents like mice and rats as well as small birds.
If snow, ice, or cold weather is a regular occurrence in your area, covering your air conditioner makes sense. Additionally, it is a good idea to cover your air conditioner because of the abundance of grass and leaves that fall in the fall.
Below are some conditions in which you must cover and protect your air conditioner in winter:
Covering AC protects it from freezing (expansion). if the snow gets into the air conditioner and freezes over, the ice will grow and can end up harming your air conditioner. Snow covering your air conditioner is not the problem; the issue is the snow turning to ice and spreading inside the air conditioner. When the AC is covered in the winter, you stop snow from getting inside of it and shield it from dangerous ice expansion.
Covering AC protects it from dirt (small particulates). A protective AC cover can prevent some small dirt particles, such as dust and small particles (from wildfires), from entering the air. Therefore, it makes logical to cover the AC during the winter and fall wildfire seasons as well. The less debris that gathers on and around the outside condensation coils and the AC compressor throughout the winter, the better for your outdoor air conditioner.
AC cover protects your unit from falling leaves, twigs, and grass in the fall. Fall may be a very hazardous time for our outdoor air conditioning systems. Larger objects like leaves, twigs, grass and other materials can assemble inside the air conditioner. For instance, if you trim grass, the wind can easily blow it to your air conditioner, where it might build up and cause issues with your air conditioner during the upcoming cooling season. Although covering the AC won’t solve the issue, it will reduce the number of leaves, twigs, and grass that collect inside your outdoor AC.
Covers protect AC from falling icicles. In certain instances, the external air conditioning unit is placed immediately beneath the edge of the roof. Icicles may form there during the winter and hit your AC unit directly, perhaps causing damage. You can’t stop those icicles from colliding with the air conditioning unit. With the AC cover, though, you are at least reducing their damaging impact (the force is dispersed across the AC over and not all focused on the icicle point).
To sum up
As we can see, it’s not always practical to use an AC cover. It won’t safeguard your air conditioner against excessive moisture or pests. You don’t need to use it as a blanket to keep the AC unit warm in the winter.
However, if you reside in an area with snow, falling leaves, a lot of grass, and even icicles on the room’s edge, installing an AC cover for the exterior unit makes a lot of sense.
In summary, the environment and temperature around your air conditioner will largely determine whether or not you need to cover it during the winter (snow, icicles). Even if you aren’t positive, you should cover your air conditioner in the heat, it is preferred.
