In the past several years, an unfortunate phenomenon has spread to the suburbs of America – the theft of outside air conditioning and heat pump units. Thieves target A/C condenser and compressor units not because they want to bring them home and use them for cooling, but rather because they intend to strip them of valuable copper and other metals that can be sold for scrap. Some thieves will strip them onsite, while others will pull up a truck and literally haul away the entire outside unit. Fortunately, protecting your A/C unit from theft isn’t that hard. Following are some tips to protect your unit.
How to Discourage A/C Theft
- Install motion-detecting lights in the area outside where the A/C condenser/compressor is located. Most thieves will leave if they suddenly find themselves under the lights.
- Install the outside unit in a fenced yard, preferably with a gate that locks. If you live on a well-traveled street or road, some experts suggest you can protect your A/C from theft by installing it in plain site of the street. Most thieves won’t be bold enough to steal an air conditioner with traffic buzzing past.
- Anchor the outside cooling unit to a concrete base. Dig a hole the size of the A/C and take the required steps to create a virtually unmovable concrete base. Secure the A/C unit to the concrete pad with half-inch bolts. While nothing is indestructible, thieves will avoid targets that require a lot of noise and work to steal.
- Buy a custom-made steel “cage” for your outside unit. It should have a lockable hatch to provide access for repairs and maintenance.
- Install an alarm that will go off when anyone fiddles with the outside component. Some of these alarms will sound if the refrigerant line is cut, which is something that usually happens during A/C theft. You likely have the option to connect the alarm to your home security system.
For more advice on protecting your A/C unit from theft, please contact us at Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc. We provide excellent HVAC services to the Dayton area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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