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Unit protection

Protecting your outdoor and rooftop units.

Outdoor AC units and rooftop units hold copper, refrigerant and expensive parts, and they sit outside where anyone can reach them. Five measures make them much harder to damage, tamper with or strip — without choking the airflow they need.

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An outdoor unit with five protection measures An outdoor air-conditioning unit on a concrete pad. 1, locking caps on the refrigerant ports. 2, a steel cage around the unit with space left for airflow. 3, the pad with anchor bolts. 4, a lockable electrical disconnect on the wall. 5, a cover over the refrigerant lines where they run to the house. House wall 12345
  1. Locking refrigerant capsTamper-resistant caps on the service ports stop refrigerant being released or inhaled. California's mechanical code requires them on outdoor units, and many older units still don't have them.
  2. A cage with room to breatheA steel cage makes stripping the unit slow and noisy. It must leave the clearances the manufacturer asks for, or the unit overheats — we build or fit it to those clearances.
  3. A solid pad, anchoredA level concrete pad with the unit (and cage) bolted down, so it can't be tipped or lifted away.
  4. A lockable disconnectThe electrical disconnect beside the unit, fitted with a lockable cover, so the power can't be tampered with.
  5. Line-set coverA metal cover over the copper lines where they run to the house protects them from being cut and from sun damage.
Homes and businesses

Where each applies.

The same ideas scale from a single split system to a roof full of units.

At home

Locking caps on every home unit, a pad and anchors on every new install, and a cage where the unit is visible from the street or an alley. A line-set cover helps wherever the lines are exposed.

On commercial roofs

Rooftop units are protected first by controlling access: a locked roof hatch or ladder cage, and a record of who has keys. Locking caps, secured panels and line protection come next. Alarms and cameras are a separate trade we can coordinate with.

Close-up of brass-coloured locking caps on the refrigerant service ports of an outdoor unit
Locking caps on the service ports.
A steel cage around an outdoor unit with clear space between the bars and the coil on every side
A cage that leaves room for airflow.
A roof access hatch on a commercial building secured with a heavy padlock
Roof access controlled first.

If your unit has already been damaged or stripped: switch it off at the breaker, don't try to run it, and call us on (424) 358-2895. Cut refrigerant lines release refrigerant, and a damaged unit can short out.