How high should your outdoor heat pump or AC condenser be off the ground? This is a question that somebody posed to me when I was helping them with our new HVAC guide. So I want to throw some things out there If you're a homeowner that catches this video and you're wondering what does make sense? Is this something I should even consider I Think there are some things that you might need to know, especially depending on where you live in the country. The first thing is I would say why would you want to elevate the system at all I Think there are certain parts of the US In fact, where I live systems are rarely elevated off the ground if the homeowner does not live in a flood zone and that's one of the things we're going to talk about in just a moment. But if they don't live in a flood zone and they're not in any danger with that, then most systems.

we set some sort of pad on the ground and then the unit sets on that. Pad But if you do live in a flood zone, there are a lot of times. Whether it be locally, there are codes that companies have to follow, whether it being above grade, whether it meets certain requirements. In fact, there are some localities where the system might have been at one elevation and they're saying if you replace that system, you need to now be meeting code, you need to be at this elevation and so we see that done different ways.

There are wooden platforms that we see in our area a lot. We'll see folks build an elevated wooden platform with pressure treated wood. Another thing we see probably more with side discharge units like these: Mini Splits A newer side discharge units like the dike and fit where the fan blows out the front of the unit. We see a lot of folks installing them on wall brackets depending on where they're located I Could see someone they did have a dike and fit installed and they lived in a city they don't want the unit close to the ground where it can be messed with stolen.

That's actually a possibility. On some cities, they don't want it vandalized, they don't want it on ground level for one reason or another. And so they're installing these units up on wall brackets, up further on the home or on the building and getting them up out of the way. I Could also see you doing that for cosmetic reasons that if there was a part of your home that you were able to kind of tuck it away and kind of elevate it, get it off the ground.

And then we've had homeowners do something with their Landscaping where the old unit might have been I could see you doing that. So wall brackets I would say definitely are more common with side discharge units, but I have seen wall brackets be used for a normal unitary system where the fan blows out the top. You better have some really good wall brackets if you're going to do that though. Talk about a safety issue if that unit were to fall.

Another thing we see in some parts of the country is folks actually installing the system up on a roof, getting it not just elevated off the ground a little bit, but just completely up on top of the building in certain situations. I Know some of you guys out in the West have those swamp coolers or rooftop units where it's very common for the systems to be up on the roof of the house and of course in commercial buildings, we see that all the time they have rooftop units. Now another thing to consider is if you live in a cold environment maybe in a more Northern State where you see more snow than folks do down south then you might be considering things like having that system elevated because of snow or other inclement weather. you want to get that system even if it's a few inches off the ground.

And so we see things like snow legs or pump UPS depending on what brand you buy. They have different verbiages, but they're basically plastic legs that will be installed under that unit and just Elevate that outdoor unit. And so lastly, just a few other things to consider and why you might want to elevate that unit is things like if you have a dog I have seen units be destroyed by a dog urinating on the outdoor unit. In fact, we've had folks that ask for our help with that exact problem in our guide and we'll talk about options of either elevating the system or putting some sort of area around the unit, something that would inhibit that dog being able to easily walk up to the outdoor unit and urinate on that coil.

The acidity in urine just destroys those unit coils. Another thing we've seen is folks starting to elevate units because of landscaping or somebody getting in there with a weed eater and they keep hitting the wiring and stuff. Obviously you shouldn't be doing that at if you are weed eating around your house and and decide to do it around your heating and air system, you need to be very careful. And I know there are people watching this video that says well that should be common sense I Mean obviously if you're nicking wires, you're going to cause issues, but we see it all the time.

In fact, we have an apartment complex that we take care of at Griffin Air where it happens multiple times every single summer and so we'll a lot of times try to take measures of protecting that wire. If we do need to repair it in some way, we'll either wrap it in something to try to inhibit that, or kind of tuck it away up under the line sets or whatever you've got to do to try to protect that wire. But that might be another reason you might decide to elevate that unit to just simply protect the unit and or components that connect that unit. So anyway, I Don't know if any of this helps you when you are deciding on all this.

if there are new local codes. If you see your neighbors or new houses being built and those units are being raised off the ground for one reason or another, definitely look into that. There may be a code or some sort of stipulation saying why you need to elevate it. Whether it be because you live on the shore, maybe you live in a flood zone, or some other reason like that there are more capabilities to elevate that unit more than ever before with all these newer products coming out giving you the ability to raise that unit.

I Would get a local prose opinion on this though. I Wouldn't just buy wall brackets and stick it up on the side of your house. There are reasons why you wouldn't want to do that, such as creating vibrations in that wall and creating more issues and you wishing that you hadn't elevated it at the end of the day or elevating it in a different way. So I definitely would get some opinions on that.

Talk to a couple local Pros See what the best way to do that is again where you live might play a big role in all this. Are you elevating a unit? Are you having a heating and air guy relocate it? Get it off the ground. Whether that's just a few inches or significantly high off the ground. I'd love to hear about that.

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