Transformer directly behind my house was struck by lightning and now my furnace and ac wont work , at all.?

Answer 1

Ever hear of something called 'power surge'? You need to get a service person in to survey the damage. Your homeowners may pay a portion of the repairs. I know of no one that was able to get utility companies to pay for damages cause by surges.

Answer 2

How you would know lightning struck a transformer I do not know, but either way, it is apparent that it did not disable the transformer.

If some other things in your home are not working, the transfomer may have lost a leg. This would only supply 120v to half of your circuits that are single pole and only supply power to 1 leg of all your 2 pole circuits (like electric ranges, water heaters, furnaces, and a.c.). If some of these things are not working, you should call your local utility company and let them know so they can replace the transformer.

If only your furnace and a.c. are not working, you should first check your breakers. There should be at least 2 or 3 breakers for your furnace (if it is electric) and 1 for your a.c. There are most likely breakers on your funace too. Shut these breakers off and then turn them back on. If it still does not work, call your insurance company. Your A.C. won't work without your furnace, so you might just have something wrong with the furnace.

Lightining is a vast amount of electricity that has burned it's way through miles of air (an excellent insulator) to find a source of ground. There is a possability that your blower motor in your furnace is fried, but it is most likely that the 24 volt transformer that powers your thermostat is fried. This is common and relatively inexpensive to replace, but a professional should do it.

You homeowners insurance should cover it unless you have a deductable, in which case I would call your insurance company to ask them what you should do.

If the transformer is fried, the repair should be between $60 and $100 depending on how much the labor for a service call will be. The transformer should be under $20, so the rest will be the hour minimum that it should take to repair it.

Answer 3

Check your breakers first. You should have one to the furnace and one to the AC unit. If they are set to on then do a visual check of the furnace transformer. If it appears burnt then replace it if you know how. If it appears ok test with a multimeter and see if you get 24 volts. If you don't get 24 volts check to see if there is a 3amp or 5 amp in line fuse. If it has a fuse make sure its good, if not replace. Chances are you lost the transformer. Go to the following site for additional.

http://www.longviewweb.com/visit.htm

Answer 4

Good chance you've experienced the effect of high voltage electricity short circuiting through your climate control equipment. Perhaps your control panel's been fried by excessive voltage going to ground. Call the power company-they should check it out since theres been a recent surge on their equipment.

Answer 5

ask the power company about the ground fault when a transformer blows---if your AC was on during the strike they are fried--been thru this one before---the power surge created a 389 dollar power bill, they would not cover that but did pay for the things burned out by it.

Answer 6

Besides calling the power company I would also call my insurance company, it's entirely possible the lightning fried your HVAC unit especially if it's on the ground outside your house. Good luck and check your other appliances.

Answer 7

Unfortunately you probably experienced a power surge that blew the control circuits of those appliances. A service person can replace the control boards and get them running fairly easily.

Answer 8

But your comp works just fine...hmmm how strange.

Call your local power company or whoever you get your electricty from. They can fix it in about 30 minutes.

Answer 9

ask your elect company for a claim form on a power surge and see how that goes.

Answer 10

Check your breaker and your disconnect box at your a/c unit