Copper Wire Theft Prevention for Your AC Unit - 8/28/09

It's spring again. Rain falls. Flowers bloom. Copper gets stolen. It’s not something you normally think about, but copper theft and air conditioner vandalism is a serious threat.

During the early part of the spring and fall seasons controlling the temperature is not a major problem because large changes in temperature are uncommon. However, in the summer months adjusting the AC unit for your family at home or the employees in your office only to find that nothing happens cannot be an option.

You immediately feel that this is just an oversight and is surely a maintenance or service issue. Your worst fear is realized when you go outside and look at your AC - everything is there except the copper wires that carry the coolant through your ac unit. Congratulations, you are the latest victim of an increasingly common crime of copper wire theft. Instantly, a simple solution has turned into an expensive repair or replacement that was totally preventable.

When a home is vacant, owners instinctively make sure the doors and windows to their properties are closed and locked. Some will go as far as to make sure the grass is cut. However, even the savviest owner rarely gives a second notice to what is going on with the most expensive appliance they have outside of the home. The service that has been taken for granted ends up becoming a giant headache because you decided not to protect your unit from copper wire theft.

It's on CNBC. It's on CNN. It's on MSNBC. All of the financial pundits on these networks reluctantly agree, the real estate market is far from bottoming. The worst, unfortunately, is yet to come. You can either choose to become a victim of or a victor over this ever increasing epidemic. The right information is the difference between the two.

Copper wire theft is on the rise. From 2003 to 2008, prices for scrap copper have increased fivefold. All types of structures have fallen victim, such as community centers, libraries, homes, and commercial buildings. Copper is making its comeback for one very strange reason: recent valuations of scrap copper place it at up to 90% of the value of newly-manufactured copper, so it's not hard to see its lure for thieves.

AC Armor, an East Point, GA based copper wire theft security firm, has seen an increase in orders just in 2009 alone. When you look at the numbers in the previous paragraph, you understand why this is so. The company found that current ac cage owners were not happy with the quality of what they had and ac unit owners were just looking to protect the investment they had already made in an ac unit.

To make sure that your home or business has a comfortable summer, be sure to continue to check your ac unit in the off season, make sure no damage has been done during that time, and invest in an air conditoiner cage that will protect your investment for as long as you own your ac unit.