After every typhoon, there are always signs scattered on the road
Looking at the news after the typhoon, in addition to fallen trees and flooded roads, the most common disaster scenes are: entire advertising signs falling from buildings, convenience store awnings torn to pieces, and iron rolling doors bent and deformed by wind pressure. These scenes are repeated every year, but many shops and residents still take a lucky mentality that "it won't be my turn" and don't get nervous until their signs actually fall.
In commercially intensive urban environments like Taipei and New Taipei, almost every building along the street is hung with a variety of external structures such as signboards, light boxes, rain shelters, outdoor air-conditioning racks, and iron rolling doors. These things usually hang there quietly, but the strong winds of typhoons are their ultimate test.
Signboard: The most easily ignored source of high-altitude danger
The structure of general commercial signs is an aluminum frame or galvanized steel frame, covered with an acrylic panel or aluminum composite panel (commonly known as a plastic aluminum panel), and fixed to the exterior wall with expansion bolts. The main reasons why signs may have problems in strong winds are:
- Rust at welds: The welded joints of steel frames are the weakest points in the anti-rust coating. After years of wind and rain erosion, the welds first began to rust and break, causing the sign frame to deform or even disintegrate.
- Loose expansion bolts: Same problem as the air-conditioning brackets, the expansion bolts may be corroded or not locked to the structural concrete in the first place.
- Large wind-receiving area of the panel: The larger the signboard, the larger the wind-receiving area, and the more amazing the force exerted by the wind. A 3-meter-wide and 1-meter-high signboard can withstand wind pressure exceeding 100 kilograms under an instantaneous wind gust level 15 (wind speed approximately 45m/s).
Awning: a sail "picked up" by the wind
A common rain shelter (commonly known as a rain shelter) at the entrance of a home or store is usually an aluminum frame with PC endurance board or canvas. The Achilles heel of the awning in strong winds is its shape - the outward extending slope, which acts like a sail under the influence of the wind and will be "picked up" by the wind from below.
Canvas awnings are especially dangerous. The canvas will vibrate and flap violently in strong winds. Repeated vibrations will cause the screws of the frame to loosen and the welding points to break. Eventually, the entire canvas will fly away with part of the frame. It is recommended to remove the detachable canvas and put it away before the typhoon; the fixed canvas should be tightened from the bottom with ropes to reduce the space for wind to enter.
Iron rolling door: Don’t think it’s safe if you put it down
The iron rolling doors that are common in first-floor stores do not mean that you can sit back and relax during a typhoon. The door pieces of iron rolling doors may appear under strong wind pressure:
- Protruding door panels: Strong wind is positive pressure from the outside or pours in through the gaps between the door panels, causing the door panels to bulge inward or outward and deform.
- Track protrusion: Both sides of the door are embedded in the C-shaped track. If the track is not firmly fixed or the door piece is severely deformed, the door piece may come out of the track directly.
- Motor overload: If the wind pressure causes the door to continue to vibrate, the connected motor may be overloaded and burned out.
Protection method: Use angle iron or wooden boards as temporary supports on the inside of the iron rolling door to disperse wind pressure. Sandbags or waterproof strips are inserted into the gap between the door and the ground to reduce the intrusion of wind.
Regulations and Penalties
According to Article 77 of the Building Law, building owners shall maintain the legal use of the building and the safety of its structure and equipment. The management of advertising materials is regulated by the "Autonomous Regulations on the Management of Advertising Materials" of each county and city. Taipei City stipulates that advertising signs must apply for a permit and be inspected regularly.
If a sign, awning or other external facility falls and causes casualties, in addition to civil liability, the homeowner or store owner may also face administrative penalties under the Construction Law. The Taipei City Construction Management Office can impose a fine of NT$40,000 to NT$200,000 for illegal signboards erected without permission.
Key points for inspection of external structures before typhoon
| Check items | Key observations | Processing method |
|---|---|---|
| Signature frame | Whether the welding joints are corroded or broken, and whether the bolts are loose | Repair welding to prevent rust or replace bolts, or remove them in severe cases |
| Awning Canvas | Whether the canvas is damaged or aged, and whether the frame connections are loose | The detachable canvas can be removed and fixedly tightened and reinforced |
| Iron rolling door | Whether the door is deformed and whether the track is securely fixed | Inner support and windproof strips at the bottom |
| Lightbox and flag | External light box fixing screws, cloth flag | The flag is put down, the light box is confirmed to be fixed and then powered off |
Conclusion: Spend one hour doing inspections and save hundreds of thousands in compensation
Safety inspection of external structures does not require advanced professional knowledge, and most problems can be seen with the naked eye. If the rust is serious, find someone to repair it. If it is loose, tighten it. If it can be removed, remove it and put it away first. These actions don’t take much time and money, but if you don’t do them, you may suffer damage and compensation when a typhoon hits your car and your awning flies away. Prevention is always cheaper than cure.
New knowledge on air-conditioning power consumption and Taiwan climate maintenance regulations in recent years (2025-2026 current situation)
With the high temperatures in summer breaking historical records and the adjustment of electricity price structure in recent years, the latest statistics from the Energy Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs show that air-conditioning equipment accounts for more than 47% of residential electricity consumption in summer. Many people mistakenly believe that if the air conditioner is not cold, they only need to "replenish the refrigerant." However, in fact, refrigerant is not naturally consumed during normal operation in a closed circuit. If the refrigerant is insufficient, it means that there are micro leaks in the copper pipes or joints. Simply replenishing the air conditioner will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. Refrigerant leakage will aggravate the high temperature overload of the compressor and shorten its service life.
According to Taiwan's standard operating specifications for air-conditioning projects, it is recommended that professional technicians with a refrigeration and air-conditioning decoration technician license perform "full machine high-pressure water washing and evaporator deep sterilization" every 1 to 2 years for detached air-conditioning indoor units. Especially in the humid summer in the Shuangbei Basin, the air drum and water collection tray are easy to breed black mold and jelly-like biofilm. This is also the main reason for the sour smell in the air-conditioning outlet and the backflow of the drainage pipe. Regular maintenance can maintain CSPF (Air Conditioning Seasonal Performance Factor) level one energy efficiency level, which can save an average household 15% to 20% of air conditioning electricity bills every year.
Autonomous simple maintenance vs professional maintenance safety red line
- Homeowners can do by themselves: Remove and clean the nylon filter regularly every 2 to 3 weeks (rinse with clean water and dry in a cool place, do not expose it to the sun to avoid deformation and embrittlement); clean the air outlet blades of the indoor unit with a dry cloth; check whether there is any accumulation of debris within 50 cm around the outdoor unit that hinders heat dissipation.
- Professional technicians must be entrusted according to regulations: Refrigerant pressure testing and leakage repair welding, high-pressure cleaning of indoor unit air drums and aluminum fins with liquid chemicals, reset of the drainage slope of hidden cold water pipes in the ceiling, and 220V dedicated power circuit configuration and leakage circuit breaker replacement.
