Taking care of your central heating and air conditioning system is an important factor, if you want to avoid having to pay high costs in repair and replacements. Even with an HVAC service plan, the cost of ongoing heating and air conditioning system repair can be quite costly. People that are always up on their heating and a/c care regularly have HVAC check ups and tune ups. Usually, this happens at the beginning of every season. If there is anything wrong with your HVAC unit, or, if the HVAC specialist feels that something could potentially go wrong, they will let you know, and give you the correct advise on how to repair the situation. Let’s step back for a minute here and go over some things that you can do on your own, that will prevent any advanced damage to your central heating and air conditioning system. The first thing you should always do besides the regular HVAC tune ups, is to have your ductwork cleaned.
You can clean your ductwork once a year if you do not have a large budget to spend on HVAC service. The cost for one ductwork cleaning is not as much as you may think. You can have the job done for as little as one hundred and fifty dollars, depending on the specials the HVAC company you select may be having that month. Also, some heating and air conditioning companies offer discounted air duct or ductwork cleaning as part of an HVAC service plan. Inquire with your local heating and cooling specialist for more information on that. Another method of performing proper upkeep yourself on your heating and air conditioning system, is to make sure the unit itself is clear of all grass and weeds. Having regular landscaping services would be a good way to guarantee this. If grass and weeds build up around your HVAC unit, this can cause some serious issues, that will eventually lead to the breakdown of the system.
Now the next thing I am going to mention is something that is a no brainer, and mostly everyone knows. But, just in case you don’t, i’ll say it anyway. Always change the air filter of your central heating and air conditioning system! The air filter is possibly the most important part of the HVAC unit. Not only will an unchanged air filter cause bad air quality in your home, but it will eventually cause your heating or air conditioning to work overtime, and this puts a heavy strain on the motor. Most people change their air filters every other month. But, I would personally suggest changing the air filter at least once a month…especially if it’s during the time of year when you are running it twenty four hours a day, and seven days a week. This is usually in January through March, and then again in June through August, depending on what region you happen to live in.
Air filters are not the only thing that you need to keep cleaned when it comes to your central heating and air conditioning unit. In addition to changing the air filters, another smart idea would be to clean your evaporator and condenser coils. Having filthy condenser and evaporator coils will increase the energy use of your heating and air conditioning unit by twenty five to thirty percent. Just like dirty air filters, this type of energy increase can eventually lead to the complete destruction of your heating and cooling system. Though it would happen very slowly over a long period of time, it is not something you even want to mess around with. The evaporator and condenser coils are very critical to the smooth operation of any HVAC unit. They should be cleaned no less than twice per year, and even more if you have the time to do so. If you have any questions, or need to know more information on this particular subject of evaporator and condenser coils, there are plenty of websites out there that can explain the importance of keeping these clean on a regular to semi-regular basis.
The final thing I would like to mention for good upkeep on your HVAC system is not something you would think of naturally, but more or less a tip and small investment that can both result in the longer life of your heating and air conditioning system, and also save on your energy use. That would be to install a programmable thermostat (if you don’t already have one). This will ensure that your home is completely comfortable, and you can set it to what your desired temperatures are. By selecting this thermostat method, it will also cut down on your energy use, because a programmable thermostat also comes with an application that is installed on your phone or laptop. You can manually turn on your HVAC system from practically anywhere in the world. So for instance, if you are at work all day, you can leave your central heating and air conditioning system off. Then, right before you are about to come home for the day, you can turn on the thermostat from your cell phone. By not running your central heating and air conditioning system for 8 hours a day, this will help prolong its life. Not to mention, this is also sheer freedom of operating your heating and air conditioning system!
There are a lot of other ways to perform upkeep on your central heating and air conditioning system as well, but of course, this would all be a part of your HVAC tune up that you get from your local heating and air conditioning company. These other methods of performing good upkeep on your central heating and air conditioning system are things that you can not do by yourself, which is why I will not mention them here. However, if you end up finding them online through posted videos or on HVAC websites, I would highly recommend not attempting what you see on your own. All of these advanced methods of HVAC upkeep do require the work of a certified and bonded heating and air conditioning professional. You can search your local business guides to find the best heating and air conditioning professional in your area, call them on the phone, and ask all the questions you need to.