Do your own preventative maintenance.
Make sure the power is off first.
Preventative Maintenance
Why should I perform preventative maintenance? Why do you change the oil in your car? Your car will work if you change the oil every 8000 miles, so why change the oil every 3000 or 5000? Simple answer, it'll last longer and save money on your electric bill. Heating and cooling systems work incredibly hard to perform their functions for your household. The constant stopping, starting and continual operation can wear down a machine quickly and unexpectedly if the proper care and maintenance is delayed. However, by performing preventative maintenance, or servicing your system regularly, you can maximize the life cycle of your heating or cooling unit and guard against many unexpected failures.
Preventative maintenance inspections performed on a regular basis can uncover leaks, rust, rot, soot, frayed wires and corroded electrical contacts. You know in the summer or winter when the unit is working the hardest is when it's going to fail. It will be peak season either way and repair technicians are going to be extremely busy, not to mention you're going to have to take off work to have one show up. If you can catch it before, then you'll be in good shape
What equipment requires preventative maintenance? At least once a year, heat pumps and air conditioners require a professional tune-up. Because gas-fired equipment functions with greater efficiency, it only needs to be serviced every other year.
Inspections on boiler and furnace systems should include duct work, pipes, dampers, valves, the chimney, registers, radiators, pumps, blowers, fuel lines, the gas meter, oil tank and every part of the actual furnace and boiler. Meanwhile, heat pump and air conditioning unit inspections should also include inspections of the fan, compressor, indoor coils, outdoor coils and refrigerant lines.
What type of filter should I use? Standard furnace filters work well to keep your system and its duct work clean, but they don’t really improve indoor air quality. To do that, you need a media filter. The media filter rests between the main return duct and the blower cabinet and will improve dust and particle removal by seven times that of a standard furnace filter. However, upgrading to a pleated media filter will remove everything from insecticide dust to airborne viruses from the filtered air. A media filter can have a life exceeding two years, and its only drawback is that its tight fiber weave can cause your furnace to have to work harder to blow air through the house. Always choose a filter that matches your blower’s capacity.
What are the preventative maintenance measures for my ducts? Although modern technology has made significant advances in air filters over the past decade, a fractional amount of dust still finds its way past heating and cooling filters and into your home’s ducts. As this dust accumulates throughout your home, it creates the perfect environment for the growth of mold, mites and harmful bacteria. To check your ducts for dust buildup, pull off several supply and return registers and see how much dust has accumulated in the system. If you choose to clean your system, your best option is to contact a professional duct cleaner. Although duct cleaning has little effect on the actual air quality, it will eliminate a house-wide breeding ground for harmful bacteria and mold in addition to helping your heating and cooling system operate more efficiently. If you are installing a new system, you should consider cleaning the ducts at the same time. New systems are often more powerful than old systems and can stir up dust that is sitting in the existing duct work.
What is the most efficient way to run my heating and cooling system?Here are several tips to help you keep your system running at its most efficient level:
Keep your thermostat at a constant temperature. The recommended temperature is 78º in the summer & 72o in the winter, even when no one is home. If you can keep it colder in the winter and warmer in the summer, the more money you're going to save; but it's important to remember not to turn the thermostat up and down a lot. If you want to drop 3 or 4 degrees while you're gone to work (several hours) that's fine, but short periods will lose the money you saved when catching back up.
Check your filter every month.
Check the outside unit regularly for any grass clippings, leaves or dirt stuck to the coil.
If the unit is dirty:
Preventative maintenance inspections performed on a regular basis can uncover leaks, rust, rot, soot, frayed wires and corroded electrical contacts. You know in the summer or winter when the unit is working the hardest is when it's going to fail. It will be peak season either way and repair technicians are going to be extremely busy, not to mention you're going to have to take off work to have one show up. If you can catch it before, then you'll be in good shape
What equipment requires preventative maintenance? At least once a year, heat pumps and air conditioners require a professional tune-up. Because gas-fired equipment functions with greater efficiency, it only needs to be serviced every other year.
Inspections on boiler and furnace systems should include duct work, pipes, dampers, valves, the chimney, registers, radiators, pumps, blowers, fuel lines, the gas meter, oil tank and every part of the actual furnace and boiler. Meanwhile, heat pump and air conditioning unit inspections should also include inspections of the fan, compressor, indoor coils, outdoor coils and refrigerant lines.
What type of filter should I use? Standard furnace filters work well to keep your system and its duct work clean, but they don’t really improve indoor air quality. To do that, you need a media filter. The media filter rests between the main return duct and the blower cabinet and will improve dust and particle removal by seven times that of a standard furnace filter. However, upgrading to a pleated media filter will remove everything from insecticide dust to airborne viruses from the filtered air. A media filter can have a life exceeding two years, and its only drawback is that its tight fiber weave can cause your furnace to have to work harder to blow air through the house. Always choose a filter that matches your blower’s capacity.
What are the preventative maintenance measures for my ducts? Although modern technology has made significant advances in air filters over the past decade, a fractional amount of dust still finds its way past heating and cooling filters and into your home’s ducts. As this dust accumulates throughout your home, it creates the perfect environment for the growth of mold, mites and harmful bacteria. To check your ducts for dust buildup, pull off several supply and return registers and see how much dust has accumulated in the system. If you choose to clean your system, your best option is to contact a professional duct cleaner. Although duct cleaning has little effect on the actual air quality, it will eliminate a house-wide breeding ground for harmful bacteria and mold in addition to helping your heating and cooling system operate more efficiently. If you are installing a new system, you should consider cleaning the ducts at the same time. New systems are often more powerful than old systems and can stir up dust that is sitting in the existing duct work.
What is the most efficient way to run my heating and cooling system?Here are several tips to help you keep your system running at its most efficient level:
Keep your thermostat at a constant temperature. The recommended temperature is 78º in the summer & 72o in the winter, even when no one is home. If you can keep it colder in the winter and warmer in the summer, the more money you're going to save; but it's important to remember not to turn the thermostat up and down a lot. If you want to drop 3 or 4 degrees while you're gone to work (several hours) that's fine, but short periods will lose the money you saved when catching back up.
Check your filter every month.
Check the outside unit regularly for any grass clippings, leaves or dirt stuck to the coil.
If the unit is dirty:
- Disconnect the power supply at the circuit breaker FIRST!
- Use a shop-vac with a brush attachment to vacuum off the debris.
- Run water from a garden hose through the coil until the water passing through runs clear.
- Turn the power back on.
- Have the unit serviced every spring by a licensed service company.