Furnace and A/C Maintenance Matters More Than You Might Think
When I visit my customers, the one thing I let them know is that preventive maintenance for heating and air conditioning equipment matters most of all. A heating or A/C maintenance tune-up is very similar to the tune-up on your car. If your car’s engine never gets tuned-up, it’s going to break down sooner rather than later. When it does, you simply can’t drive. If your furnace, air conditioner or other home heating and cooling equipment doesn’t get tuned up, it will also break down sooner. And, depending on how extreme the heat or cold is, you and your family might not be able to live inside your own home during a breakdown, perhaps for several days!
Although there is not usually ‘oil’ to change on heating and cooling equipment, there are standard maintenance steps for properly cleaning, lubricating and correcting the temperature control system, all of which might get out of balance over time. Well-performed HVAC tune-ups will clean and balance the equipment, and ensure all parts are operating as safe and efficiently as possible. Tune-ups vary by HVAC company, but they should always consist of:
- A complete visual system inspection
- An operational assessment
- Safety component and thermostat calibration check
- Measurement and correction of temperature difference between the source and return air
- A system cleaning and standard air filter replacement
- Gas or oil pressure and pilot light adjustments (for heating equipment)
Most homes consist of a heating system and a separate piece of cooling equipment, so there is a separate detailed tune-up process for each one of these components. Tune-ups for each should usually be performed before the system is used regularly, prior to the hottest or coldest seasons of the year. The easiest way to remember to get a tune-up for your home comfort system is to make it part of your spring cleaning checklist and early Fall festivities.
Having a tune-up at the right time helps to ensure the system will operate properly when being used the most. At these between-season times when weather is generally mild, heating and cooling companies are also more available to perform tune-up service, and in most cases at discounted rates. It’s no different than tuning up your vehicle before a summer road trip! So when the temperature finally feels just about right, it's time for a furnace or air conditioning tune-up.