Summer Care for HVAC Systems

We all know of the saying we can pay a little now for routine service or pay a lot later for a major repair bill. This same concept holds true for HVAC units. If you do not service or take care of your HVAC unit you will more than likely find the unit not working properly, you might be expending extra energy and dollars and that large repair bill could come sooner than later. Now is the perfect time to have your unit checked. We will soon be out of our lovely spring weather and facing some hot summer days and it is important to make sure that your AC unit is functioning properly. An HVAC unit is a tough piece of equipment, but it needs love and care and routine maintenance to run properly.

Our local HVAC companies say that now is the right time to have your HVAC units inspected, oiled, greased and cleaned. Without regular maintenance and HVAC unit can lose about 5% of its efficiency for every year of operation. This means that the 12 SEER unit you have had for a few years might now be operating as a 9 SEER unit. Mike Moyer of Moyers Heating & Cooling and Troy Kloski of TDK Comfort Systems both agree that you can recover lost efficiency through regular maintenance. With regular maintenance a unit can maintain up to 95% of its original efficiency, so what that means is that the cost of an annual tune-up can be recovered rather quickly in savings on your monthly electric/gas bill. Many of our local companies offer annual service programs at a reduced savings and this ensures that your system will be performing at the beginning of our cooling and heating seasons.

It is also important to make sure you are using a licensed reputable company for your servicing. I hate to say this but there are predatory companies that will charge you a very low amount for a service or maintenance check and then they will tell you that there are major issues with your unit and that may not be the case. Just make sure that you do not become a victim and use reliable companies.

Here are a few tips to help your unit that you can do yourself. Change your filters monthly during the summer. This will ensure that air is circulating properly through your home. When you are not at home, turn the AC unit up 4 degrees. Every home should have a programmable thermostat. Make sure your unit is clear of bushes and other materials. Do not close off AC registers/air supply outlets in your home. Doing this is harmful to the operation of the overall system.