You maintain your car, and you visit the doctor regularly. Your HVAC unit needs the same level of care, and for the same reason – preventive heating repair and maintenance helps keep small problems from turning into major ones. But maintenance also does something else; it can help lower your fuel costs.
Here’s how a professional keeps your HVAC system in shape and reduces your utility bills year-round:
Repair Compressor Leaks
A leak inside the condenser reduces the volume of airflow allowed into the unit. This creates a situation where air stands, surrounding the condenser, which causes higher pressure at the condenser and higher temperatures, too.
Your HVAC professionals can detect a condenser leak and get it repaired. This is important because for every degree that the temperature rises, your energy consumption grows, and with it, your utility bills.
Seal Air Leaks in the Ductwork
How often did your parents tell you to shut the front door because they didn’t want to heat the great outdoors? Leaks in your HVAC system do nearly the same, but sealing them keeps conditioned air where it belongs – inside the ductwork and in the rooms.
Air leaks let cooled or heated air transfer into attics, crawl spaces, between floors, and inside walls. When conditioned air doesn’t reach its destination, the rooms aren’t as comfortable. The thermostat reacts by switching the unit on more frequently, which uses more energy.
The HVAC technicians will tell you that your work isn’t finished once you’ve sealed up the ductwork. You need to seal up your whole house with insulation and caulking if your HVAC unit is going to do its job.
According to the experts sealing up your house helps to reduce energy costs by relying less on an HVAC system to control the building’s temperature each season. Sealing up your house will not only reduce the amount of energy you use running your HVAC system because your HVAC system is running less, but it will also last longer.
Change Dirty Air Filter and Burners
A dirty air filter suffocates your HVAC system and changing it lets the unit breathe. There’s no real reason not to change the filter every month. A new one is inexpensive, and a dirty one can cost a lot of money in the long run.
A dirty air filter makes the HVAC unit work harder to do its job, which means efficiency is dramatically reduced. Even if you change the filter every 30 days, your technician will probably change it too – just to be on the safer side.
Gas burners on a furnace can also collect a buildup of home heating oils, which reduces efficiency. You might notice an uneven flame pattern or burners that flicker and don’t light properly. Dirty burners mean the furnace has to work harder to produce enough heat. Clean ones, let it work the way it’s supposed to.
At your maintenance appointment, the technician may clean the burners using a piece of emery cloth or a file. This restores the flow of gas, which, in turn, allows it to heat your home more effectively.
Overall, maintenance is the best way to protect your heating and cooling investment. It only takes a day, but the benefits include a longer system lifespan, a more comfortable home, and fuel costs that won’t break the bank.
