It is vital to keep your home heated and cooled at all times. To ensure that this continues to happen, it’s important to care for the system properly. If you’re not able to take care of it, things will cost a lot to fix and it will be hard to live with it all. There are many useful tips below that can help you maintain your HVAC properly.
Know what type of system you currently have before calling someone to fix it. You need to know who manufactured the product and the item number. Also, get the maintenance records from your files if you have them. This will let you know that you’re able to give the contractor the information that can help them.
Understand what you want before talking to a contractor. It will be hard for a contractor to give you a price estimate over the phone if they have not seen your current system. Being unable to explain what has been already done will make it even harder. This is information that you should have prepared in advance.
Outside Condenser
Keeping the outside condenser clean of debris and leaves will improve the system’s efficiency. If you are doing more than a light surface cleaning, make sure that the power is shut off to the HVAC unit. Additionally, remove leaves and any other debris from the outside condenser unit.
If the outside of your home has condenser units, ensure they are constantly cleaned. The dirt could pile up and harm your system. It may even overheat, which can ruin your system.
The HVAC unit in your home can become damaged from falling leaves. When you see nearby trees shedding their leaves, clean the fan grill on your unit constantly. When blockages restrict the flow of air to the fan, you could end up with serious issues on your hands.
Find a place that is shaded for your compressor. This will limit the work that it has to do.
Put your outdoor unit in places with shade. It will reduce the temperature of the air going into the unit, meaning that it will not have to work as hard to cool it.
When it gets cold outside, it is necessary to turn off outdoor condenser units. The unit will become damaged if you do not take care of it. This will keep your system in working order year after year, saving you a ton on repairs.
Update the windows in your home to double-paned if you own it. To keep your home cool, investing in double pane windows is a must. Likewise, in the winter more hot air stays inside during the cold season.
Make sure to have your unit serviced once a year. When it’s checked out, the motor will be inspected, moving parts well oiled and the level of freon adjusted if necessary. All of these little jobs will add up to big savings in energy use, with the improved efficiency.
Consider how long a given HVAC company has been in existence before giving them your business. The older they are, the more likely it will be for you to find out their history, which will help you gauge their quality. Taking risks is not something that you want to do in this area.
If you don’t know who you should call to repair, install and maintain your HVAC systems, check out reviews online. There are plenty of websites online that offer reviews and referrals for HVAC repair and other important service. This works both in finding those you want to hire and also with those you want to avoid.
You shouldn’t rely on a single quote from one contractor to gauge the cost, because different specialists set their own price. This will reduce your overall spending. Ideally, you should call five to six contractors to get a good idea of what a reasonable rate is.
You should think about putting in a radiant barrier in order to help your system run efficiently. This mechanism will prevent outside heat from coming in, reducing your energy consumption when cooling. It it’s installed properly, you might even be able to use your attic as an extra room.
Do you wish to buy a new cooling and heating system? If so, you must consider a number of things. The systems are generally rated based on the area they cover. It is better to purchase a slightly larger than needed unit, rather than a slightly smaller than needed unit.
Hvac System
Now you know how to keep your HVAC system in great shape. Maintain your unit on a monthly basis. Use these tips to keep your HVAC system from failing when it should be running smoothly. It’s not really a tough job at all!