When was the last time you had an HVAC tune-up? Smart homeowners get regular HVAC maintenance with ICE Heating & Cooling.
Our trained HVAC service engineers help you spend less on bills and enjoy your system at peak performance for years. Find out all you need to know about HVAC maintenance in this ultimate guide.
Why HVAC Maintenance Is Important
Maintaining your HVAC system is crucial for ensuring that it operates efficiently and effectively, providing your home with the comfort you need throughout the year. Neglecting routine maintenance can lead to a range of problems, including higher energy bills, reduced indoor air quality, and costly repairs. In this article, we’ll explore the importance of HVAC maintenance and the benefits it provides for you and your home.
Maintenance Is Much Cheaper Than Replacing Your HVAC System
If you don’t maintain your HVAC system you’ll be shelling out for a whole new one more frequently than you need to.
No Unexpected Breakdowns
People who don’t maintain their HVAC systems properly risk expensive breakdowns right when it’s least convenient.
Neglected A/C units often break down when they’re challenged during a heatwave. And ignored heating systems can fail as they’re struggling to cope during the winter holiday season.
Safety First
Excellent HVAC repair is key to keeping your family safe from the following.
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Explosions.
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Leaky valves.
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Electrical faults.
ICE Heating & Cooling checks all this and more during your routine HVAC service.
Safety In Heating Maintenance
Malfunctioning heating equipment is a leading cause of fires across the country. In fact, the National Fire Prevention Association reports that the leading factor in home heating fires is dirty, unmaintained heating systems.
The Importance Of Water Heater Maintenance For Good Health
Did you know that bacteria can breed in your water heater? Water heaters need to be flushed regularly in order to keep the water inside clean and healthy.
Why A/C Maintenance Is Vital To Stay Healthy
If given a chance, mold will grow inside your A/C unit and needs to be maintained and sanitized.
Can you smell mold when you use your A/C system? Then you and your family are breathing it in. It’s not just disgusting, mold is a serious health risk.
Cleaning filters and vents is a straightforward job for one of our qualified HVAC service engineers. What’s more, you’ll notice the health benefits immediately.
What Does HVAC Maintenance Include?
Maintenance with ICE Heating & Cooling means you’ll get top performance starting the same day. What we cover in a routine HVAC service depends on whether it’s A/C, heating or high class water heater maintenance.
Firstly, here’s what you can expect in any case.
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Annual HVAC inspections.
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Maintenance visits.
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Safety checks.
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Thermostat and temperature checks.
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Inspecting for damaged components.
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Cleaning and clearing filters.
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Industrial grade cleaning work.
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Connection checks.
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Pressure checks.
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Lubrication of parts where necessary.
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Vent cleaning.
And below is an overview of what we’ll do according to whether you need a tune-up on your A/C, heating or water heater.
A/C Maintenance
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Monitoring of the refrigerant levels and topping up when necessary.
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Filters cleaned or replaced.
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Cleaning the outdoor unit.
Heating Maintenance
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Heat pump tune-up.
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Checking burner and flame sensor.
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Cleaning the outdoor unit.
Water Heater Maintenance
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Flush the water heater through.
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Anode rod checks.
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Removing the sediment.
When To Do HVAC Maintenance
If you like an easy life with no sudden HVAC breakdowns, you should be looking at scheduling two visits every year.
This frequency keeps your system running well and allows our HVAC service team to spot anything that’s amiss as soon as it happens. Things like wear and tear, small leaks and poor electrical connections.
The trick to it is to plan one maintenance visit in the spring to check the A/C and another in the fall to check the heating.
How Much Is HVAC Maintenance?
A whole lot less than emergency HVAC repair and having to replace your whole system earlier than necessary.
HVAC maintenance and cleaning costs much less than you may expect. When you have small, regular monthly payments you can plan your budget easily. Just take a look at the ICE Comfort Club page for details on current pricing.
Are HVAC Maintenance Plans Worth It?
Yes, regular HVAC maintenance and repair will definitely save you money over time. Consider these points.
Your Warranty
For one thing, keeping your system well maintained by licensed professionals is part of keeping your warranty valid.
Replacement Costs
Neglected heating and cooling systems break down and need replacing in a shorter time frame. Bear in mind that a new heating or cooling system will cost you thousands. Compare this to a small monthly payment equivalent to a couple of coffees.
It’s a real shame when we have to replace systems early because often with a little low-cost TLC they could have gone the distance.
Increased Performance
You’ll likely make the money you spend on maintenance back on lower bills. How?
A dirty, inefficient A/C or heating system has to work even harder to get your home the temperature you want it. Maybe it’s leaking, or clogged up. So you’ll probably have to use a higher setting just to get the same effect as before.
Unmaintained HVAC is costing you more money, while doing a bad job.
Common Problems That HVAC Maintenance Can Fix
These four major annoyances can be a thing of the past with a simple HVAC service.
Noisy HVAC System
Who wants to listen to constant noise? Even if it’s low, it can cause you to get headaches or just feel stressed out.
And a noisy HVAC system only means one thing. There’s an issue there, like a part that’s come loose or broken. Your system might even have to work harder because of it, and that means reduced performance and higher bills.
A noisy heating or cooling system is usually a fast and simple fix for our HVAC maintenance and repair team.
Poor Indoor Air Quality
Is there a bad smell at home? Do you have allergy symptoms even indoors? Maybe it’s a mold smell from the A/C. Or a burning plastic smell, or hot metal smell from the heating system? It’s no good for you to breathe any of that in.
Mold can cause terrible respiratory problems.
And the smell of burned plastic or metal indicates that there’s a serious malfunction. Like a component that’s actually burning away inside your heating system. As well as being no good for your lungs when you breathe it in, it’s a potential fire risk.
The good news is that poor air quality is nothing a little HVAC maintenance and cleaning won’t fix.
Reduced Performance
Did your home used to be easier to heat up or cool down? If so, maybe it’s a sluggish HVAC system. The worst thing is, you’re still paying those bills as if it were heating or cooling your home well.
Dust, dirt or broken components inside your system mean it works harder for less output.
A swift HVAC maintenance and cleaning job is usually all it takes to get your system back up to 100% performance again.
High Bills
Electricity and gas prices are just going up and up. So the best thing you can do is give your heating and cooling system a helping hand.
Regular maintenance by a qualified ICE Heating & Cooling HVAC service engineer means your system needs less power to keep your home at a comfortable temperature throughout the year.
How Long Do HVAC Systems Last?
That all depends on how well you treat it. A good quality HVAC system lasts around 10 – 25 years.
This is quite a wide age range considering that HVAC systems are a sizable investment. You can more than double the lifespan of your system with regular professional maintenance from a licensed company like ICE Heating & Cooling.
And you can make it last even longer by getting any repairs seen to promptly in between maintenance visits.
Air Conditioning
A/C systems last around 15-20 years.
Your air conditioning system will last longer when it’s always clean inside, has adequate refrigerant levels and there are no loose or worn parts.
Heating Systems
On average these last about 15-25 years. The most common reason for needing a new heating system? Lack of maintenance and thermostat problems. Of course, these two problems go hand in hand because when we check the thermostat regularly, it lasts for decades.
Water Heaters
Typically an electric water heater will last 10-15 years, while a gas water heater will last 8-12 years.
What’s the most common cause of homeowners needing new water heaters? Leaks.
Leaks generally happen because of an issue with pressure. But if you get regular maintenance, we’ll monitor the pressure so it’s likely you won’t suffer any leaks at all.
Can I Do HVAC Maintenance Myself?
Sure, we know we make it look easy! But doing it yourself is a bad idea for a number of reasons.
#1. There are some things that should be left to licensed professionals like adding coolant and dealing with electrical components. Put a foot wrong and it could be a hidden fire risk.
#2. Experienced HVAC service engineers can spot issues as they come up, and fix them.
#3. You can invalidate your warranty by carrying out unlicensed maintenance, so you could be out of pocket big time if you needed to make a claim.
Let ICE Heating & Cooling Handle Your HVAC Maintenance
Get regular HVAC maintenance and repair in your home to prolong the life of your system and save money. Just call our experienced team of HVAC service engineers at (702) 820-2184, or send us an email.
