When the HVAC in your home is working properly, you are kept about as comfortable as can be. You will feel much better when your home is cool in summer and warm in winter. However, it can quickly turn into a nightmare if your HVAC system fails on you. These tips will help you master some very simple HVAC maintenance strategies to prevent this nightmare from occurring.
Prior to putting in a service call on your HVAC, be able to identify it. Look for the model and brand number. This will ensure that you can give your new contractor all the information they need.
Go through your home before you call HVAC professional. Jot down the rooms that are hot and the ones that are cold. The contractor can probably figure out and fix the problem easier.
Know what work you want done before you select an HVAC contractor. This is necessary so that they can give you a quote before doing any work. It will be even harder if you cannot explain what you have done. Be sure to find this out ahead of time.
Each spring, clean the fan blades and coils on your condenser. First, turn off the power so that nothing will move as you are working on it. Then, take the grill off, pull the blades out, and gently clean them as well as the unit itself.
When you are cutting the grass, be sure not to cover your outdoor units with clippings. Direct the clippings away from the equipment. When blowing leaves, do the same. Always take care when passing your HVAC units while moving leaves, grass or other debris.
Leaves falling from trees can wreak havoc with your HVAC unit. At least twice a week, you need to clean the grill of your fan. The fan needs unobstructed air flow, and if debris is blocking this air flow, then your system could suffer.
You need to lubricate parts of your fan condenser. These ports have a metal covering. Sometimes it is rubber. Use SAE 20 oil that is non-detergent and lightweight, and put 10 drops or fewer in each port, but make sure to avoid overfilling them.
When selecting a location for an outdoor compressor, opt for a shady area, if possible. If the unit is taking in cooler air, the efficiency will be boosted since it will not need to work as hard.
If the current location of your HVAC unit outside isn’t working, try having it moved to an area with more shade. As your air conditioner sucks in cool air, little will have to be done to cool it any further, saving you a ton on your energy bills.
Make sure your HVAC systems is checked twice a year. Generally, you want it done in the fall and the spring. Even though it may seem as nothing is wrong with the unit, a simple inspection can prove otherwise.
If you are a homeowner, or if you can get permission from your landlord, install double-paned windows in place of any single panes in your home. Windows that are double pane keep the cool air in and can greatly reduce the amount of time your air conditioner will need to run. They help in the winter, too, keeping the heat in.
Don’t let your home get too hot. A simple AC unit will usually only cool the home around 20 degrees within a short period of time. So if your home is 100ºF, you’ll only get the temperature down to about 80. Depending on how humid the environment is, that is not a healthy temperature for the human body when it rests during sleep.
Now that you have the information from the above article, it is easy to see the importance of keeping your HVAC system well maintained. Bad things will happen when you don’t do regular maintenance inspections. Luckily, this article has provided you with the information you need to make sure that your HVAC unit works right.
