subject: Heating And Air Conditioning - Better To Keep Them Maintained [print this page] In this difficult economy, property owners are rather more centered than ever on keeping their appliances running well to bypass the cost of having to replace them. There are some comparatively straightforward steps to keep your heating and aircon units running well year round.
While there are more electric HVAC units than any other, propane gas, natural gas, or oil heating systems are typical alternatives to electric heat, but require a separate air conditioner powered by electricity. The Heat pump is the standard installation in new home and commercial construction, especially in hot areas where air conditioning is typically installed on all new construction. Such systems are designed to operate economically.
The frugal home-owner faithfully performs such householder responsibilities as changing their heating and air con system's filter monthly or as frequently as the makers suggest and keeping all accessible parts clean. As all owners ' manuals and all plumbers and HVAC sales folk will tell you, just this straightforward monthly upkeep will significantly prolong the life of your heating and aircon unit.
Energy conscious homeowners will also make every effort to ensure furniture, appliances, scatter rugs, toys, dog beds or other items do not block their systems intake or return vents throughout the home. It is also a good idea to install filters just inside the intake vents to keep the ductwork free of debris.
Fans, motors, coils and channel work inspection and maintenance is a job for execs as testing is done with sensitive gear and ductwork is frequently found in a crawl space under the house or in the loft. For the Air Conditioner, most more modern units shouldn't require that Freon get replaced, but older units might need the Freon levels checked yearly to keep the AC working efficiently across the hot months of summer.
Annual maintenance plans are highly recommended by manufacturers, distributors and HVAC technicians and plumbers. It is usually less expensive to replace parts or perform routine cleaning and maintenance before a part breaks than afterwards. In addition, most units seem to break when you need them the most, during the coldest of the cold months for the heating units, and the hottest days of summer for the cooling units.
To promote preventive maintenance most manufacturers and their dealers offer service plans which include an annual inspection for less than the cost of a service call. Typically annual maintenance is performed at the home owner's convenience, and before the unit is actually required to be running.
