If you want your home’s cooling and heating system to operate efficiently and effectively, regular maintenance is mandatory. This means both maintenance you can do at home, and annual professional maintenance on both the cooling and heating components of your HVAC system. It’s important to know which HVAC maintenance tasks you can do and which should be left to a professional technician.
DIY Maintenance
- Changing the air filter is probably the most important HVAC maintenance task the homeowner can do. A simple task, changing the filter regularly delivers a big payoff in both energy efficiency and performance, as well as improving indoor air quality (if you use a higher-end filter). Check the filter monthly and replace it when it looks dirty.
- Keep vents and registers clear of obstructions such as rugs and furniture.
- Every month or so, use a garden hose to spray down the outside unit of your central A/C or heat pump.
A handy homeowner can take on various other HVAC maintenance jobs, though when in doubt, call in a trained professional. Plus, any task involving working with refrigerant should be left to a certified technician.
Professional Maintenance
An HVAC technician will check over your entire cooling or heating system, cleaning, adjusting, lubricating, calibrating, and performing other system- and component-specific tasks.
In a cooling system, the technician also will check the refrigerant level and adjust airflow, as well as make sure the condensate drainage system is working properly. They will ensure that both indoor and outdoor heat-exchange coils are clean. In the outside unit, they’ll test the capacitor and check the compressor and fan.
Furnace maintenance involves some different tasks, including checking ignition and burner components, and ensuring fumes and gases are safely vented outside.
The technician’s first priority is safety, but they also will maintain your system for optimum energy efficiency and performance. If your HVAC system has humidity-control and air-cleaning components, the technician should check those as well.
To schedule quality professional HVAC maintenance for your home, please contact us at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing. We provide superior service to Indianapolis and the surrounding communities.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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