Don’t Lose Money On Heating and Cooling From an Inefficient HVAC System

Your HVAC system is one of the more important parts of your home. Heating and cooling for your home is essential to stay comfortable. Have you ever thought about how much energy that uses? A lot. According to studies, as much as 52% of your house’s energy consumption will be spent on heating and cooling. And that’s just the average. For some homes, it’s even more than that!

How Good is Your HVAC System?

According to our partners at Mountain Valley HVAC, one of the big factors of how much energy you spend on heating and cooling is the efficiency of your HVAC system. The more efficient it is, the less energy you’ll use and the less money you’ll spend. The problem is that no machine can be perfectly efficient because of friction. Friction slows down all movement, reducing the efficiency of a machine. At the same time, it also wears down the moving parts, further reducing efficiency. The only way to get the most out of your HVAC is through regular maintenance and servicing.

HVAC Service vs. HVAC Maintenance

What’s the difference between service and maintenance? Put simply, service is the process of repairing your HVAC when something stops working. It often includes replacing parts that wear out, like fans, plugs, gears, and so on. Service is often expensive, because first the problem has to be diagnosed, then new parts need to be ordered, and finally they are installed. All this costs money. Additionally, a service is inconvenient because in the time it takes to do all of that, you’re usually without the use of your heating in the winter or AC in the summer.

Maintenance, on the other hand, is more preventative. They will include the cleaning of coils, fans, elements, etc., inspecting the parts for wear and tear, lubricating moving parts, and testing safety controls. Maintenance is much faster and less expensive and it has the advantage of solving a lot of problems before you need a full service. This saves money on repairs and keeps your HVAC operating and its best possible efficiency.

What Goes Into The Maintenance of Your HVAC System?

There are three primary things to do in HVAC Maintenance

1. The Furnace

The furnace is the part of your HVAC that heats your home. Maintenance of the furnace will include cleaning the furnace itself and checking the electrical systems for faults. This is important not just for keeping efficiency up, but can help reduce the chance of fires.

2. The AC

Your AC unit is responsible for cooling your house off. Maintenance of the AC will include cleaning the parts and tuning them up. There are a lot of moving parts to the AC unit and if they aren’t properly tuned and lubed, you’ll get a lot of nasty friction.

3. The Air Ducts

The furnace and AC work by heating and cooling air, but without proper ductwork, they only do so in their immediate area. The ducts of your HVAC system are meant to carry that air to other areas of your house, while cycling old air out. This allows your system to heat and cool the entire house, as well as keeping the air fresh. Since there are no moving parts in the ducts, the only thing to worry about is dust and small debris. Dust can reduce the air flow, forcing your HVAC to work harder to achieve the same results. To avoid this, your vents should be properly fitted with filters and you should have your ducts cleaned at least once every 3-5 years.

Proper Maintenance is Essential to Your HVAC System

Keeping your HVAC running at the highest possible efficiency is important if you want to minimize energy use and keep your energy bill down, especially with rising energy costs. The only way to do that is with regular maintenance. If you don’t do this, then dust will build up inside the system, parts will get loose, and the increasing friction this causes will quickly wear out the parts. It’s impossible to completely eliminate friction, so some wear and tear will always happen, but with maintenance, you can slow that down a lot. You can often double the life-span of your system and half the number of required repair services just by doing simple maintenance.

Maintenance is so much less expensive than repairs, not to mention the maintenance won’t cause nearly as much inconvenience. Don’t waste money and energy running inefficient heating and cooling equipment when a quick service once a year is all you need to keep it in good condition. If you’ve been neglecting your HVAC maintenance, then you might want to give our partners a call today. And if it’s been a long time since your last air duct cleaning, as most of our customers tell us it has been, then we’re ready to help you, too!