Maintenance Tips

JUST FIND YOUR MAINTENANCE TIPS BELOW

Maintain your equipment to prevent future problems and unwanted costs.
Keep your cooling and heating system at peak performance by having a contractor do annual pre-season check-ups.

MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST

A typical maintenance check-up should include the following:

  • Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away.
  • Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components.
  • Lubricate all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use.
  • Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels.
  • Check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation. Check the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly.

Cooling Specific

Clean evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
Check your central air conditioner's refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. Too much or too little refrigerant will make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
Clean and adjust blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system's efficiency by up to 15 percent.


Heating Specific

Check all gas (or oil) connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and heat exchanger. Improperly operating gas (or oil) connections are a fire hazard and can contribute to health problems. A dirty burner or cracked heat exchanger causes improper burner operation. Either can cause the equipment to operate less safely and efficiently.

CHANGE YOUR FILTER
CLEANING OF COOLING FAN (HEAT EXCHANGER)
CLEAN THE COILS
REMOVE OBSTRUCTIONS
PROGRAM YOUR THERMOSTAT
For a central system, set your thermostat to a slightly higher temperature during the day, when you leave the house, and a lower temperature when you get home from work. The newest thermostats are designed to be more user-friendly, and some even work via WiFi or your smartphone, so you can raise the setting when you leave to run errands, and then remotely turn it back down when you are on your way home. This lowers energy bills as well as reduces strain on the system.
GET A TUNE-UP
CHECKING BEFORE USE-SEASON
CHECKING AFTER USE-SEASON