Service and Maintenance

It may be because heating and cooling equipment operates in the background that most people only have it serviced when it fails. The old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”, must come into play here.

The shocking truth is that an improperly maintained heating and cooling system breaks down more often, costs more to operate and wears out years ahead of it’s time. Here are some facts:

• Dirty heat transfer surfaces cause the system to loose efficiency
• Improperly lubricated motors fail
• Dirty filters can cause compressor or heat exchanger failure
• Improperly charged units cost many dollars in operating costs
• Loose electrical connections cause parts failures

The problems listed above are the most common problems caused by lack of maintenance. The cost associated with these problems ranges from a few dollars a month in excess operating costs to $1200 - $1500 in repairs.

System Wear and Tear

An average time for system cooling operation in the southeastern United States is 1400 hours per year. By doubling that time to estimate heating and cooling hours so we get an estimated heating & cooling time for year round system operation of 2800 hours.

If you were to operate your car 2800 hours at 30 miles an hour, in the course of a year your car would travel 84,000 miles. Would you drive your car 84,000 miles with out maintenance? Not likely.

Maintenance Costs

Most places you go for an oil change for your car recommend changing oil every 3,000 miles. Using the mileage in the last example that would be 28 oil changes in that year. Oil changes at the chain stores cost around $26 so oil changes for that year would cost $728.

The $728 figure does not include the tire rotations and wheel alignments that would have been done as well.

Considering that in most cases the annual cost of proper routine maintenance (two visits) on a single heating and cooling system is less than $200, it’s quite a bargain.

Proper Maintenance

The last paragraph said “proper maintenance” and you need to be sure that’s what you’re getting.

Many heating and cooling companies look at routine maintenance as a way to keep their personnel busy during the slow months. This attitude can radiate through the company’s employees and the result can be very poor maintenance.

A good way for you to find out how a company views maintenance is to talk with the owner or service manager and ask questions.

Typically part of most home heating and cooling systems is accessible to you. Go take a look at your outdoor unit after maintenance has been performed. Look down through the fan opening. If you see leaves and dirt or you see dirt on the coil surfaces (those closely spaced aluminum fins that are usually found behind a protective grille), the unit was not properly maintained. You can also request that a coat of wax be put on the outdoor unit to protect the paint.

Another dead give away for poor maintenance is if you have a failure and the technician says you have a coil that is stopped up with dirt or that the fan must be cleaned. If you have been paying for maintenance this should not have happened.

Filter Changes

Many filters available today have instructions on how frequently the filter should be replaced. Most homeowners take this as an absolute fact and in so doing cause themselves thousands in repairs.

Filters should be changed when dirty. How quickly filters will become saturated with dust varies greatly from home to home. Lifestyle, pets, cooking and smoking all play a part in how quickly a filter “loads” up.

A good rule is to check your filter (or filters) once a month and replace them when they are dirty.

What kind of filter should you buy? That’s a fair question because there are literally hundreds of filters available through home improvement and department stores.

Some of these filters only keep dirt out of the equipment and others are designed to filter out the microscopic particles that cause allergic symptoms. Since some of these filters can severely restrict airflow and thus cause damage to your system, it’s best to seek the advice of a competent heating and air conditioning specialist. Your service technician can generally tell you what filter is right for your system.