HVAC Maintenance tips

Maintenance Tips
Proper maintenance is critical in order to get the most life out of your HVAC unit. Heating and cooling accounts for 45% of your energy bill every month. According to the federal government, the average homeowner spends more than $10,000 for heating and cooling their home over a ten year period. Here are a few tips for maintaining your HVAC system. Proper maintenance also can lower your energy usage and prevent costly repairs in the future. • Change your filter every month, especially during the winter and summer months. Anytime your air filter looks dirty change it out for a new filter. Air filters should not be restrictive to air flow to your evaporator. If you need a high HEPA filter, you will need to increase your return air duct sizing in order to maintain proper air flow to your evaporator. A dirty filter can increase your energy usage and damage your system leading to system failure. • Make sure your outside condenser is free of leaves, cottonwood and debris. In order to condense your refrigerant from a gas to a liquid there must be proper air flow all the around the condenser unit. • Make sure all air vents are open. Closing off vents in rooms you’re rarely in can create problems with your duct work system. • Call Call Comfort Solutions (916-939-1691) during the spring for a cooling maintenance and in the fall for a heating maintenance. Comfort Solutions Maintenance Program With all the money you spend on heating and cooling your home ($10K over ten years on average) investing in maintaining your heating and air conditioning system is vital. We offer a maintenance program for residential customers. If you are an existing client of Comfort Solutions, check your mail box in the spring and fall for our heating/cooling maintenance promotions. Comfort Solutions preforms the following on HVAC maintenance: • Check your thermostat setting. We will program your thermostat in order to save energy and to keep your home comfortable when you come home every day. • Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. • Lubricate all moving parts, if needed. • Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner/furnace/and or heat pump. Plugged condensate drain pans/lines can cause water damage to your home and personal property. • Wash out your outside condenser coil. A dirty condenser coil can lead to increased energy usage and high head pressures in your HVAC system. Over time a dirty condenser coil can create costly repairs in the future. All homeowner should have their condensers washed at least once a year. The #1 cause of costly compressor failure is high head pressure due to a dirty condenser and or evaporator coil. • Inspect, clean, or change air filter. Customer must provide us the air filter size before maintenance appointment. • Inspect evaporator coil. There might be an additional charge if we need to remove your evaporator in order to clean your evaporator coil. • Check your refrigerant charge and advise customer if system is under charged. • • Check the heat exchanger for any cracks. Cracks in the heat exchanger are very dangerous and can cause carbon monoxide in the home. For more information about proper maintenance of your HVAC systems, please visit these great website: We used these websites as sources for our maintenance page: Energy star heating and cooling: http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/heat_cool/GUIDE_2COLOR.pdf Energy star maintenance: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=heat_cool.pr_maintenance California Energy Commission consumer energy center: http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/heating_cooling/index.html