Your home can be made much more comfortable when you have an HVAC system. Many houses come with them, but they may need to be upgraded or even replaced at some point. Understanding how to properly maintain your system will help you out when the time is right.
If you are having issues with your HVAC, do a tour of your house before you call in help. Know what part of the house is cold and which is hot. That way, the contractor will have an easier time diagnosing the problem and repairing it fast.
Know the name and type of your HVAC system before calling someone to fix it. This will enable you know that you’re able to give your chosen contractor the information that can help them.
Clean your fan blades and coils prior to summertime. Clean the outside of your condenser unit.
Clean the fan blades and coils on the condenser fan every spring. Turn it off first so you don’t get hurt or break something. Remove the grill and the blades, and then you can give them all a gentle clean.
Turn the power off first so you don’t get hurt or break something. Next, pop the grill off, pull out the blades and start cleaning them and the unit itself off gently.
Put outdoor units in places with shade.
Have your HVAC serviced at least yearly. The best times to have the system checked is spring and fall, so you are sure everything is running at peak performance before the heating and cooling seasons. Even though it may seem as nothing is wrong with the unit, a simple inspection can prove otherwise.
Have your heating and cooling system inspected twice a year at the least. This should be done in the fall and malfunctions.
Turn off your outdoor condensers you have when it becomes cold out. This means that you should turn it off to prevent damage if the temperature drops below 60ºF to avoid damage. This helps the system working for years and will have to be repaired less often.
You can keep energy costs in your home lower by choosing to have professional maintenance done on your HVAC unit. During a maintenance visit, professionals can help by inspecting the system’s motor, oil the different moving parts as well as check the system’s freon levels. These simple tasks will help keep your HVAC system running smoothly.
Install a programmable thermostat you can program to save energy costs. Some programmable thermostats can even be controlled from your smart phone or other device.
During a maintenance visit, they will inspect the motor of the system, the moving parts will be oiled and the freon levels will be checked These few simple things will boost the performance of your system.
Do not allow your house to get extremely hot. It takes quite a while to cool a home by more than 20 degrees. So if your home is 100ºF, you’ll only get the temperature down to about 80. Depending on humidity levels, this isn’t even a safe temperature for a human body to sleep at to recover from summer heat.
Never allow your home to rise to a dangerously hot inside. Air conditioners only cool a home down a home by 20 degrees. If your house’s interior temperature hits 100 degrees Fahrenheit, it will only cool off to about 80F. This is not a healthy environment to live in.
Research the reputation of companies that you consider using. Check with different references to determine the BBB and look for your situation. These steps can help ensure you make a better decision.
There are plenty of online tools, such as sizing calculators, which can help you find the best unit to cool your home. Buying a unit which is too big reduces efficiency. To get the right information, look in the manual to find out the rating the manufacturer gives the unit for cooling.
Air conditioners sometimes ice up at times. The drain line may also freeze over.If this is something that’s happening to you, try switching your thermostat to just the fan so that it disables the compressor. You should leave the repair to a professional, even if switching it to its fan setting starts making the ice melt.
There are different sites these days that let customers talk about their experiences with contractors. This is useful for finding people that you should work with and people that may not work well with you.
If your system doesn’t seem to be working efficiently, check your ducts for leaks. This is a job your local utility provider may do for you inexpensively or even free of charge. If you do end up paying, you’ll find that fixed leaks are worth the money.
Contractors are responsible for their own charges and fees, so make sure that you acquire multiple estimates. You can save quite a bit of money by asking for price quotes. You may want to call at least five contractors to determine what reasonable rates are.
Think about having a radiant barrier in your attic so your HVAC system. It blocks outside heat from coming in which will serve as a barrier between your home and the outside. You may even use the attic space more effectively.
When your unit is clicking, immediately go out and look to see if anything is inside it. Many times it could be debris hitting the cooling system fans. Get rid of this obstruction and that should take care of the problem. Check it out yourself first before you call in the professionals.
Having an HVAC system can be a great investment, especially if it keeps your home comfortable year round. If you must replace your system, keep the information located above in mind. They will aid you in making wise decisions in all things HVAC.