Monday, April 15, 2013

The Importance of Preventive Maintenance During the Spring and Fall



If you don’t know, preventative maintenance is proactive servicing and care of equipment to ensure it functions correctly and without major defects. During the spring and fall it is always a good idea to prep your HVAC units for the winter and summer.  Preventative maintenance will help keep your HVAC system working properly, and save you money! You might be wondering why preventative maintenance is so important, and we will explain it to you here!
Preventative maintenance for your HVAC equipment includes various tasks. These tasks include inspecting the safety functions and safety controls. All of the electrical components should be inspected and their connections replaced or repaired as necessary. Airflow and the air filters will be checked to see if they need to be replaced. The pumps, lubricants, and flow rates should also be checked when appropriate. The motor should be checked in case it needs to be cleaned and/or lubricated. The belts may need to be adjusted and aligned and the balanced blowers checked in case they need to be cleaned and inspected further. As you can see, your HVAC system has a lot of moving parts. If they're not properly maintained, small problems can quickly turn into big problems!
We all do it; we neglect things in our homes hoping that if we don’t mess with them they will run forever. Unfortunately, this isn’t true! Think about your car. Every several months, you get the oil changed and the air filter replaced. We rotate and balance the tires regularly and check the tire pressure. If you’ve got a good mechanic, they’ll give you recommendations for small maintenance to keep your car running smoothly. Your HVAC system isn’t quite as expensive as your car, necessarily, but it’s still a major purchase for your home. Replacing one can be costly. Your HVAC system will become run down without proper maintenance and care. Plus, maintaining the system will save you money in the long run!
“According to the Consortium of Energy Efficiency (CEE) up to 50% more energy can be saved with proper installation, sizing, and maintenance of commercial central air conditioning and heat pumps. ‘Although the CEE study did not measure residential systems, a compelling case can be made that proper maintenance can save homeowners up to 50% as well,’ according to Larry Taylor, President of Air Rite A/C Company, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas” (https://www.acca.org/archives/consumer-info-2/articles-for-homeowners/2180).
Transitional seasons are the ideal time for having preventative maintenance done. In between the summer and winter seasons, the weather is mild. People aren’t generally using their systems that much, so you can take a few hours to have a service call come check your system without any discomfort. In addition, as you head into the hot season, your system is going to be used a lot more. More use of your system means more stress. When this happens, you’re going to want your system to be running at peak performance. The last thing you want on a 90+ degree day with humidity is for your AC to go out! Since it’s peak season, HVAC companies are going to be swamped with phone calls from people who didn’t get preventative maintenance during the spring, and they’re systems are failing. You don’t want to be waiting hours or potentially even days for someone to repair your system. Take advantage of the slow time in the spring and fall to have a technician visit your home and give your system a little preventative maintenance love and you’ll save yourself some future stress. An ounce of prevention…
Got any questions? Give Guin a call at (205)-595-4846. We’re happy to answer your questions, or you can always sign up for a preventative maintenance agreement with Guin so you can relax knowing that your HVAC system will run great throughout every season.

Resources:
http://www.trane.com/residential/for-owners/maintenance-tips
HVACReducation.net’s Tech Tips: http://hvacreducationtechtips.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-pre-season-air-conditioning.html
Carrier Home Comfort: http://www.carrier.com/homecomfort/en/us/for-owners
http://www.guinservice.com
https://www.acca.org/archives/consumer-info-2/articles-for-homeowners/2180

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