For homeowners, the proper maintenance of the household’s air systems is one of the most important tasks. Aside from providing their family with needed safety and comfort throughout the years, a broken air conditioner or heating system can lead to large expenses in a homeowner’s wallet. With that in mind, many HVAC professionals recommend regular maintenance of a household’s air systems for numerous reasons.
Whether you live in an older house or are a first-time homebuyer, responsible care of your HVAC system should be a top priority. Here, we will look at some of the most important ways air conditioner maintenance impacts your home.
HVAC Systems and Indoor Air Quality
Although there are many reasons that your home’s HVAC system needs to stay well-maintained and operational, a family’s health and safety are the number one concern to most homeowners. It’s important to remember that your indoor air quality is directly affected by the air system’s functionality no matter what type of HVAC you have at home. One of the best reasons to schedule air conditioner maintenance to ensure that your living space is always circulating clean, healthy air for its occupants.
According to HVAC professionals, your home’s indoor air quality is linked to the AC unit’s filtration system. The best time to replace each air filter is approximately every two months. The numerous filters throughout your unit’s ductwork and ventilation system catch all of the dust, debris, and allergens coming from the outside air. Over time, the dirty filters can become clogged with those various contaminants, preventing normal airflow. Not only does this blockage prevent the air conditioning unit from producing the needed cool air meant to circulate throughout your home, but it also allows incoming allergens and biological toxins from entering your indoor air. Any family members with allergies, asthma, or other respiratory problems may first notice poor indoor air quality. Over time, however, it will affect everyone.
Although changing out your HVAC’s dirty air filters for clean ones is a relatively easy task for homeowners to perform independently, a proper HVAC maintenance plan will include this task as part of its comprehensive preventive maintenance checklist.
HVAC Maintenance and Energy Efficiency
The main reason homeowners choose to purchase a professional maintenance agreement is the peace of mind that the routine HVAC maintenance provides year-round. Aside from annual checkups, a maintenance plan includes preventive maintenance for the entire system. Both the HVAC and heating system receive the needed inspections, allowing a professional technician to spot the potential problems that could lead to costly repairs or complete unit breakdown. In addition, a maintenance plan also covers needed emergency repairs, as well as an inspection of your home’s thermostat.
However, the financial savings that an HVAC maintenance plan provides is, perhaps, the greatest additional benefit. For example, the proper functioning of your air conditioning unit and heating system increases your home’s energy efficiency. Your air filter changing needs are taken care of with regular service calls, your thermostat is perfectly connected to the dual units, and any replacement energy sources (such as fuel or natural gas) are refilled and inspected for hazardous leaks.
This type of priority service ensures that your systems are always functioning safely, guaranteeing that your home’s energy consumption is a peak efficiency. This is immediately noticeable with lower energy bills. Keep in mind that ventilation blockages within an air filter force families to pump their AC units to higher capacity, quickly spiking their energy bill. In the same way, leaks or cracks within the ductwork waste high levels of cool air that they’re paying for in their utilities. An HVAC maintenance plan is one of the best investments that a homeowner can make.
