Extending the Life of Your Heating and Cooling Systems
What are you doing to help maintain your home’s most commonly used appliances? Proper care and regular tune-ups for your heating and cooling units — the appliances you rely on for year-round comfort — could help extend their life.
As a homeowner, you know how important it is to save money wherever you can. When it comes to maintaining your family’s property, you keep your gutters clear of debris — to help prevent expensive structural damage caused by run-off precipitation. You also replace or repair damaged roofing shingles after a severe storm — to prevent costly moisture intrusion.
Inside your residence, you turn lights off when you’re no longer in a room — to reduce your energy bills. And, of course, you always shut the water off when brushing your teeth — so you don’t waste water!
What are you doing to help maintain your home’s appliances? Proper care and regular tune-ups for your heating and cooling units — the appliances you rely on for year-round comfort — could help extend their life. So what can you do to maintain them?
Don’t forget to schedule annual maintenance.
Experienced heating and cooling technicians can’t stress enough how important it is for homeowners to schedule yearly tune-ups for their furnace and air conditioner. During these appointments, skilled and professional technicians will inspect and clean all working components to be sure things are operating as safely and efficiently as possible.
The truth of the matter is that a furnace or air conditioner that’s dirty or has worn-out parts just doesn’t work very well. Your home won’t feel as warm as it should in the winter, or as cool and comfortable as you’d expect during the spring and summer. You may also have noticed that without proper tune-ups, your energy bills have escalated.
When you have a clean, well-operating furnace and air conditioner, they work efficiently to keep your home at the desired temperature. With the proper care and attention received in this this simple annual appointment, you could help significantly increase the lifespan of your family’s heating and cooling systems.
Replace your air filter often.
It’s recommended that you swap your filter out at least once a month, more often if you have pets or a smoker in your home, as these things could cause the filter to get dirtier faster. The air filter is installed as part of your furnace, but it’s important to understand that all air circulating through your home, whether it’s from your furnace or your air conditioner, will first get pushed through this filter.
The filter’s job is to capture airborne pollutants like dirt, dust, pet hair, and allergens and prevent them from getting pushed out through the ductwork and vents in your family’s home. When the filter is dirty, conditioned air from your furnace or air conditioner can’t easily pass through. As a result, your heating and cooling systems may have to work harder than necessary to keep your home comfortable. Ultimately, this could lead to premature wear and tear and/or an expensive breakdown.
Routinely replacing your air filter can improve your indoor air quality, something that’s even more important if you have loved ones in your home who suffer from respiratory problems like asthma or allergies.
Maintain your AC’s condenser.
The condenser is the part of your air conditioning system that’s located outside your home. It’s important to keep a minimum of two feet of clearance around the unit so that you aren’t restricting air flow. Trim back any bushes or tree limbs that are growing too near to the condenser to help with air flow and so they are less likely to fall on or damage the unit on a windy day or during a storm.
Don’t use the condenser as a “table” or prop anything up against it, such as bikes, lawn mowers, weed eaters, outdoor furniture, etc.
Bonus tip: Don’t cover your condenser during its “off-season” in the fall and winter months. Some homeowners think they are helping to prevent damage to the unit by keeping it covered when not in use. However, moisture could make its way inside and get trapped under the cover, leading to mold and mildew growth. This is a problem that you won’t even know about until you turn your AC on in the spring and detect an odor like dirty gym socks in your home! This fungus growth could also cause expensive damage to the internal components of the condenser and lead to a number of repairs.
Install a programmable thermostat
Another great tip when it comes to extending the usable life of your heating and cooling system is to have a programmable thermostat. These devices make it easy for you to set a different temperature in your home for when you and your family are away at work or school. You can also program a time for the temperature to raise/lower prior to everyone returning home.
This means that your cooling system cycles on less in the spring/summer, and your heating system less during the fall/winter months. This could result in less strain on your units, and lower energy bills!
If something doesn’t seem right, contact a pro…
If you detect any sort of problem with your furnace or air conditioner, contact a professional as soon as possible. Many homeowners delay calling for help because they mistakenly believe that the problem will either go away on its own, or just isn’t “that bad.” Unfortunately, a problem with your heating or cooling system isn’t going to fix itself and, if left untreated, may ultimately lead to an expensive and unexpected breakdown for your family to deal with.
How long do heating and cooling systems last?
Generally, a furnace and air conditioner will last around 15-20 years with proper care and maintenance. This is why your family will benefit from adhering to the tips above — so that you can get the most out of these appliances that you depend on daily for comfort.