For many of us, our home’s heating and cooling system is easy to forget about.
Your HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system operates in the background, actively works to make you feel comfortable and doesn’t require much attention beyond changing the thermostat.
When your HVAC system stops working, you definitely notice. Depending on whether you’re faced with a small issue or require a full replacement, HVAC repairs could cost you thousands of dollars, all while you wait in a hot or cold house.
How can you avoid that disruption?
It’s not a guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong, but regular and properly performed maintenance can make all the difference. If you can stay on top of your HVAC system, you can prevent outages, cut costs and even maintain cleaner air.
But much of that maintenance isn’t a realistic job for the typical person and will require some input from a professional. Here’s what to know about what you should do to maintain your system — and when to call in the pros.
Why regular HVAC maintenance matters
Why maintain your HVAC system? The easiest answer is the simplest one: Because the manufacturer says you need to.
“Maintenance is required to maintain a manufacturer warranty,” said Chris Morin, a regional sales manager for Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US. “It’s in everybody’s policy. So that’s probably the No. 1 thing.”
Manufacturers place an emphasis on regular upkeep because their systems simply won’t operate as intended without it. From replacement filters to coolant, your HVAC system is like your car in that it needs regular attention. Without it, your system could be struggling without you even realizing.
“The other side of it is comfort and energy savings,” Morin said. “The system will operate…but the longer you go without maintenance, the more it’s going to cost you in operating costs. And by the time somebody’s realized there’s a comfort problem, they either wasted a lot of money operating or there’s already a failure.”
Pinpointing wasted money from HVAC is critical at a time when people are seeing increasing energy costs. Morin said METUS polled its customers last year and found that 46% said they were spending more or much more on energy costs to cool their homes last summer, even though last summer was cooler than the one before. And while energy costs are certainly an element of that increase, Morin said more people might be hurting themselves by falling behind on maintenance than they think.
“The highest-efficiency systems are typically variable speed units,” he said. “If you don’t do maintenance, they tend to ramp up and use more energy to deliver the same amount of BTUs. So you might not notice a comfort problem, but your bills continue to go up, whereas with older systems, you just start getting that comfort problem right away. Your bill doesn’t go up, but you don’t have comfort.”
Just as is the case with your car, proper HVAC maintenance can also drastically impact longevity of a unit. Depending on your particular circumstances, a lack of maintenance can either directly cause damage or simply allow for conditions that worsen over time. Without knowing what’s in your system, you can also allow yourself to be exposed to mold spores and other irritants in the air.
“Nuisance calls or (issues) where you could be at the point where you’re weighing whether you repair or replace the system are caught much earlier when you do annual maintenance,” Morin said. “Refrigerant leaks that impact compressor operation, mold that happens with water and dark places, a lot of that happens because of a lack of maintenance, changing filters and not clearing drains. That stuff starts to compound over the years.”
When to call a professional for HVAC maintenance
Does a desire to better maintain your HVAC system mean you should run out and start working on it yourself? Not necessarily.
Fortunately, there are some basic maintenance items that anyone can do in their own home. Changing the filter, for instance, is an extremely important task that virtually anyone can do and can make a major impact on air quality. HVAC filters should usually be changed every 30 days or so. A clean filter allows more air to pass through, which makes the system heat and cool more efficiently.
At the same time you’re replacing your filters, take a look around to ensure condensation is draining properly, access doors are closed, thermostat batteries are full and everything else is in order.
Similarly, make sure the area around HVAC units is kept clear from things like boxes, trees, bushes and other debris. This allows proper airflow and easy access.
But beyond those basics, most people will want to call a professional. And in Morin’s experience, many would rather err on the side of caution when it comes to their home’s HVAC.
“I think there are people that just prefer to let the professional always handle it,” he said. “There are some home services companies that might include that with plumbing maintenance and other things. And then there’s the more tech savvy people, or people that are hands-on with their home, that maybe they might go a little too far themselves and they might get themselves in a little trouble.”
Often, manufacturers will make it clear in their user manuals whether certain tasks should be performed by a professional. “We have a pretty clear operation manual for all of our systems that states what a homeowner should and can do,” Morin said. “And then there’s recommendations like, ‘If you see a certain thing, call a professional.’ Maybe you need EPA certification to verify refrigerant levels or that sort of thing.”
One tricky variable comes when you don’t own the home. Renters likely aren’t responsible for maintaining HVAC systems — aside from perhaps changing filters — but should still keep an eye out for issues that could be incoming. Ultimately, they’ll be the ones to deal with interruptions, so they should alert their landlords of any potential changes or issues.
“Renters are always in a tough situation,” Morin said. “If they’re paying the electric bill, especially with a heat pump or an air conditioner, then you want to be more proactive about making sure maintenance is done. If it’s not on (their lease), it’s not their responsibility to do it, and they might be able to get away with just making sure the filters are cleaned regularly like they should be, depending on the type of system you have.”
