When it comes to air conditioning, regular HVAC maintenance for your home is key. The general advice is to have your air conditioning unit undergo maintenance at least once per year. Yet, despite this, only 42% of homeowners seek maintenance services.
Perhaps you’ve also heard that AC maintenance is not really necessary, especially for the first years after installing a new system. So, is it really alright just to neglect your system? And what are the particular benefits of preventative maintenance?
The Benefits of Annual HVAC Maintenance for Your Home
In addition to ensuring that your HVAC unit continues to work correctly, regular HVAC maintenance for your home has lots of benefits. Here are a few of them:
1) Reduces Your Energy Costs
One of the biggest benefits of HVAC maintenance for your home is that it can help reduce your energy bills. Your air conditioner unit may be running fine, but over time you might start to notice a slightly delayed start or reduced cooling efficiency.
Things like this mean that your unit has to work harder to keep your home cool. As a result, more energy has to be used which leads to higher energy bills.
With regularly scheduled maintenance, however, your system will work at its optimum performance. The unit will cool your house faster, therefore reducing energy consumption and lowering the utility bills.
2) Minimize Repair and Repair Costs
There are many things that can go wrong with an HVAC system. Some are easy to fix while others can ruin the entire system. Regular preventative HVAC maintenance for your home can help minimize any needed repairs and their associated costs. It can also reduce the chances of a catastrophic failure. If you’re looking for an HVAC contractor, you can Google one near your city.
3) Prolongs the Life of the Equipment
A long-lasting AC unit can serve you for up to 20 years. But in order to last this long, it needs to undergo regular maintenance to keep it fault-free. What’s more, it’s essential in order to prevent faults in certain parts that can have a detrimental effect on the entire system.
A scheduled regular maintenance visit may cost you about $75 to $200, but the average cost of installing a new system can range from $3000 to $7000. Wouldn’t you rather pay the lesser amount for maintenance instead of replacing the entire system? Keep your system properly maintained and it can last you for years to come.
4) It Makes the AC Unit safer
Another benefit of regular HVAC maintenance for your home is safety. Can air conditioning really be dangerous to your health? Yes. In fact, there are several ways that your HVAC system can be dangerous if not properly maintained.
For example, if mold spores or mildew have grown inside humid air ducts, these spores can easily be spread throughout your home when running the unit. This can cause throat and eye irritation, as well as nasal stuffiness.
Cracks in the furnace can be dangerous in that they can cause carbon dioxide gas to escape. This odorless gas can be fatal.
Refrigerant leaks also pose a danger to the health of your family. This gas can cause symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, nausea, or even vomiting.
Lastly, short circuits may result in overheating, which is a fire hazard. in fact, according to the National Fire Protection Association, air conditioner fires account for about $82 million in property damage annually.
However, by performing regular HVAC maintenance for your home, these type of dangers can easily be avoided.
5) It Keeps Your Indoor Air Quality Healthy
Regular HVAC maintenance for your home also ensures that your indoor air is clean and healthy. Dust, mold, and bacteria can all reduce indoor air quality. What’s more, a dirty system can cause an unpleasant musty odor to circulate throughout your home.
With regular HVAC maintenance, the evaporator coils, air filters, and ductwork can all be cleaned therefore ensuring the air you breathe is clean and healthy.
6) Maintains the Warranty
Another benefit of regular HVAC maintenance for your home is that it helps to maintain your system’s warranty. In fact, some manufacturers actually require regular maintenance in order to keep from voiding your warranty.
What’s more, some AC manufacturers actually require proof that regular maintenance visits were being carried out before replacing certain parts.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF HVAC MAINTENANCE FOR YOUR HOME
As you can see from the list above, performing regular maintenance on your HVAC unit has many benefits ranging from money-saving to health. All it takes is a simple phone call and you can keep your HVAC performing at its best for years to come.