Most homeowners at some stage in their lives have sat up scratching their heads, wondering, discussing, how often he/she should tune up their HVAC Units. These questions are due to various factors like:
- Lack of HVAC knowledge
- Misinformation floating everywhere including the internet
- Constant upselling by the local HVAC contractors
- Fear of ending up paying too much for maintenance
Well, if you are reading this, do not worry by the end of this blog, you will be well aware, and well informed to decide when and how often you should tune up your HVAC units. There are 5 top factors on which you should determine the frequency of your HVAC tunning up.
a) Age of your HVAC System
b) Frequency of Use
c) Manufacturer’s Recommendations
d) Local Climate Conditions
e) Previous Maintenance History
Age of your HVAC system:
The duration for how long has your HVAC unit been serving your home becomes the leading reason in determining the frequency of your AC / Furnace tunning up. Ideally, a unit should be tuned up twice a year but if you have a unit that is more than 10 years old, and you live in Chicago, New York, Minneapolis, or places where you experience extreme weather, you should consider 3 services in a year. At the end of the day like most machines, the older your HVAC unit gets the more attention it needs but if you have a younger unit, recently installed in the last 5 years you do not have to worry a lot unless you are exhausting the unit`s life by overusing it.
Apart from age, one more factor to consider is the specs. Many homeowners in the United States use old HVAC units. The average lifespan of an air conditioner or a furnace is anywhere between 12 years to 20 years. This does not mean the efficiency of an 18-year-old is similar to that of a brand-new one. Also, the enhancement in technology that mankind has made in the last decade alone has had a positive impact on the HVAC industry too. That is a topic for another blog, but this enhancement and constant updates in technology make it difficult to look for spare parts for old units.
Frequency of HVAC Use:
Let us compare two neighboring homeowners, Jack and Jill. Both bought their houses 10 years back in Chicago. Both Jack and Jill replaced their HVAC units 8 years back. Jack uses his HVAC system very carefully. He uses it when he feels there is a need and turns it off instantly when he feels his needs are meet. Jill on the other side is not like this. HVAC has become a part of his everyday life. 90% of the time either the AC is switched on or the heat is on. When compared, what do you think, whose HVAC units will have more wear and tear ?
It will be Jill`s. The frequency of usage is important to determine the attention the unit will need in terms of maintenance. If Jill is using the unit to that extent and taking good care of it by availing preventive maintenance, then he has nothing to worry about. But most homeowners in our knowledge do not bother about their HVAC units until you start feeling there is something wrong with the unit! Not cooling properly, not heating the apartment enough, making weird noises or some pungent smell coming out!
To make it simpler for you to comprehend, the more a homeowner is using his/her HVAC the more attention is needed to the HVAC units. If the homeowner fails to maintain and tune up the HVAC units consistently, it will not be surprising if the HVAC units breakdown or needs major repairing!
Manufacturer’s Recommendations
Every brand out there in the HVAC industry is pretty much similar to one another but there can be a big price difference. Simple reason, the quality of products used to produce your HVAC unit is different for each brand. When you think of a top-quality HVAC unit you think of brands like York, and Carrier. But these top-quality products come with a heavy price tag. More importantly, each manufacturer or brand has their tips, and guidelines for homeowners. Brand A`s guidelines will not be heavily different from Brand B but, there is a good chance that there will be a difference.
For example:
Carrier AC units utilize IdealHumidity® system, enabling comprehensive humidity control regardless of the AC being on or off.
Goodman Air Conditioners: Goodman Reduce the cold, clammy feeling that comes from lowering the temperature on your thermostat in order to reduce the humidity level in your home
Now as seen in the above example, there is a technology with carrier units that contributes to the humidity in the apartment/house but this makes the tunning up carrier unit different from tunning up the goodman unit. Hence, it is very important to read the documentation that comes with the unit.
Local Climate Conditions:
The climate in the United States is so diverse as you move from the west coast to the east. Arizona and Dallas are so hot compared to San Francisco or Chicago. Midwest and the East Coast experience severe winters compared to the West. Hence in such places tunning up the furnace is far more important and crucial when compared to an air conditioner. Similarly, in Arizona, the temperature during summer crosses 100 degrees! The winters are mild, hence paying close attention to tunning up of air conditioner is vital. This harsh weather defines the usage of specific HVAC units and the usage draws the scope of work for tunning up the HVAC unit. So if you are someone from the west, pay attention to your air conditioner more and if you are from the east pay more attention to your furnace. But, if you are someone from Chicago, you do not have to worry about your HVAC tunning up! Modern HVAC Technology is there to rescue you. We have been serving Chicago City and the suburbs for more than a decade. We are a family-owned local business and have served more than 1000 households in our windy city. So
Previous Maintenance History:
It is very import from a homeowner`s perspective to keep a record of all the maintenance jobs the HVAC technician does, for various reasons like:
- It helps in keeping a track record. As a homeowner you are aware of what all has been repaired, replaced.
- Whenever you call upon a second technician for whatever reason, he is aware of what all has been done previously
- Prevents wastage of time and resource for the other technician who taken over from the previous technician.
A well tuned young HVAC machinery does not need the attention that an old or unmaintained HVAC unit might need. Hence keeping and checking your previous maintenance history is important.
Conclusion:
We have covered the top 5 factors that will be crucial in determining the cost of your HVAC Tune up:
a)Age of your HVAC System
b) Frequency of Use
c) Manufacturer’s Recommendations
d) Local Climate Conditions
e) Previous Maintenance History
Based on the permutation and combination of these 5 KPIs you can gauge your frequency for your HVAC units tune up
