Your Summer HVAC Checklist

Summer is in full effect, and hopefully, you are packing tons of fun into each day! The sun is hot, and although this can be a great time of year to spend at the beach with your family, or going on a family outing together, your home can get pretty warm on the inside. After a long day of baking in the sun, temperatures in your home can get pretty uncomfortable. Not to mention, the humidity and overall air quality tend to be pretty dense. We still have a lot of summer left, which is why you might want to think about investing in some routine maintenance for your air conditioning unit, and HVAC system. Just like with other areas of your home, your HVAC system requires ongoing attention to make sure that everything is in working order. The last thing you want is to switch on your furnace, only to find that cool air isn’t coming out of your vents any longer. Let’s take a look at a comprehensive summer HVAC checklist that will help ensure that you will have cool air in your home when you need it most.

Ductwork

The air ducts in your home are used to transport cool (or warm) air to other areas of your home after your furnace, or air conditioning unit has conditioned the air. This ductwork can get quite dirty from things like:

Dust
Dirt
Pet Dander
Pollen
Mold Spores
Pest waste

These things usually accumulate, so don’t be hard on yourself if you find out that your ducts need to be cleaned. Periodically, these ducts should be cleaned by a professional. This will improve your indoor air quality, which is very important when it comes to preventing allergies, asthma, and illness. Not to mention, dirty ducts means the motor in your unit might be coming into contact with particles that could damage the inner components. A regular ductwork cleaning should be done about one time per the calendar year.

Air Conditioner

Chances are your air conditioning unit is only used a few months out of every year. Aside from the summer months when it is extremely hot out, an air conditioner doesn’t serve much purpose. Because of this, the unit should receive a thorough cleaning each year, at the beginning of the summer season. Without this cleaning, your unit will decrease in efficiency. When your air conditioner has to work harder and harder to cool your home, this can lead to pretty expensive utility bills. Many people even end up turning their thermostat up to decrease the amount of use they are seeing with their air conditioner. If you want to be able to stay cool on those hottest of summer days, a little bit of routine maintenance now will go a long way.

Insulation

We can also asses the insulation in your home. You probably think this is an important factor during the winter months, but actually, insulation protects your home year round. It allows you to keep warm air in (and cold air out) during the winter months. In the summer, you can keep the scorching hot heat outside, and the cool conditioned air inside where it belongs. Many homes are under-insulated or are missing insulation in their walls entirely. Let us take a look at your home to determine if you would benefit from additional insulation.

Air Purification

An air purification unit may already be installed as part of your HVAC unit, or you might be interested in having one added on this year. It’s a great investment to make, especially if you or someone in your household suffers from seasonal allergies during the summer months. A high-quality purification device allows you to remove unwanted particulates from the air that you are breathing. You can eliminate all kinds of things from your home like odors, pollen, dust, germs, and more.

Changing Your Filter

This is something that you can do on your own, and you should do it periodically. We can also assist you with this process when we are there, or we may be able to recommend a better quality filter that would improve your indoor air quality overall. Depending on the type of filter that you select, you will have to change your filter once every thirty days, or for some filters, you can change the filter out once every ninety days. The filter you purchase will tell you what the recommended time frame is. There are different types of filters to choose from, but make sure to stick with the size and type that is recommended for your specific appliance. Adding a carbon filter to your regimen can help with your indoor air quality quite a bit if you are concerned.

Electrical Work

The electrical components in your HVAC system are what keep your unit running. These parts should be inspected approximately once every year to clean and repair any minor damage like frayed wires. If you leave this type of damage in its place, this can eventually lead to a lot of problems with your unit including:

Inefficient unit
Fire hazard
Complete failure of the unit
Costly repairs

Taking a Look At Your Unit As a Whole

Your typical HVAC system will last you anywhere from 15 to 20 years, or even longer if it has been well taken care of over the years. Routine maintenance can make a big difference in how long you can keep your unit around, but of course, failure does happen, and there will come a time when you will need to think about a total replacement. When we come to your home to complete routine summer maintenance, we take a look at your unit as a whole. We will be very honest with you, and let you know if the time is coming near where you will have to replace your furnace, or air conditioning unit.

If you are interested in finding out more about an air conditioning unit in your home, or you want to have your current system serviced, give us a call today. We have a summer HVAC service checklist that we use to make sure that your system is in working order and that it will serve you well for years to come!