The Home Comfort Zone: When is the Best Time to Replace Your HVAC System?

Timing is everything when it comes to scheduling HVAC repair and maintenance. If you’re on the fence about having someone stop by to check out your system, here are the best times to have each system checked and how to make the process simple and painless.

What To Do In The Spring

To get ready for the summer, you’ve got to start in the spring. Start by turning on your A/C and getting everything up and running. Think of it as a test run. This will let you see any issues or malfunctions with the unit quickly.

Change all filters, if you haven’t already. New high efficiency pleated filters have an electrostatic charge that will help filter out fine particulates – even ones that carry bacteria. This helps clean your home’s air, and improves the efficiency of the unit over time.

Replace your filter every 90 days thereafter. If you have pets, you will want to replace it more often.

There should be at least two feet of clearance around the outdoor air conditioning unit or heat pump. If there’s not, clear a path. Also, make sure you are keeping the condenser and fan free of debris. If you live in a wooded area, or an area with even one good tree, it’s likely that leaves will get in there and mulch things up a bit in the fall.

Of course, you won’t notice it until the spring when you fire up the A/C.

Have the insulation on the refrigerant lines inspected by a professional for any cracks, deterioration, or damage to the actual lines themselves. Pour a cup of bleach mixed with water down into the air conditioner condensate drain to keep mold at bay.

Finally, open up at least 20 percent of your home’s registers to avoid strain on the HVAC system.

What To Do In The Fall

Once the warm weather breaks, it’s time to prepare for the winter. Winter can be an especially terrible time of year for some people, so here are a few things you can do to prep for the cold:

• Clean or replace your filter.
• Make sure your blower doors are sealed. This is very important. Blower doors ensure that combustion gasses exit the home and are not trapped indoors where they can cause harm. Furnaces emit carbon monoxide as a byproduct of the combustion process – a deadly gas that can kill you if concentration levels get too high.
• Check to see if vents are open. This is a simple step, but one that often gets overlooked. If you’ve shut off vents in the summer, open them back up to get the warm air circulating.
• Call a professional for a “tune up.” This is something more people should do, but don’t. If you haven’t had your HVAC system serviced in 2 years, you should definitely call a professional and have it done. Servicing can find issues that are inexpensive to fix before they turn into large, expensive, problems.