Did you know that with proper care and maintenance of your HVAC system, you can reduce your energy costs, extend the lifespan of the system (often significantly), and enjoy better heating and cooling year round?
In today’s post, we’ll be looking at a few easy ways you can prepare your HVAC system for a hot Colorado summer. These DIY HVAC maintenance tips can be performed by most homeowners on their own, but if you haven’t had an annual inspection yet, now is a great time to get one scheduled with Best Buy Heating and Air.
An annual inspection is the best way to catch problems before they become bigger. In our years of experience, we’ve found that there are few HVAC problems that wouldn’t result in lower repair or replacement costs if they were diagnosed earlier—in terms of your HVAC system, prevention really is the best cure.
Now, let’s take a look at some of the best ways you can get your HVAC system ready for the summer heat:
Clean Filters, Fans, and Registers for Easy Improved Air Quality
Odds are good that your ceiling fans didn’t get much use over the winter. If possible, wipe them down before turning them on for the first time to prevent excess dust from getting in the air. If the fans are too high or it’s unsafe to clean them yourself, get help cleaning them. Circulating the air before you turn on your air conditioner can help improve the air quality in your home.
The registers—vents–around your home are also great places to clean. Make sure that they’re dust-free, open (so that air can pass through), and free of debris. Remove the grills from the vents if necessary, and vacuum them. You can even safely wash the grills with warm water and soap to make them like-new.
Test Your Air Conditioning System and Thermostat, Then Check For Proper Air Balancing
Run your air conditioning to make sure that it’s all working properly. Air should be passing through the vents normally, and you shouldn’t hear any clicking or clunking from the unit itself. You can also calibrate your thermostat to make sure that the temperatures being reported are accurate (this can also help you save energy costs).
Finally, be sure to read our post Prevent Hot and Cold Spots With These Easy DIY Air Balancing Techniques to make sure that the air in your home is properly balanced.
How to Know When Repairs and Maintenance Can be “DIY’ed” And When You Should Call a Professional
In our post Summer HVAC Prep: When to DIY and When to Hire a Pro we explain what common repairs and DIY fixes you can do on your own—and which ones you’re better off calling a professional for help with.
For example, changing filters, cleaning vents, and even thermostat calibration are plenty easy enough to do on your own. In fact, much of the time maintaining your HVAC system is perfectly safe and even easy to do on your own, but on some occasions it can even be dangerous (either to yourself or to the continued operation of your system).
Only trained professionals should work with the electrical connections in your system, for example. If you have a pressurized system in your HVAC setup, such as a hot water heater or a gas furnace, maintenance should be left up to the experts otherwise you risk damaging the system or even hurting yourself.
When in doubt, call a pro.
HVAC Maintenance Saves Homeowners Thousands – And We’re Here to Help
If you haven’t already, make sure to check out our blog post The Real Benefit of HVAC Maintenance is in the Numbers: How to Save Thousands. In that informative piece, you’ll learn why even the simple DIY HVAC maintenance tasks we’ve discussed today can have a real impact on your monthly energy bills—and why annual inspections are the best way to catch problems before they develop into potentially costly repairs.
The trained staff at Best Buy Heating and Air would be more than happy to help you prepare your Colorado home for the summer heat or the chill of winter (both of which we get plenty of here!). Please feel invited to call us at (970) 218-0414 or send us an email. We look forward to serving you!