Easy Ways to Self-Maintain your Home HVAC System

It’s no secret that maintaining mechanical systems is essential, and HVAC Maintenance is no exception. When you take care of complex mechanical HVAC Systems, such as your furnace and air conditioner, these machines will in turn “take care of you” by keeping you comfortable, healthy and stress-free throughout the hottest and coldest seasons of the year. We offer professional HVAC Maintenance Plans, with options for once or twice a year service, but we also recognize that self-maintenance throughout the year can go a long way toward keeping your HVAC system working as it should.

Here are a few easy things you can do to self-maintain your HVAC system and improve its efficiency between professional tune-up services!

Clean Outdoor Compressors

Every central air conditioning system and most ductless split systems these days have two primary components: an indoor unit that distributes the cold air into your home and an outdoor unit that removes the heat extracted from within your home as a part of the cooling process. This outdoor unit is known as your “compressor” and it can become pretty dirty after a while. A dirty compressor is a less-efficient compressor, as it can’t shed the heat nearly as easily. During particularly hot weather, this effect is magnified.

We recommend cleaning the area around your outdoor unit regularly. This means sweeping away any leaves, dirt, or other debris that may have built up around it. Create a radius of at least six feet around your outdoor unit and cut the grass down around it (if necessary) to encourage maximum airflow. Finally, use a hose to spray your outdoor unit to remove dust and debris that may have become lodged in the cooling fins.

Trim Away Foliage

Foliage that surrounds your outdoor unit can be a huge problem for an HVAC system. We recommend cutting and trimming away any bushes, plants, hedges or other plant life that is growing within a six-foot radius of your HVAC system. Trimming will ensure that not only does your system have the airflow that it needs, but also that any debris that your plants accidentally drop, like leaves or sticks, doesn’t get sucked into the air current being pulled into your HVAC system, where it can become lodged in cooling fins or within the system itself. This is something you typically will only need to do once a year or once every other year, but make sure that you get it done—your system will thank you for it.

Change Air Filters

When it comes to indoor maintenance, there may be no more important step than changing your air filter. Your air filter may be a small and inexpensive part compared to the rest of your HVAC system, but the overwhelming majority of air conditioning and heating problems can be connected to a dirty air filter, both directly and indirectly. That’s why we strongly recommend checking your air filter at least once a month and then replacing it as necessary -(which should probably be roughly every three to four months for most houses. This can help you avoid a breakdown including worn-out blower fans, frozen air conditioners, damaged heating elements and so much more. Likewise, it can help to keep your heating and cooling system more reliable and energy efficient!