With the proper maintenance, your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) can provide you with day and night comfort. Many of these upkeep tasks a homeowner can handle themselves, but for tasks like duct cleaning, you need to hire an HVAC company. During most duct cleaning visits, the service personnel also conduct light maintenance on the gas furnace and air conditioning system. HVAC maintenance and duct cleaning is the smart thing to do for efficient appliance usage.
The typical AC and furnace unit needs a duct cleaning and maintenance visit once per year. Most people schedule this visit at the end of summer or the beginning of fall. Doing so ensures their system works at optimal efficiency so they can stay toasty all winter.
Some HVAC service providers offer mini-maintenance visits during spring. These less intensive diagnostic inspections ensure that a home’s commercial AC unit functions properly. Preparing the HVAC system for the intense work it must do during winter and summer helps it last longer and perform more efficiently.
How much do these maintenance visits cost? What does the average repair visit cost? Will the improved efficiency save you money in the long run? Continue reading for these questions and more to be answered.
When your AC ventilation system works almost perfectly, you’ll frequently spend at least $900 per year cooling your house. Some customers may need $1,200 to cover their AC expenses. Setting aside money for air and cooling repair could eventually add to those costs, however. The AC repair jobs could cost more than your yearly AC cooling expenses in some cases.
While AC heating maintenance is usually not particularly costly, the repairs will often cost at least $200. On the highest end of the range, air conditioning system repairs may cost you $4,000. If you need anywhere near $4,000 for your AC repairs, it is almost always a good idea to just purchase a completely new system for that process. Your residential AC replacement could cost less than $4,000 in the best cases.
You could spend just over $3,000 on it. Even when the new air conditioning system costs about $6,000, which can be the case, you should consider the potential costs of future AC repairs. You may have already needed to spend money fixing your current AC system. If those costs are already higher than $2,000 or so, getting yourself a new air conditioning system can certainly be rational.
Have you realized that you need one or more of the following home maintenance products or services?
- Air conditioner
- Air conditioning repair
- HVAC inspection
- HVAC maintenance
- HVAC repair
- New HVAC unit
- Plumbing inspection
- Residential electrical services
- Residential plumbing services
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- If you’re primarily concerned with the heating, ventilation, and cooling systems in your home, you will want to contact an HVAC company. When you contact an
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- , they can provide a variety of services for you. In addition to inspecting your existing system, when advised, they can also provide repairs.
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- When it’s time to replace your old HVAC system, an HVAC company will also be able to provide this service. A new heating system may be recommended if the following conditions apply to your current unit:
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- It’s over 12-to-15 years old.
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- It needs frequent repairs.
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- It doesn’t supply enough heat.
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- It cycles on and off at irregular intervals..
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- It consumes more and more energy.
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- It emits odd noises.
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Have you been regularly maintaining your heating system? If not, were you aware that they can stop working suddenly? According to some HVAC experts, up to 75% of the calls that they receive in the winter because a furnace isn’t emitting heat are due to a lack of regular maintenance.
Your HVAC company may recommend a “high efficiency” furnace. These have AFUE ratings between 90%-and-95%, which is significant. While you may need to pay a bit more for these furnaces, you will eventually save money and energy. Furthermore, these types of units tend to have a several advanced features that you will probably appreciate.
Approximately half, or 48%, of the energy use in an average home is for heating and cooling. Having a high-efficiency furnace can reduce these heating costs. Furthermore, if you have an attic, you may be losing 20% of your heat through your roof. When you have an HVAC company come to your home, you can ask them about installing insulation in your roof to prevent heat from escaping.
Another issue that might be affecting your home’s heating and cooling efficiency could be improper installation. It’s been found that improper installation can decrease efficiency by 30%.
When the cold months are over, having an efficient cooling system may be a concern. If you have one or more air conditioning units in your home, when well-maintained, they usually last between 10-to-15 years. If you’ve had these units for longer, or if they aren’t working effectively, then having an HVAC company inspect them is a good idea.