Living in Arizona, you know the summers can be brutal. It’s easy to forget about preventative care for your HVAC system because many of us are so accustomed to triple-digit heat and it just seems commonplace for ACs to struggle. It can be expensive to keep your system running properly year after year, which is why proper HVAC maintenance is critical to keeping cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and ensuring your system runs effectively and efficiently.
It can be a challenge knowing how to deal with AC and heating needs. Many owners don’t always think to put their HVAC maintenance at the top of their to-do lists for many reasons with the number one reason being, “it was working just fine”. But what if we told you that with regular maintenance you can save money on energy bills, fewer repair costs, and extend the lifespan of your system. Just as maintaining your car is important, you’ll learn the value that comes along with preventative care that helps residents across the state.
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Why Regular HVAC Maintenance is Vital in Arizona
During peak summer months, your AC works constantly. While Arizona’s climate isn’t just hot, it’s also dry, making dust very common. All components should be free of any dirt and debris. Excessive dust, dirt, and debris can reduce the efficiency of your system as well as reduce air flow and air quality due to dirty filters and leaves on the coils or in the fan compartment. Without preventative care, the effects of the wear and tear on your system is faster as it works harder when it is not clean. A pre-season checkup could prevent a system failure. This type of checkup lets professionals address potential failures and fix those things before a disaster strikes. Call us to schedule your cleaning and check up today.
Boosting Efficiency and Lifespan
Air flow is the number one key to an efficient and effective HVAC system. In Arizona, due to our extreme summers, cooling costs are a major chunk of your energy bills. Cleaning coils and checking refrigerant levels can help the system run more efficiently. Since an efficient HVAC system uses less energy, this preventative maintenance will help mitigate those electric bills as well as extending your HVAC system’s life span since it won’t be working as hard.
Improving Air Quality
Your system doesn’t just keep your home cool. It also maintains indoor air quality. With Arizona’s desert climate and the monsoon sandstorms, there is a lot of dust for us to contend with. Dust and allergens can build up fast in filters causing your system to work overtime, especially if your coils freeze due to lack of airflow over the indoor coils. With regular care, like filter changes, indoor air pollution risk and potential damage to an overworked system can be minimized.
Avoiding Emergency Repairs
Here are the “thousands of reasons” to ensure you keep your system properly maintained; emergency HVAC fixes are expensive and cause a lot of stress when you are sitting in your home watching the temperatures rise. Preventative maintenance fixes small problems early, stopping minor problems from becoming costly repairs, saving you money and time sitting in a hot house wishing you had done the preventative maintenance in the Spring.
Key Components of HVAC Maintenance in Arizona
Maintaining an HVAC system involves checking several key parts. This keeps everything running smoothly and efficiently. The following are key components that need to be inspected each year.
Inspecting and Cleaning Coils
Coils can get dirty, especially in dusty places like Arizona. Dirty coils will decrease efficiency. Clean coils allow the system to cool more efficiently. It won’t run as hot for as long, extending the life of the compressor.
Checking Refrigerant Levels
Low refrigerant levels affect cooling and waste energy by causing your unit to run longer thus decreasing the lifespan of the compressor. Refilling and fixing leaks makes the HVAC unit run efficiently. This process protects your home from sudden changes in temperature. This could lead to costly repairs.
Changing Filters
Filters can become clogged with dirt, dander, pet hair, etc. quickly. This restricts airflow, usually causing coils to freeze potentially causing damage to the system. Dirty air has nowhere else to go, except through the system which impacts your indoor air quality. For this reason, changing filters often (monthly) is vital in Arizona.
Testing Thermostats
By monitoring the temperature of the air in your home, a properly working thermostat will maintain comfort and cut energy costs. Faulty thermostats, those that do not turn off when temperatures are met, can cause the system to overwork causing increased energy bills and decreased lifespan of the system itself.
Regular testing of your thermostat, and verifying the accuracy of the temperature reading, means your system will be controlled more effectively and lower the cost of your energy bills.
Assessing Electrical Components
Capacitors are the number one cause of failures in AZ. Think of their lifespan like the battery in your car. Routine maintenance can catch a capacitor with lower than normal readings and allow for those to be replaced and prevent the most common failure from happening at your home.
Bad connections and frayed wires can cause major failures. Technicians need to check these parts regularly. Checking these elements often means you might spot a dangerous connection. Tight connections prevent these loose wiring mishaps.
Scheduling HVAC Maintenance: What to Expect
A Checklist for HVAC Maintenance
Here’s a list of items often addressed on checklists:
- Taking the differential of return and supply air temperatures.
- Checking refrigerant pressures, to include superheat and subcooling.
- Inspecting and cleaning coils
- Checking thermostat operations.
- Checking disconnect
- Checking all low voltage and high voltage wire connections
- Checking amp draws of all compressor and both fans
- Checking capacitor readings
- Inspecting the blower wheel, and performing necessary furnace maintenance.
- Checking condensate line for proper drainage
Note: Adding services such as duct cleaning can improve indoor air quality.
Choosing the Right HVAC Service Provider
Choose local companies with a great reputation, like us. We will provide a comprehensive inspection of your system to address performance correctly and make recommendations and any necessary repairs.
Understanding HVAC Maintenance Plans in Arizona
Every HVAC company in AZ will offer you a maintenance plan. We do not. Maintenance plans are sold as adding convenience, and cheaper prices. Our prices are fair and honest across the board and can compete with any other company out there, and we do that for you without a maintenance plan. We want you to call us because you want to, not because you are beholden to us due to a contract. We treat all customers as family; you do not need a contract to get priority scheduling. We schedule calls based on when they came in and travel based on where we are in the valley when the calls come in. When you compare the cost of a maintenance plan, it is the exact same cost you would be charged for 2 cleanings each year.
DIY Versus Professional HVAC Maintenance
Homeowners can handle basic care themselves, such as filter changes and rinsing their coils (do not use the jet setting on your hose nozzle).
Any electrical work or refrigerant issues should always go to certified technicians. This should prevent further damage to the system or injuries to yourself.
Common Mistakes in HVAC Maintenance
Even small repairs can grow over time and have huge ramifications. Avoid these common mistakes, and you can keep your overall costs down, and lengthen the lifespan of your system.
Here are the five most common mistakes:
- Neglecting the air filters.
- DIY fixes without needed experience.
- Using poor-quality replacement parts.
- Not performing annual maintenance checkups.
- Choosing to let minor repairs go and letting them become major repairs.
These choices can affect your costs greatly, which is why it’s much easier and efficient when hiring an expert who knows your exact issues and how to provide proper solutions.
Conclusion
Many owners ignore or put off small HVAC problems, thinking the fix isn’t necessary because their system is “working just fine”. However, this can affect indoor air quality and overall system efficiency. The summer HVAC challenges for people are significant, in part due to harsh Arizona weather, but also in cost. Understanding and knowing the specific needs and challenges helps you navigate Arizona’s HVAC maintenance better. HVAC maintenance in Arizona goes beyond convenient temperature control in extreme weather. It’s about investing in the long-term for efficiency, and clean, healthy air in your home for you and your family. Waiting can end up costing more than ensuring your system receives the necessary scheduled maintenance appointments. The need for proper HVAC maintenance in Arizona isn’t only about having less risk, but avoiding much more expensive repairs or replacement costs. Questions? Please reach out to our office and we will be honored to schedule a visit and ensure your system is in working order and ready for the coming brutal heat of summer.
