Why You Should Get HVAC & Refrigeration Equipment Maintained
Homeowners don’t often think about their HVAC equipment and that’s OK; their system should be providing worry-free comfort. Our team at Terralta creates a maintenance schedule to keep things working properly. Maintenance packages for residential HVAC systems typically involve one visit per year; however, commercial HVAC maintenance packages usually involve four visits per year.
Then some property owners don’t get their HVAC units professionally maintained at all, and that can lead to costly, inconvenient, and sometimes dangerous problems.
5 Reasons to Get HVAC Equipment Regularly Maintained
Here’s what a maintenance program can do for your HVAC & refrigeration equipment.
Maintain Your Investment
Think about your vehicle; it’s common practice to get regular oil changes to protect your engine from damage. It’s a way to maintain your investment, just like cleaning your vehicle inside and out.
In a way, maintaining your HVAC equipment is easier than an oil change for your vehicle because you don’t need to drive anywhere. You don’t even need to book specific services, your technicians record previous work and plan ahead so they know exactly what your system needs.
Then when it comes time to sell your home, you can assure buyers that the HVAC system has been properly maintained, and that can be worked into your asking price and negotiations.
Extend Your Equipment’s Life Expectancy
An HVAC system that’s properly maintained will outlast one that’s not. And as you may know, a new HVAC system can be expensive.
A maintenance schedule can make your equipment last longer, so you can spend your savings on things you want instead of a replacement HVAC system before it's necessary.
Save Money On Electric and Gas Consumption
Regular maintenance keeps your HVAC and refrigeration equipment working efficiently. When filters are dirty or condenser coils are plugged, the system works harder and spends more energy to do the same work. Since Medicine Hat had a lot of Cottonwood trees, we often see debris from these trees clogging condenser coils. The unit has to run harder to make up for this blockage and it can also cause premature failure.
Keep Your Space Comfortable
The main function of an HVAC system is to keep spaces comfortable. They cool homes and businesses in summer and keep them warm in winter. When these systems fail or stop functioning optimally, the space they serve suffers.
Regulating temperatures is essential throughout the year, especially in extreme temperatures. And most systems break during extreme weather periods like heat waves or cold snaps. Regular maintenance can prevent these failures so your space stays safe and comfortable.
Avoid Emergency Repair Costs
As we mentioned, most HVAC failures happen during extreme weather events. This means we often get calls on weekends and odd hours during the night. All heating & cooling companies charge extra for calls outside regular business hours, so these emergency repair costs can get expensive.
Not only this, it’s often not a simple service that we could have completed during regular maintenance; emergency calls tend to take more time and specialized parts.
Not to mention, when supply chains are backed up it takes much longer for replacement parts to come in. This means you may need to stay elsewhere until the system is repaired or else risk your safety, and your home could be subject to more damage (like freezing pipes in winter). You can avoid these costly delays with regular maintenance.
HVAC Maintenance Packages for Commercial and Residential Properties
We recommend getting commercial HVAC systems maintained four times per year, or twice a year at minimum. We do a 30-point inspection for commercial systems including filter changes, belt changes, and more. We also use the time to identify upcoming problems that may need attention on our next scheduled visit. We look after a number of large scale properties in and around Medicine Hat and are always looking for new customers.
For residential packages, we look for plugged condenser coils and evaporator coils, burnt electrical on contactors, along with a checklist of other items. We also check for any unusual noises the unit might be making. Residential units can be maintained once per year (typically in spring) because they see lighter loads than commercial units.
