Maintenance Tips

Below you will find our company information concerning our thoughts on maintaining your heating and air conditioning. We have shown tips from the Federal Government’s EnergyStar.gov website.

Keeping your heating and cooling systems in good working order means your utility bills will be lower, your home will be more comfortable, and your need to call for repairs will disappear and that’s a fact!

Maintenance Scheduling – Ultimate Savings Agreement
We make it our business to contact each and every one of our customers before each season to schedule their cleaning and inspection service. After our initial contact to our customers to schedule their appointment, our customers have the option of contacting us via electronic mail, US postal service or our office telephone line to secure the appropriate time for their inspection.

If there are any problems with your system, it’s better to find out before it is uncomfortable inside! Do the same for your cooling system before our hot, hazy, humid St. Louis summer season begins.

Filters
Replace your heating and cooling air filters every month that the are in use. Operating your system with old, dirty filters means energy is wasted and your system may even be damaged. While you’re at it, check and replace the filter in your home’s air cleaner and humidifier.

System Checks
If you have a forced air heating system check your furnace’s blower compartment and blower coils. Vacuum them if you see dirt and dust there. You should also check fan belt tension, and lubricate fan and motor bearings.

If you have a steam system, check the shut-off valve for leaks.
Bleed hot water system radiators at least once a year.
Don’t keep clutter near your furnace. It’s a fire hazard, and may keep your system from operating efficiently.
To make sure you’re getting the most out of your heating system, keep the heating registers and vents throughout the house free of dust, dirt, and pet hair by vacuuming them at least once a year.
Listen for odd sounds when your heating or cooling system kicks in. If you hear anything unusual, get in touch with your service professional so you can head off problems before they become serious.
In winter months, set your ceiling fan at its slowest speed and reverse it in order to gently push warm air down from the ceiling without generating a breeze.

Maintenance Checklist – from EnergyStar.gov
Maintain your equipment to prevent future problems and unwanted costs. Keep your cooling and heating system at peak performance by having a contractor do annual pre-season check-ups. Contractors get busy once summer and winter come, so it’s best to check the cooling system in the spring and the heating system in the fall. To remember, you might plan the check-ups around the time changes in the spring and fall.

A typical maintenance check-up should include the following:

Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away.
Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components.
Lubricate all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use.
Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels.
Check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation. Check the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly.

Cooling Specific
Clean evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils reduce the system’s ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
Check your central air conditioner’s refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. Too much or too little refrigerant will make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
Clean and adjust blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system’s efficiency by up to 15 percent.

Heating Specific
Check all gas (or oil) connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and heat exchanger. Improperly operating gas (or oil) connections are a fire hazard and can contribute to health problems. A dirty burner or cracked heat exchanger causes improper burner operation. Either can cause the equipment to operate less safely and efficiently.
Actions To Do Yourself:
Inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump. Your contractor can show you how to do this. A dirty filter can increase energy costs and damage your equipment, leading to early failure.