Protect Your Family With Regular HVAC Maintenance Calls

When it comes to making sure that your HVAC system keeps running effectively for years to come, you’ll want to treat it as you would your car or any other expensive purchase in your home.

You need to ensure ongoing HVAC maintenance and performance maintenance to keep your furnace or A/C unit working properly and avoid costly HVAC service calls.

HVAC maintenance is important for all homeowners, but it is especially important for homeowners in Billings, MT. This is because Montana experiences some of the biggest swings in temperature and weather patterns.

Instead of risking your furnace going out during the winter or A/C unit failing during the heat of summer, you should ensure that you work with a professional at the first signs of trouble with proper HVAC maintenance services.

If you own a home in Billings then you know that your HVAC system will likely run for much of the year, and like most machines that get heavy use, you’ll want to keep it maintained then you won’t enjoy the benefits of a properly maintained HVAC system, like:

• Keep Your Family Safe: Keeping your family safe from the winter cold or summer heat. You don’t want your HVAC system to fail when your family needs it the most throughout the Montana seasons.
• Extend The Life Of Your HVAC Unit: Having regular HVAC service calls can help your furnace and A/C unit to run for longer than it otherwise would. This means that you can save money over the long term since you won’t have to purchase a new HVAC system too soon.
• Save Energy: Ongoing HVAC service ensures that your HVAC system consumes less fuel, and this means lower energy bills for your home. Simply scheduling regular AC service calls can reduce the cost of your energy bill and passes on the savings!
• Improve Your Home’s Air Quality: You don’t want your family breathing in dirty air, and HVAC servicing can help your HVAC system remove mold and other substances from the air.

It’s a good idea to keep up with HVAC maintenance periodically so that you don’t have to make an AC service call on the hottest day of the year.

To help keep you and your family safe, we wanted to share what you should expect whenever a technician comes to your home to complete an HVAC service call.

So, without further delay, let’s take a look at what you should expect from an annual HVAC Maintenance call!

How Often Should I Get My HVAC System Checked?

You know that you need to change the filters in your furnace every 2-3 months, but most people don’t know how often they should get their HVAC system services. At a bare minimum, it’s a good idea to get your HVAC checked on an annual basis.

A good rule of thumb is to get your AC and furnace checked a few weeks before winter hits, or before spring weather sweeps into the Billings, MT area.

This will ensure that everything is in good working order and that there are no major issues evident. While once a year will work, it’s not the best practice.

Ideally, you’ll want to get your heating system, whether it’s a heat pump or a more traditional furnace, checked in the fall before the weather starts to get really cold. Then, when the winter starts to turn to spring, you’ll want to have your air conditioning checked so that it’s in good working order before the real heat of summer hits.

What Happens During HVAC Maintenance?

Some people are weary of having strangers in their home, and this can delay when and how often homeowners call for professional HVAC services. To help you understand what to expect when working with an HVAC technician, we wanted to first address the question of “what does an HVAC technician do?”

1. Meet The Technician

After you schedule HVAC services, the company will send an HVAC technician to your home. Upon scheduling your services, the HVAC company may ask for you to be home so the technician can take a look at your HVAC system from the inside of your home and outside.

Your technician will knock on your door and make an introduction. Your tech should be wearing a uniform with the name or logo of the HVAC services company that you initially called.

Additionally, he or she should be driving a company vehicle. This will let you know that the tech is performing a legitimate service call. If you still feel uncomfortable, the tech is required to show ID.

Once you’ve gotten the introduction out of the way, your technician will need to have you show him or her where your breaker box and your HVAC unit are.

2. Indoor Inspections

Most HVAC maintenance visits will begin with an indoor inspection immediately after the tech has located the system and the breaker box.

Your HVAC technician will examine all of the wiring to see if there are any frayed wires. They’ll also turn on the unit to see if it runs well and if there are any strange sounds coming from it. Along with these tests, the HVAC service call will also include checking fluids and connections throughout your system.

Also, a test of the air temperature is in order to see that the unit is producing the proper level of hot or cold air. You can also expect an inspection and cleaning of the major components, including the the drain pans, the blower and the evaporator coils.

These are all typical steps that you should expect an HVAC technician to take during your HVAC service call from inside of your home.

3. Outdoor Inspections

Most air conditioners will have an outside unit, and your technician will check it on an AC service call. You can expect your tech to inspect the major outdoor components.

An inspection of refrigerant levels is key since you need to make sure that your A/C unit is in working order to keep your family safe and happy in the hot Billings summer.

A competent technician will make sure that the level of refrigerant is appropriate and then make any changes that are necessary. The compressor is one of the most important components of an air conditioning unit, and your tech will check to make sure that it’s in good running order.

Additionally, you can expect to have your HVAC service call involve the cleaning of your unit’s condenser coils and drain lines. Finally, any debris will be removed from the area around your unit to enhance air flow.

Ideally, your HVAC servicing visit will provide a comprehensive inspection of your unit. In addition to the indoor and outdoor inspections mentioned above, your tech will likely change out your furnace filter and inspect your thermostat.

Keeping your furnace filter clear is an important step toward making sure that your unit runs at peak efficiency. Additionally, your thermostat is a key component to making sure your system runs no more than absolutely necessary.

Protect Your Home & Family With HVAC Maintenance Today!

Ensuring that you take care of HVAC services on a regular basis is very important. During a routine maintenance visit, your technician will carefully check your HVAC unit to see if there are any major issues.

If there are concerns, the tech will inform you immediately and recommend any repairs that need to be made.

Taking care of small problems before they become major problems can be a great way to make sure that your unit continues to work efficiently throughout its useful life.

This increased efficiency can help you save money because every additional unit of natural gas or electricity that’s wasted is money that’s flying out of your wallet unnecessarily.

Making sure that your HVAC system continues to work as long as possible is another reason you’ll want to make sure to get it serviced on a regular basis. If you fail to take care of your system, it could fail well before the end of its estimated useful life.

This brings up the question asked earlier. What does an HVAC technician do? He or she will save you money over the long run is the simple answer.