How to Maintain Your Residential HVAC System

If you stay in places that experience extreme temperatures, having an HVAC system is very important when it comes to controlling indoor climate. But having the system is not enough. You will need to make sure that it is properly maintained if you expect it to work well whenever you turn it on. The system is made up of a network of ducts which allow air to travel to every room inside your home or office. For the vents to work well, you will need to make sure that they are cleaned every week.

A lot of dust can settle in the slats of the vents, and this can compromise the quality of the system especially if you have pets or someone who suffers allergies in your home. You can easily clean the vents using a damp cloth. For thorough cleaning of the system, you will need to unscrew the vent grating and then wipe it down on the inside. By doing that, air around you and also other people in your home will be free of dust mites, mold spores as well as other particulate matter. If you don't know how to open the vents in order to clean the system properly, hiring a professional to help you out will be a good idea.

The unit that is located outside of your home should also be maintained properly. You should not let it be covered with leaves and debris. This is because the HVAC system sucks air in from outdoors, changes its temperature and then sends it inside the building. In the event that the machine is covered with leaves and debris, it may not be able to work efficiently. As a result, the heating and cooling of your home will end up being more expensive as well as energy intensive. It is therefore important to make sure that the unit has nothing draped over it.

You also need to make sure that the air filter of the HVAC system are changed regularly if you want it to work efficiently. A filter is simply a sheet that is made of fibrous materials and it is inserted inside the main conduit. The gauzy fibers accumulate dirt as well as dust which go into the expelled air. You can have an HVAC technician to change the filters after every few months, but if you know how to do it yourself you can save the money that you could have used to hire a technician. The filters usually come in different sizes and you can find them at hardware stores and home improvement centres.

If you are doing do-it-yourself maintenance on the HVAC system, it is very important to make sure that the power to both the condenser and the evaporator assembly of the system is turned off. This will avoid any untoward circumstances that may end up making the system even worse, or from it causing harm to you.