Last month we encouraged you to arrange for your heating tune-up and inspection to get ready for the coming winter. If you haven’t done it yet, it’s certainly not too late—but don’t wait too long! We all know that the longer we put things off, the harder it is to get around to actually doing them. And this is a simple job to do: all it requires is giving us a call, and we’ll put you on the schedule, come to your house, and have the job done in around an hour. Simple, and your home will be set for the winter!
We want to encourage you to have this job done. We’ve already talked about how it helps keep your heater safe (important for natural gas furnaces and boilers) and reliable so you won’t suddenly have a loss of heat during one of the coldest days of the year. But right now we want to focus on the ways fall heating maintenance saves you money. Basically, regular maintenance is an investment that pays for itself many times over. Here’s how:
Maintaining high levels of energy efficiency
All heating systems have an energy efficiency rating. Furnaces have AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) and heat pumps have HSPF (heating seasonal performance factor). These measure how well a heater turns its energy source into heating power. But a heater will not maintain its efficiency rating if it is neglected year after year and no maintenance is done on it. In general, a heater will lose 5% of its efficiency rating each year it skips maintenance—and the decline will only get steeper each over time. Just imagine paying a quarter more to run your furnace after only a few years: that money adds up, and it’s something easy to prevent with professional maintenance.
Reducing the amount of repairs
One of the main goals of the inspection part of maintenance is to locate places where the heater is wearing down toward the point where it will need repairs in the near future. Through cleaning, adjustments, lubrication of moving parts, and other maintenance steps, a technician can stop these malfunctions from occurring. In fact, 85% of the repairs a heating system may require over its lifetime can be prevented thanks to keeping up with regular maintenance. This saves you money as well as inconvenience.
Extended equipment life
Of all the services a heating system may need to have done, the most expensive is replacing it when it can no longer handle its job. This happens to all heaters eventually, but the longer you can keep a heater running effectively and efficiently, the later you’ll need to replace it. Without maintenance, you may need to have the replacement done years too early. Regular inspections and tune-ups are an investment in a long service life for your heater.
You can count on us for HVAC maintenance in Staten Island, NY. We offer a deep-cleaning and tune-up for heating and air conditioning systems that goes beyond what many contractors offer.
Bob Mims Heating & Air Conditioning—Serving Staten Island’s Heating and A/C needs since 1955.
