It can be quite upsetting to arrive home at the end of the day to discover your air conditioner or heating unit isn’t working right.The tips are great for helping you in this process.

Know what type of system before calling someone to fix it. This will help you give the contractor you hire has all the necessary information.

Before contacting a repair service, do a short tour of the entire home. Make a list of the temperatures in each room and whether they are hot or cold. This will help the repairman determine what the problem is.

If your HVAC is giving you problems, try touring your home before calling a professional. This will help the contractor determine where the problem is.

Clean the fan blades and coils come spring. Clean off any leaves or debris from your condenser unit.

When spring rolls around, give the condenser fan blades and coils a good clean. Be sure to turn the power off first; you don’t want anything to move. Then remove the grill, remove the blades and clean it from top to bottom gently.

Don’t let grass clippings pile up against your outside unit. Aim your grass in a direction away from the unit. This also applies when you are taking care of the leaves in the yard.

Leaves falling from trees can wreak havoc with your system. Make sure the fan’s grill often once nearby trees start shedding their leaves.The fan needs to have an unobstructed path for air to enter the unit, and if it becomes blocked, you’ll have a lot of headaches eventually.

Make sure that you do not cover your outdoor components with grass clippings when you are trimming the grass. Aim your grass cuttings in a direction away from your unit. The same goes for when you blow leaves, so make sure your are careful when moving any debris in the vicinity of your HVAC devices.

Lubricate your condenser at least once each year. You will notice these ports as they have a rubber or metal cap. Use a lightweight, detergent-free SAE 20 oil, but make sure to avoid overfilling them.

Put outdoor unit in the shade if you are installing them.

You must keep your HVAC systems oil ports lubricated annually. These ports are often covered by a rubber or metal cap. Chose SAE 20 oil, which has been proven to be the most effective.

Have the HVAC serviced twice per year. This should be done in the fall and the spring.

It is always a good idea to replace single-paned windows for double panes.This also help you keep in the winter.

Make certain that an outdoor unit is in the shade. The cooler air that the unit can suck in, the less work it will need to do to further cool the air.

Install a thermostat you can program to save energy costs. Some programmable thermostats can even be controlled from a computer.

When they visit to service the unit they’re going to inspect the motors, oil the parts that move, moving parts well oiled and the level of freon adjusted if necessary. This ensures your system will operate optimally.

Make sure you have your HVAC system checked at least twice a year. Checks in the spring as well as in autumn are the best. Regular inspection will help you avoid unexpected repairs.

Look for air conditioner sizing calculators online to truly understand what size of unit you need for your home. Look in the manual to determine the manufacturer website for this information.

Companies that are well established have track records typically provide better service. It is always risky to hire someone who does not have a long history.

Replace single pane windows by installing double pane, if possible. Double-pane windows keep inside air cooler, allowing you to reduce AC usage in the summertime. It keeps heat in during the winter, too.

There are many sites out there that other customers share experiences of different services. This will make it easier for you to sort out the good from the bad.

Contractors charge different rates, so make sure you get quotes from several contractors before you make any hiring decision. You can save quite a bit of money when you call different companies for many quotes. You want to call at least a handful of contractors to determine what you should be paying.

Service your hearing and cooling systems once each year. During service the technician will check the motor and refill the system fluids. This will help your system run better.

Think about getting a radiant barrier in your attic so support the efficient functioning of your HVAC system. It blocks outside heat from coming in which will make sure you won’t have to use more energy to keep your unit stays hot outside.You may even find that you can use your attic as part of your living space more effectively.

Figure out the direction your home faces in order to make your HVAC system can work better. The less amount of heat inside of your home, the less time your air conditioner will have to work.

Shut off the air conditioning if nobody is home. Sure, the temp will rise, but no one is home anyway. Leaving it on all the time only makes it work harder and results in a larger utility bill.

Make sure they have tight seals to keep air inside. You can get these tested at little to no charge by a professional to test them all for you and often this testing is free.

Ask any potential contractor about their experience prior to hiring them. You need to verify they have the type of work on your particular system.

Do not let your house get dangerously hot. An air conditioning unit is really only able to reduce the temperature by twenty degrees in a short time span. If the temperature in your home rises to 100 degrees F or higher, cooling it will only drop the temperature to 80 degrees F. When you factor in humidity, this can still be dangerously hot for the human body at rest.

Always request references before hiring any contractor.

Always follow up on any references provided to you receive for an HVAC contractor.

Figure out how long the HVAC company you choose has been in business. A company that has been in business for a long time will have a solid track record, and you can use this to figure out if you should spend your money with them. Hiring an inexperienced contractor can be risky.

These types of units are energy efficient and meet strict guidelines set for efficiency. The units are set forth by the United States. They are in charge of protecting the EPA for short.Taking time to fully research various units may help you get long-term savings on energy costs.

The condenser needs to be properly taken care of in cold weather. This can be done by placing an insulating cover on the condenser unit.

Ask people that you know and trust for contractor recommendations. People that have gotten great work done in the past generally love to share the information they know about it. You will also find out who NOT to use!

Make sure that you know where the owner’s and operator’s manuals about your HVAC system in a convenient place.The information contained within this manual is going to give you quite a few things to learn about the unit you have and will be very useful.

Be sure you keep your HVAC up and running by using the advice found above. You probably already know that suddenly learning that your system isn’t running correctly is very frustrating. The repair costs will be very high too. This can be prevented if you follow the tips you have just read. Remember this advice as you keep your HVAC system properly maintained.

Are you going to buy a new HVAC system? You need to think about a few important things. The systems are generally rated based on the area they cover. It may be wise to get a unit that is a bit larger than needed. Just don’t get one that is smaller than you need.