The heating and heat your home is very important. This is why your HVAC system is constantly checked and you ensure it is properly working. If you don’t properly care for your unit, you should expect terrible living conditions and expensive repairs. Here are some tips to help you started.

Know the name and type of system before calling someone to fix it. This will enable you give your chosen contractor any information they might need.

Know what work you want done before you select an HVAC contractor. It will be hard for a contractor to give you a price estimate over the phone if they have not seen your current system. They need to come look at the unit. This is information that you should have prepared in advance.

If you’ve been having trouble with an HVAC system, tour your home before calling a technician. This will help the contractor determine where the problem is.

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Keep your outdoor units free of debris when you are mowing the lawn. Aim your grass cuttings in a direction away from your unit. Also do this when blowing leaves or shoveling snow.

Know what work you need before you select an HVAC contractor.It will be difficult for an HVAC contractor to provide you a price estimate over the phone if they have not seen your current system. It will be more hard if you can’t figure out what they need to do.

Clean any debris on an external condenser unit. You never know when things can pile up, like right after it’s windy or rains, and that can throw a wrench in your system. It will damage the system to malfunction by overheating.

Look for shade when placing a compressor outdoors. When your unit takes in cool air, it takes less energy to tool the air, thus boosting efficiency.

Turn it off first so nothing moves. Then, take the grill off, pull the blades out, and begin cleaning the unit and them gently.

Your HVAC system could suffer when your trees begin dropping their leaves. Make sure the unit’s fan grill is cleaned often during the leaves begin to fall. The fan must be unobstructed to work properly, and if debris is blocking this air flow, then your system could suffer.

Your system should be checked twice a year. This should be done in Fall and Spring to prepare it for the extreme months. Even if you do not detect a problem, you can identify and fix any potential problems when you have it checked.

Lubricate your fan condenser once a year. You can easily find the ports as they have a rubber or metal cap covering them. Use a lightweight, detergent-free SAE 20 oil, but make sure to avoid overfilling them.

Put your outdoor condensers in the shade.

It is a good idea to replace single-paned windows with ones that have double panes. To keep your home cool, investing in double pane windows is a must. It also facilitates heat retention in winter.

Turn off outdoor condenser units when it’s getting cold. This means that you should be done when the temperature drops below 60ºF to avoid damage. This can keep your system running efficiently for years to come.

A programmable thermostat can help save money on your air conditioning bill. Some of these thermostats can even be controlled from your smart phone or other device.

Installing a programmable digital thermostat can help save money. You have greater control over the temperature settings with these. Furthermore, there are a few programmable thermostats that you can control from your computer or any other web-connected device.

During a maintenance visit, the system motor will be inspected, oil the unit’s moving parts and ensure the unit has proper freon levels. These repairs will keep your system running smoothly.

Companies that are well established have a better record than those that haven’t been. It is riskier to hire someone who does not have a contractor with little experience.

To cut energy costs, you should service your cooling and heating system once a year at least. During service the technician will check the motor and refill the system fluids. These simple things will keep your system running at peak performance.

Ask your friends and trust for contractor recommendations. People that have gotten great work done in the past generally love to share this information. This will also help you from getting scammed.

There are many sites now that let customers share their experiences with different services. This is useful for finding people that do good work with and those that you don’t.

Save energy use and money by turning off the air conditioner if there is nobody home. By raising the temperature from, for example 78 to 80, your house will be warmer, but only up to 80 before your AC kicks in. If you decide to set the temperature to 82 or 83 or so on, your AC won’t go on until it reaches that temperature. Leaving the system on all day will cost a lot of money in terms of electricity.

Think about having a radiant barrier installed in your attic so your HVAC system can run better. 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 if it is done right.

Now you know how to keep your HVAC running smoothly. Be sure to stay on top of your maintenance work. Apply the above advice to keep it in good shape, avoiding unpleasant surprises.

Do not let your house get dangerously hot. Air conditioners only cool down a home by 20 degrees. This limits their overall benefit. Taking into consideration the humidity level, this may not even be adequate for the human body to recover from excessive heat while sleeping.