Keeping a heating or air conditioning system performing calls for regular maintenance, and most of it is made up of simple steps you can handle yourself. Three of them matter more than the rest.
Clean or replace the filters. This is the single habit that protects your system’s performance, and its effect on the air you breathe is immediate. Filters are easy to reach and there is nothing difficult about the job. Always switch the unit off at the power supply before you clean or change one. Filters are also the first line on indoor air quality.
Check the condensate drain. Look at the condensate drain to make sure nothing is blocking it. A blocked drain backs up, and water backing up inside the unit is how a small maintenance item turns into a repair.
Change the humidifier pads. If your system includes a humidifier, its evaporator pads need cleaning or replacing on average once or twice a year. How often depends on the water quality where you live, since harder water scales the pads faster.
Book two professional visits a year. The technology at the head of these installations is genuinely advanced, so it is worth putting your system on a service contract with your installer, even while the equipment is still under warranty. We recommend two visits a year: one before the heating season and one before the cooling season, so each side of the system is checked before it is asked to work hard. A professional eye on the sensitive points, on the furnace and on the wall-mounted units alike, keeps the installation going for its full life. The technician will also check the refrigerant circuit for leaks, which is not something you can verify yourself and which Quebec’s halocarbon rules treat seriously. For a central heat pump specifically, the right steps to optimize its efficiency covers what you can do between visits, and preparing a furnace for winter covers the heating side.
If you would rather not track any of this, that is what our maintenance plans are for: scheduled visits, priority service and a written record of every visit. Get in touch and we will set one up for your system.
