Your Comprehensive HVAC Winter Maintenance Checklist

As the winter approaches, it begins to gradually get chilly. As it seems like everyone is getting ready for the winter, let’s also get you ready for the trouble it might bring to you and your HVAC system.

The winter’s extreme cold temperature means more work for your HVAC system to keep your home warm. This also means regular use, almost throughout the clock. You’ll need a proper maintenance habit to keep your HVAC system in good condition during the hard times it will pass through this winter. 

A good maintenance habit won’t just keep your HVAC system up and running 24/7, it will also get a longer life out of the HVAC system, and save you money in the long run from expensive breakdown.

That’s why our HVAC experts have put down a comprehensive HVAC winter maintenance checklist for you to keep your unit in its best condition during the winter.

Let’s show them to you!

1. Clean your air filter

The importance of your air filter is to filter out dust and particles suspended in the outside air, allowing only particle-free air to enter your home. The particles filtered out sit on the filter till it is cleaned.

Accumulation of these particles will let your HVAC system do the exact opposite of what it’s meant to do (polluting the air). Also, when the air filter gets clogged, it hampers the free flow of air from entering your home. This means the HVAC system has some extra work to do to successfully send the needed amount of air to your home.

We recommend you not just clean your filter before winter, but clean it regularly. How regularly? Every 30 days. Your filter shouldn’t stay up to 90 days before cleaning it up.

2. Clean your vents

As you make sure to keep a clean air filter, also do so for your HVAC vents. Accumulated dirt and debris will lower your indoor air quality because it will circulate your home, air mixed with particles. 

If you notice a dusty vent, to do it yourself, you can vacuum them off with a hose attachment. Also, you should take a walk around your home and make sure that nothing is sitting on your vent and hampering the free flow of treated air. 

Kids can be very careless, so don’t be shocked to see things like toys or furniture sitting on your vent. Make sure to quickly remove such as it causes your HVAC system to work more. It can also puncture the vent and may prove expensive to fix.

3. Add insulation wherever necessary

If your HVAC system is up to a decade, then chances are that the insulation installed in your attic has gradually worn off and is now insufficient. Ensuring a properly insulated attic is a preventive measure. It will prevent unnecessary heat loss. As your HVAC warms up your home, the hot air should stay in and the cold out. This is what proper insulation guarantees. 

The indoor temperature is easily maintained. The HVAC system doesn’t need to keep sending warm air that will be out of your home in no time. That will be a lot of energy wasted and an overshoot on your bill.

Your attic insulation is one of the things to check if you notice an unusual skyrocket in your utility bill during this winter than in other winters. You should consider adding more insulation to your attic or consult professional HVAC technicians.

4. Lower your thermostat

It’s normal for your HVAC system to do extra work warming your home during the winter. It’s probably releasing a large volume of warm air every moment. You can relieve your HVAC system from the extra work it does by lowering your thermostat before you leave the house. 

This won’t just increase longevity; it will also reduce your utility bill. Homeowners can save as much as 10% on both heating and cooling by lowering the thermostat by 10-15 percent for at least 8 hours daily. Well, truth be told, it is very easy to forget about lowering your thermostat, especially when you are in a haste to leave the house.

The best alternative to this is to invest in a programmable thermostat. With a programmable thermostat, you can set different temperatures for different times of the day without having to manually adjust or monitor it. 

For example, if you won’t be home from 8 am to 2 pm every Tuesday, all you have to do is to schedule your thermostat to be lowered during that period. 

Meanwhile, you can control the more advanced smart thermostats with your smartphone. With your phone, you can lower the thermostat as soon as you leave your home, and engage the heater a few minutes before you get back home. 

5. Clean the outside AC unit

As the winter approaches, get ready to do some cleaning duties around the surrounding home. Your outside Reprogram AC unit is inclusive. It’s common to have fallen leaves stocked around your AC unit if you live close to trees. It’s important not to let many leaves or branches accumulate around the AC unit. 

It can lead to a stocked fan that will later prove expensive to fix. Remember, we are just leaving in the fall, so what do you expect? But please, we strongly advise, before you begin the cleanup process, make sure you switch off the unit 

It’s common to receive the advice of covering your AC unit during the winter to shield it from the extremely cold temperature of the winter. But nope! It will shock many manufacturers as to where such advice is coming from because it’s a very wrong one. 

Manufacturers built the outdoor unit of your HVAC system to withstand the extreme cold of the winter. The danger of covering the unit is that you’ll make a home out of it for rodents.

6. Schedule regular HVAC winter maintenance service

While a good deal of people might consider it unnecessary to have HVAC technicians come over to service your system when it’s still working normally, it is an essential part of HVAC preventive measures. Professional HVAC technicians will spot signs of wear and tear to prevent a bigger problem. They will also tell you when the replacement of any part is necessary. They will clean the system, and keep it running at its best all year round.

Precision Air Solutions is a company eager to help if you need HVAC experts to come over to your home for regular maintenance. If you doubt the integrity of your cooling element, a cooling element, or thermostat, after inspection, we can advise you on what to do. Book an appointment with us now! Our service is affordable and at its best.