Residential HVAC Best Practices

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A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system represents a substantial capital investment for your family, so it’s critical that you get the most value from your HVAC budget. Whether you’re in the process of planning a new HVAC installation, or you’re looking for ways to optimize the performance of an existing system, following these three residential HVAC best practices to ensure your system is prepared to serve your family for years to come.

Correctly Size Equipment

HVAC equipment is designed and optimized with specific heating and cooling loads in mind. Ensuring your infrastructure is built to maintain ideal temperatures for the size of your home is critical to getting the maximum value from your system. While undersizing equipment may save you money upfront, your HVAC system will struggle to maintain an ideal temperature and end up running more frequently than it should. That ultimately leads to premature equipment failure and higher energy costs.

At the same time, oversized equipment generally costs more to purchase and operate, so while it won’t have to work as hard to maintain a specific temperature, you end up paying for more than you need. Whether you’re retrofitting existing equipment, or you’re deploying a new system, check that your residential HVAC contractor makes the necessary load calculations to size a system that’s optimized for your home.

Optimize Ductwork

Even with the latest HVAC equipment, your system will underperform if air is running through old, inefficient ducts. Taking the time to ensure air ducts are properly sealed and insulated can quickly pay for itself by saving you money on energy bills. Plus, your system won’t have to work as hard to heat and cool your home. By ensuring proper airflow throughout your home, you’re not only creating a more comfortable environment year-round; you’re also maximizing indoor air quality.

Prioritize Ongoing Maintenance

In an ideal world, you’d be able to install an HVAC system and forget it about. Unfortunately, in our less-than-ideal world, maximizing the value of your HVAC infrastructure requires a more hands-on approach. Your ongoing HVAC maintenance plan should include:

Replacing Filters

At the very minimum, you should plan on replacing HVAC air filters at least once a season (every three months). Dirty filters not only lead to poor indoor air quality; they also constrict airflow, resulting in less efficient HVAC performance.

Following Manufacturer Maintenance Schedules

Just about every manufacturer provides a recommended maintenance schedule to ensure your equipment continues running at peak performance during its serviceable life. Some manufacturers even require proof that you’ve followed the recommended maintenance schedules to honor warranties following a failure.

Make sure to understand and follow these recommended maintenance schedules. Working with a residential HVAC service partner can simplify this process because they’ll keep track of maintenance schedules for you.

Making Proactive Repairs

If your HVAC provider suspects a component is on the verge of failing, it’s always advisable to go ahead and replace the part. Choosing to wait until a component completely breaks before replacing it can lead to more critical HVAC problems, damage other components, and shorten the lifespan of your system.

How the HVAC Experts at Garrison Can Help

If your family wants to get the most value from your HVAC budget, contact the experts at Garrison today. While we understand the temptation of waiting until it breaks to spend money on your HVAC system, we’re here to show you how adopting a proactive approach can save you time, money, and frustration in the long run.

 

How to Decide Between Residential HVAC Repair and Replacement

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You most likely spent a considerable sum on your home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and you want to maximize the value of that investment. Unfortunately, no matter how much you spend on your HVAC system, you’ll eventually encounter problems as parts break down and equipment fails. When this starts happening, it’s essential to understand when it’s time to replace your system or when HVAC repair services can get you by for a little longer.

In this post, we’ll help you understand the factors you need to consider when it comes to choosing between HVAC repairs and a complete replacement.

When to Replace HVAC Equipment

When deciding if it’s time to replace an HVAC component, consider these factors:

Equipment Age

Every aspect of your HVAC equipment has an expected serviceable lifetime. The lifetimes include:

  • Furnaces: 15-20 years
  • Air conditioning units: 10-15 years
  • Heat pumps: 15 years

If your equipment has been failing with increasing frequency, and it’s beyond these estimated timeframes, you should seriously consider replacing them. Once HVAC equipment has gone beyond these lifespans, repairs only last so long until they fail again, so you can quickly end up paying more to keep a unit alive than you would by investing in a new system.

Rising Energy Bills

When equipment starts breaking down more frequently, temporary repairs may get it back up and running for the time being, but that doesn’t mean it will be running at peak efficiency. In fact, breakdowns often indicate less than optimal performance and often result in spikes in energy bills. If you’re noticing rising energy bills and your equipment has gone beyond its anticipated lifespan, it’s likely time to replace the equipment. While a replacement comes with higher upfront costs, these costs are frequently offset by the energy savings you’ll experience with the latest, energy-efficient technology.

Continuous Running

If you’ve been making repairs to your HVAC infrastructure, and you notice that your system seems to run non-stop to match your preferred thermostat temperature, it’s generally time to make some replacement. When your system is continually running, it’s no longer optimized for your home’s heating and cooling loads. At that point, it’s time to invest in new equipment that matches your space. Plus, new equipment immediately improves indoor air quality while keeping your family comfortable year-round.

When You Should Repair Your HVAC

Generally, if your equipment is fewer than 10 years old and you haven’t encountered any earlier problems, you should plan to make the necessary repairs. While there are exceptions to this rule, it’s relatively rare that more up-to-date HVAC equipment needs to be replaced. In these circumstances, it’s often the fault of the manufacturer or a lack of HVAC maintenance that leads to premature failure.

Your HVAC Service Experts

If you still need help deciding between repairing or replacing your residential HVAC system, contact the experts at Garrison today. We’ll work with you to help you better understand your options, so you can make a decision that saves money and maximizes the value of your HVAC investment.