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Does anyone recommend having the heating & air conditioning "tuned-up"? Our heating & air service have a package where they come out twice a year to tune up both the the a/c and heat.
service contracts are nice but can be costly. Most companies come out 2 time a year to clean, check and do a service of units.. if the home is newer is mostly not needed.. after about age 8 or so specially with heat pumps it can be a good benefit. Especially during bad weather if you have a problem they put you on the schedule before a non service contract call.. that could be the difference between seeing someone in 2 days rather than 4 days.
If you have gas-fired equipment that is approaching, or more than, 10 years old, it is a good idea to have the heat exchanger checked before heating season.
They can corrode and perforate quickly, letting carbon monoxide enter the home. Particularly in reference to cheaper gas packs, which were the unit of choice in most tract-built homes.
If you do choose to have the tune-up I would recommend choosing a contractor that will make you eligible for rebates from Progress Energy under their Home Energy Improvement Program.
Does anyone recommend having the heating & air conditioning "tuned-up"? Our heating & air service have a package where they come out twice a year to tune up both the the a/c and heat.
Yes, yes and yes again if the price is reasonable. If they find a problem your unit will be operating at full efficiency and save you money during the season. Also if you do have a problem in the making it may be an emergency service call at the worse time.
Twice a year is excessive and a nice revenue stream for the HVAC company, but I will say this; the units I see that last 20 years when inspecting houses tend to have consistent maintenance records while the ones I see failing at 7 years do not. I have mine serviced every year and half or so.
It has been my experience that gas equipment installed in a "tract built" home (more than 5 years old or so) will benefit from an annual service call to check/clean the heat exchanger; but certainly no more than every couple of years.
Unfortunately, when your builder buys the "builder quality" products that choice is not necessarily in your best interest. We get these "low end" products promoted by manufacturer reps when shopping for new construction equipment with some great pricing inducements. We tell them "no thanks" and stick with the equipment that we can stand behind.
I used a " High Performance" air filter from Home Depot and I saw a big decrease in my electric Bill. I would think about that. instead of the cheap ones from Wal Mart.
Best to use a fiberglass filter unless the return is known to be large enough for a pleated filter. I can't see a filter u;less clogged bad making any difference in electricity that you would notice really.
Thanks for your posts. I'm still a little confused though.
We moved into our current home a year ago and it has dual zone (downstairs and upstairs). I've never had anything other than one system for the entire house so I don't truly understand what I have, but here goes...
2005 a new Trane 14 Seer Combo Cooling/Gas Heating Pack variable 2 stage heat was installed. It sits outside the house and looks like it's both heat and cooling. I think it's for the downstairs zone or at least it kicks in when I adjust the downstairs A/C. I'm not sure what it's role is in dual zone heat though as I think it kicks in when heating either the downstairs or the upstairs, but something also kicks in in the attic - sounds like a blower - and I think that heats the upstairs zone.
Next to this new unit (outside) is the original, 1998, A/C (condenser??). That one kicks in when I adjust the upstairs A/C.
So for maintenance, it sounds like I really shouldn't need service for the combo gas pack that was installed in 2005, but maybe just for the original 1998 A/C?? But, I have a feeling one of you will tell me that that blower noise I hear in the attic may be original 1998 equipment as well.
I never had my single zone unit serviced (annual maintenance) and it lasted for over 13 years when we moved. Now I have a house with dual zone and I don't have a clue how it works. But I don't want to pay for an annual maintenance contract if I really don't need. The maintenance tune-up looks like cleaning, lubricating, making adjustments, etc.
thanks
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