Furnaces. Air conditioners. Boilers. Ventilators.
All of these precision-engineered and highly sophisticated pieces of equipment work hard, day and night, to keep Colorado homes and businesses comfortable.
We often take our HVAC systems for granted. After all, when we need them, they’re normally there for us. That is, of course, until they’re not.
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system malfunction is very often caused by neglect. And, the remedy for HVAC system neglect is routine, scheduled maintenance performed by a trained, knowledgeable HVAC technician.
The team at Front Range HVAC understands that you may not spend much time thinking about the operating health of your HVAC system. However, we think that spending 10 minutes of your time reading this blog post about HVAC maintenance will change your mind about why this topic should be a high priority.
Even if your furnace or AC unit is functioning flawlessly, it’s still crucial to have a solid maintenance strategy in place so you can get the highest returns from your HVAC investment.
What’s at Stake
We don’t need to tell you how expensive a new furnace, boiler, or air conditioning system can be. 
But, we will anyway: the average cost to replace a broken furnace is between $2,500 and $6,000 dollars.
For a new air conditioning system, you’re looking at an average of about $4,750.
For a boiler, the cost will likely be between $1,250 and $3,000.
If your HVAC equipment is left to operate without scheduled maintenance, it’s quite possible that you could be incurring one or more of the costs listed above years before it’s necessary. Which brings us to the number one reason why HVAC system maintenance is so important: overall system life expectancy.
How Maintenance Extends the Life of your HVAC System
When you spend that $4,750 for a new AC unit, you want to squeeze the most life out of that purchase as possible. The same goes for boiler, furnace, or heat pump replacements.
Here are the maintenance tasks that go a long way to ensure that your HVAC unit delivers on performance for as long as possible:
- Filter inspection and replacement. This could be the single most important routine maintenance work that all HVAC systems can benefit from.
This job requires locating all intake filters on the HVAC unit, removing any hardware necessary to access the filter, checking it for cleanliness, and replacing it with a compatible, new filter if needed.
When air filters are changed on a quarterly or biannual basis, all air handling equipment operates much smoother. This mitigates the stress put onto precision components like the blower, motor, and electrical components.
- Visual inspection of electrical connections, ducting, and other attached hardware. Sometimes, big HVAC problems can be found in plain sight, but only to a trained technician who knows what to look for.
During a visual inspection, the HVAC professional will ensure that all power connections are safe and functional, air is moving as efficiently and effectively as possible, and there are no mechanical issues with the thermostat, vents, or ductwork.
During this inspection, it’s common for small, inexpensive issues to be identified and resolved. Taking care of these minor tweaks helps to protect the sensitive electrical components inside virtually all HVAC units.
- Inspection and cleaning of condensate drains and unit surfaces. Dirt, dust, and allergens often accumulate in areas you can’t see on the outside. This is especially the case for air conditioners, which have condensate runoff conduits that must be kept free from clogs in order to function well.
The trained HVAC technician will know exactly what actions to take to clean the system as a whole, using specialized tools and solvents where necessary.
- Checking refrigerant and lubricant levels. When there isn’t enough oil in your car, it’s not going to run well. The same can be said for the fluids that are needed by some HVAC units to do their job.
During HVAC maintenance, refrigerant levels will be checked and any lubrication that is needed will be applied.
As you can see, a lot goes into performing comprehensive HVAC system maintenance. This is why it’s something that is best left to the professionals—like the team at Front Range HVAC!
To Schedule Maintenance Today, Contact Us
Now that you know how important it is to have your HVAC system maintained, why not contact us and schedule a visit with one of friendly, trained technicians?
Call us now at (303) 529-9467—we look forward to hearing from you!
