Now that the holiday season is in full swing, your HVAC system must be holiday-ready if you are planning to go out of town or have guests come to stay at your home.
Year-round preventative maintenance is the best way to mitigate expensive breakdowns and minimize energy bills, but here are some things that you can do NOW to ensure that your HVAC is ready to efficiently heat and cool your home this holiday season.
Clean the Ducts
If your air ducts are dirty or clogged with contaminants, your HVAC system may fail to work efficiently, and the indoor air quality in your home will suffer. Look for signs of dirt or dust around the air registers in your home and your ductwork. Look out for any tears, gaps, and disconnections in the ducting as well.
If your ducts are visibly dirty, call the pros at Super Heat & Air for a professional duct cleaning service. We use rotary brushes and high-powered vacuums to give your ducts a thorough and deep clean!
LEARN MORE> Why Clean Your Home’s Air Ducts
Inspect and Change Air Filters
This is a crucial part of year-round HVAC maintenance, not just during the holiday season; change or clean your air filters regularly! Dirty air filters will restrict normal airflow to your unit thus inhibiting your system’s heating and cooling power. Your HVAC unit could suffer a major breakdown if the filters go unreplaced for too long.
Change your filters at least every 30-60 days, and if you have pets, you may have to change them even more frequently.
Set Your Thermostat
A programmable thermostat can automatically adjust the indoor temperature in your home depending on the time of day, who is in the home, and what your settings are. This makes it easy to save energy while you are away from home shopping for the holidays or if you are traveling this holiday season.
If you aren’t home for an extended period, we recommend setting the inside temperature to 50-60 degrees to ensure that your home is still warm enough that coolant coils don’t freeze and that items in your home are undamaged. (Though it would rarely get that cold here in Florida!)
Yes, your HVAC system should be kept ON while you are on vacation to prevent excess humidity in your home.
MORE> The Benefits of Using a Smart Thermostat
Inspect Air Registers
It’s a good idea to walk through your home and ensure that the registers are in good shape and unblocked as you prepare to heat or cool your home for the holiday season. Blockages such as furniture, boxes, heavy curtains, etc. can disrupt the airflow to the HVAC unit and lead to poor efficiency and dust accumulation.
Seal Air Leaks
Warm or cool air could be escaping from your home through small openings and cracks throughout your house, causing warm or cold posts, poor HVAC efficiency, and higher energy costs. Further, air leaks can bring allergens into your home and trigger humidity and moisture problems that favor mold and mildew growth.
Apply caulk to cracks around windows and door frames and use weather strips under the door to help seal any other air leaks.
MORE> Common Areas Where Heating? Cooling is Wasted
Schedule a Tune-Up
Before you leave for vacation or guests come to stay at your home for the holidays, call Super Heat & Air for an AC tune-up! We will ensure that your system is working properly and efficiently and perform any minor repairs needed to prevent the unit from suffering an emergency breakdown.
Seasonal tune-ups will allow your HVAC unit to run at peak efficiency and increase the lifespan of your entire system.
Holiday HVAC Tune-Ups
Need to get your HVAC system inspected and tuned up before the holidays? Schedule preventative HVAC maintenance super with our team at Heat & Air and don’t forget if your system breaks down during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays, we are on call 24/7 for emergency repairs!
