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HVAC Maintenance Tips & Techniques
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Resources, tips, and articles about properly maintaining
your heating and cooling equipment year-round.
Get
Tips for Saving on Winter Heating Costs! Maintenance Tips for
Maintenance on Heating Equipment, Blowers and Thermostats can be found
here. Maintenance for
Humidifiers and Air Filters along with Duct Cleaning are also available. |
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Maintenance Tips for
Heating Equipment
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Please Note: All
information provided in this document is to be used as a guideline only.
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Heat pumps and oil-fired furnaces and boilers need a
yearly professional tune-up. Gas-fired equipment burns cleaner; it should be
serviced every other year.
Step 1
A close inspection will uncover leaks, soot, rust, rot, corroded electrical
contacts and frayed wires. In furnace (forced-air) and boiler (hot-water)
systems, the inspection should also cover the chimney, ductwork or pipes,
dampers or valves, blower or pump, registers or radiators, the fuel line and
the gas meter or oil tank-as well as every part of the furnace or boiler
itself.
Step 2
Next, the system should be run through a full heating cycle to ensure that
it has plenty of combustion air and chimney draft. Contractors use smoke
pencils to check for sufficient draft and also test the air for carbon
monoxide.
Step 3
Finally, it's time for the down and dirty task of cleaning the burner and
heat exchanger to remove soot and other gunk that can impede smooth
operation. For the burner, efficiency hinges on adjusting the flame to the
right size and color, adjusting the flow of gas or changing the fuel filter
in an oil-fired system. A check of the heat pump should include an
inspection of the compressor, fan, indoor and outdoor coils and refrigerant
lines. Indoor and outdoor coils should be cleaned, and the refrigerant
pressure should be checked. |
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Maintenance Tips for
Blowers
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Please Note: All
information provided in this document is to be used as a guideline only.
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Tuning up the
distribution side of a forced-air system starts with the blower.
BELT
DRIVEN BLOWERS: The axle should be lubricated; blades cleaned and blower
motor checked to insure the unit isn't being overloaded. The fan
belt should be adjusted so it deflects no more than an inch when pressed.
DIRECT DRIVE BLOWERS: The axle should checked for excessive play; blower
wheel blades cleaned and blower motor checked to insure the unit isn't being
overloaded.
HOT-WATER BOILER: The expansion tank should be drained, the circulating pump
cleaned and lubricated and air bled out of the radiators.
Every accessible joint in the ductwork should be sealed with mastic or
UL-approved duct tapes. Any ducts that run outside the heated space should
be insulated. |
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Maintenance Tips for
Thermostats
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Please Note: All
information provided in this document is to be used as a guideline only.
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While thermostats rarely fail outright, they can
degrade over time as mechanical parts stick or lose their calibration.
Older
units will send faulty signals if they've been knocked out of level or have
dirty switches. To recalibrate an older unit, use a wrench to adjust the nut
on the back of the mercury switch until it turns the system on and, using a
room thermometer, set it to the correct temperature.
Modern electronic
thermostats, sealed at the factory to keep out dust and grime, rarely need
adjusting. However, whether your thermostat is old or young, the hole where
the thermostat wire comes through the wall needs to be caulked or a draft
could trick it into thinking the room is warmer or colder than it really is.
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Maintenance Tips for
Humidifiers
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Please Note: All
information provided in this document is to be used as a guideline only.
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A neglected in-duct humidifier can breed mildew and
bacteria, not to mention add too much moisture to a house. A common mistake
with humidifiers is leaving them on after the heating season ends. Don't
forget to pull the plug, shut the water valve and drain the unit. A unit
with a water reservoir should be drained and cleaned with white vinegar, a
mix of one part chlorine bleach to eight parts water or muriatic acid.
Mist-type humidifiers also require regular cleaning to remove mineral
deposits.
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Maintenance Tips for
Air Filters
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Please Note: All
information provided in this document is to be used as a guideline only.
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Most houses with forced-air furnaces have a standard
furnace filter made from loosely woven spun-glass fibers designed to keep it
and its ductwork clean. Unfortunately, they don't improve indoor air
quality. That takes a media filter, which sits in between the main return
duct and the blower cabinet. Made of a deeply pleated, paper-like material,
media filters are at least seven times better than a standard filter at
removing dust and other particles. An upgrade to a pleated media filter will
cleanse the air of everything from insecticide dust to flu viruses.
Compressed, media filters are usually no wider than six inches, but the
pleated material can cover up to 75 square feet when stretched out. This
increased area of filtration accounts for the filter's long life, which can
exceed two years. The only drawback to a media filter is its tight weave,
which can restrict a furnace's ability to blow air through the house. To
insure a steady, strong airflow through the house, choose a filter that
matches your blower's capacity.
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Maintenance Tips for
Duct Cleaning
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Please Note: All
information provided in this document is to be used as a guideline only.
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Inside the walls
and floors of 80 percent of American homes run a maze of heating and air
conditioning ducts that connect each room to the furnace. As the supply
ducts blow air into the rooms, return ducts inhale airborne dust and suck it
back into the blower. Add moisture to this mixture and you've got a breeding
ground for allergy-inducing molds, mites and bacteria. Many filters commonly
used today can't keep dust and debris from streaming into the air and over
time sizable accumulations can form-think dust bunnies, but bigger.
To find out if your ducts need cleaning, pull off some supply and return
registers and take a look. If a new furnace is being installed, you should
probably invest in a duct cleaning at the same time, because chances are the
new blower will be more powerful than the old one and will stir up a lot of
dust.
Professional duct cleaners tout such benefits as cleaner indoor air, longer
equipment life and lower energy costs. Clean HVAC systems can also perform
more efficiently, which may decrease energy costs, and last longer, reducing
the need for costly replacement or repairs. Cleaning has little effect on
air quality, primarily because most indoor dust drifts in from the outdoors.
But it does get rid of the stuff that mold and bacteria grow on, and that
means less of it gets airborne, a boon to allergy sufferers. |
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ALSO SEE:
Should You Have the Air
Ducts In Your Home Cleaned? (Adobe® PDF)
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Please Note: All
information provided in this document is to be used as a guideline only.
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This fact sheet, provided by The
(EPA) Environmental Protection Agency
helps to explain the facts and fiction about
air duct cleaning. There are also tips for what to look for when having your
system inspected, and when to have your air ducts cleaned.
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