With spring turning into summer in New Jersey, you will find yourself using your AC more often. You should have your HVAC system looked at by an HVAC professional at least once a year. Here are five perks to having regular AC maintenance you might not be aware of.

1. Greater Efficiency

Routine AC maintenance is the best way to keep your HVAC system operating at peak efficiency. If you miss your AC tune-up, summer can result in higher energy bills due to potential issues that said tune-up could have caught. Even just a small decrease in efficiency can significantly increase your electricity bills.

Your HVAC professional will inspect and clean the blades, cooling coils, air ducts, and other essential components of your unit. Cooling coils, or evaporator coils, absorb heat, so if they do not receive at least annual maintenance, they cannot provide the energy savings they normally would from cooling your home. All HVAC systems experience wear-and-tear and dust buildup, which makes them less effective when they are not addressed.

2. Greater Comfort

A more efficient HVAC unit means greater comfort for everyone in the whole house. A lack of AC maintenance could result in spotty cooling in your home, meaning that some rooms or areas may be warmer than others, leading to discomfort for anyone in those parts of the house.

Short-cycling is another possible issue that could result from missing routine AC maintenance. This refers to when an AC quickly cycle from on to off instead of running a full cycle, which will consume more power in the attempt to get your home to the right temperature. You’ll hear your AC turn on and off, but you may also notice your home getting hotter than it should.

3. Better Indoor Air Quality

Routine maintenance doesn’t only affect your energy bills and comfort; it can also affect your indoor air quality. While you should change your air filter regularly (every one to three months as needed, unless otherwise advised by your AC manufacturer), dust and other pollutants can find their way into your HVAC system through other means that qualified technicians will check during a maintenance appointment.

Pollen, dirt and other contaminants can, for example, make their way into your ductwork if there are cracks or gaps in the sealant. Those particulates can also get into your system if they’re not removed from your outdoor AC unit. Either way, they can exacerbate the severity and longevity of allergies. Instead of only experiencing allergies during the spring, you may even experience them throughout the whole New Jersey summer.

Indoor air quality can be several times poorer than outdoor air quality, which is why you need an HVAC technician to properly evaluate it. Since your home tends to be where your spend the most time or where you seek to relax, you tend to feel problems with your air quality more when you’re indoors.

4. Fewer Repairs and Replacements

Having routine AC maintenance can significantly decrease the risk of your AC breaking down in the middle of the summer. Your indoor air quality and HVAC efficiency are important, but foregoing maintenance means that any problems with your system can end up spiraling out of control and into larger, more expensive issues to fix.

For example, it’s relatively easy for an AC technician to lubricate all the moving parts in your system, which helps mitigate friction and keep things working smoothly. A long-term lack of lubrication, though, can cause parts to break or, in the worst case, even lead to a total system failure. It’s much more expensive to get an entirely new AC installed than it is to have someone perform maintenance on your equipment, and the last thing you want is for your AC to break in the middle of summer.

5. Longer-Lasting Air Conditioner

Regular AC maintenance is an affordable expense compared to the cost of a new AC. Many air conditioners can last between 15 and 20 years. As with all equipment, eventually, your AC will reach the end of its lifespan. An AC tune-up can help prevent that from happening sooner than necessary, instead allowing it to occur from normal wear and tear instead of issues that could have easily been rectified.

All new air conditioners come with a manufacturer’s warranty, too. Most warranties cover essential AC components for a certain number of years after installation. It’s a quality guarantee that protects you from the risk of having a faulty or malfunctioning component that could irreparably damage your system.

There’s just one caveat to maintaining active coverage on the warranty: you must make sure to have your AC serviced regularly (usually annually). Skipping it could void that warranty, forcing you to pay for repairs that the warranty would have covered. That’s because an AC manufacturer does not want to cover repairs and replacements for a system that is improperly cared for. As a homeowner, regular AC tune-ups can save you thousands of dollars in repairs or early replacement.

When Should You Have AC Maintenance?

You should have AC maintenance at least once a year, around the same time each year. The best time to do so is during the early spring before temperatures become hot enough to where you cannot avoid using your air conditioning.

Having AC maintenance done during the early spring will ensure you have a tune-up before you really need to rely on its cooling power in the summer. It will also prevent times of sudden extreme heat when you need to turn on your AC.

If your AC system incorporates heating, it’s a good idea to get it serviced twice a year instead; have someone inspect it once before summer hits and once before winter does.

What Does AC Maintenance Involve?

It’s in your best interests to be informed about the AC maintenance process. However, not all HVAC companies have the same process for evaluating an AC system. To make the most out of your AC tune-up and be confident that it is efficient, consider asking HVAC companies about their tune-ups and whether they offer comprehensive tune-ups. Checking the thermostat, lubricating moving parts, looking at mechanical components, air ducts, and returns, evaluating performance, checking refrigerant levels, and looking at the system as a whole are important parts of AC maintenance you cannot afford to miss.

Contact Us for Your AC Needs in Metuchen, NJ

First Choice Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning & Electrical serves residents throughout Somerset and Middlesex counties and beyond to provide AC maintenance, repairs, and installations. With our attentive customer service and dependable, high-quality workmanship, we can provide the comprehensive AC tune-ups you are looking for to keep your home cool during the summer and offer professional tips to keep it working as efficiently as possible. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our knowledgeable, experienced HVAC technicians.