HVAC Performance Tips & Advice

As a homeowner, you can and should be evaluating your home’s heating and cooling system on an annual basis. Today we’re going to talk about how to evaluate the performance of your heating and cooling system over the past year and what you can do to make it run more efficiently and effectively for years to come.

How to Evaluate the Performance of your HVAC System

Think about how comfortable your home was. Take a moment to think about how comfortable your home was this past year. Were there specific times of the year that your home was too hot or too cold? How well did your system operate in extreme temperatures? Make note of any noticeably uncomfortable times that weren’t directly related to a repair that fixed the problem. Keeping track of this information will allow you to provide useful information to our technicians during service or maintenance calls and help you determine when it’s time to replace your system.
Count up your repair calls. How many times did you have to call to have your furnace or air conditioner repaired this past year? Were they small repairs or large and expensive ones? Did you need more repairs this year than you’ve needed in the past? If your system broke down more than usual in 2014, next year might be a good time to install a new one.
Review your energy bills. Take a look at your energy bills from 2014 and look for any telling trends. Your bills will naturally go up during the hottest and coldest times of the year, but look for any signs that they are on the rise across the board. If you have access to your statements from 2013, compare them with this year’s and see which ones were more expensive. Rising energy bills is a good indication that either your system is aging or you could benefit from making some whole house efficiency improvements (below).
Don’t forget about air quality. It can be easy to forget how big of a role your heating and cooling system plays in the health of your indoor environment. How quickly did illnesses spread throughout your home this year? Did any of your family members suffer from allergies or asthma? If health issues like these were common in 2014, your family would likely benefit from upgrading your air filtration system (below).

How to Improve Your Heating and Cooling Performance

Schedule furnace and A/C tune-ups. This should be done once in the spring for your air conditioner and once in the fall for your furnace. Annual tune-ups are essential if you want to improve efficiency levels and avoid problems with your heating and cooling system.
Consider signing up for a service plan. Annual tune-ups are included with Hydes service plans, in addition to many other time- and money-saving benefits that will make it easy to improve the performance of your heating and cooling system in 2015.
Set reminders to change your filter. Changing your air filter is one of the most important maintenance tasks for your heating and cooling system. It can be easy to forget to change them, so set monthly reminders in your phone or calendar.
Make whole-house efficiency improvements. Adding insulation, sealing air leaks, sealing duct leaks and installing a programmable thermostat are just a few of the services that Hydes provides that will improve your entire home’s efficiency levels. Give us a call to determine which solutions are right for your home!
Upgrade your air filtration system. If you want to improve the health of your indoor environment in 2015, consider installing one of the advanced air cleaners and/or air purifiers that Hydes offers.
Replace your system if necessary. The beginning of the year is a good time to get a fresh start on many aspects of your life, which makes this a great time to replace your heating and cooling system if need be. A new system will start 2015 off right by keeping your home comfortable and your energy bills low.

If you have any questions about your heating and cooling system’s performance, or if you’d like a furnace or air conditioner serviced or installed in your home, contact Hydes, your Coachella Valley furnace installation and repair contractor.