HOME HERO
Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
Heating, Ventilation,
& Air Conditioning (HVAC)
Your Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning equipment keeps your home safe and comfortable.
Much of the maintenance should be performed by a licensed professional, but some of the most important tasks can be done by the homeowner.
There are several types of heating and cooling equipment. We will will cover the three main systems types:
Heating and Cooling via Air Ducts (Air Handlers)
Many of us have homes that are heated and cooled by air that is blown into our rooms from wall registers. These wall registers are connected by ducts (large metal tubes) to a central air handler.
The air handler is essentially a big box with a fan. The air handler draws from your rooms through return ducts, blows the air over a hot or cold element, and then blows the hot or cold air to your rooms through supply ducts.
The heat and cooling can come from a number of sources:
- A furnace is an air-handler with an integrated gas or oil fired heating component.
- In a hydronic system the heat is provided from hot water produced by a boiler and piped into the air handler.
- Both furnace and hydronic heated airhandlers can also include cooling (aka “central air conditioning”) with an additional integrated evaporator coil in the air handler paired with a condenser coil and compressor (outside) to provide cooling.
- A heat pump system is an air-handler with an integrated evaporator coil paired with a condenser coil and compressor (outside) to provide heating and cooling. It is essentially a central air system than can also “run in reverse” to also provide heating.
Furnace and Air Handler Maintenance
Furnaces and Air Handler require regular maintenance.
- Get annual heating system check-up from a licensed professional at the start of the heating season. To get an idea of what you should expect watch this video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IG_YZTR-lE)
- Central Air Conditioning owners – Get annual air conditioning check-up from a licensed professional at the start of the cooling season. To get an idea of what you should expect watch this video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBBnXHse-T0)
- Replace furnace/air handler filter every 3 months of use – If you only do ONE THING, do this
- Confirm at least 2/3rds of your supply and return vent registers are open. Confirm the registers are not blocked by furniture.
- Furnace Owners – Confirm nothing is blocking your furnace’s exhaust and intake vents on the exterior of your home, such as bird or animal nests. If you live in an area with deep snow fall, you may need to clear the snow away from your intake and exhaust vents periodically throughout the winter. Your furnace will not function with blocked intake and exhaust vents. Older furnaces tie into your chimney rather than venting through the side of your home.
- If your furnace/air handler has an integrated humidifier, replace the water panels annually. In winter, turn humidifier control to “On” and set humidifier damper to “Open”. In summer, turn humidifier control to “Off” and set humidifier damper to “Closed”.
- Seal gaps and heavily insulate any portion of the heating or cooling system that passes through unconditioned space, such as an unheated garage, attic, or crawlspace. Read this Energy Vanguard Article to learn how. (https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/7-ways-to-improve-ducts-in-an-unconditioned-attic/)
Boilers and Radiator Heating System Maintenance
Boilers require regular maintenance.
- Get annual heating system check-up from a licensed professional at the start of the heating season
- Confirm nothing is blocking your boiler’s exhaust and intake vents on the exterior of your home, such as bird or animal nests. If you live in an area with deep snow fall, you may need to clear the snow away from your intake and exhaust vents periodically throughout the winter. Your boiler will not function with blocked intake and exhaust vents. Older boilers tie into your chimney rather than venting through the side of your home.
- Flush sediment out of boiler annually. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK8qT-hJW_s)
- Heavily insulate any portion of the heating or cooling system that passes through unconditioned space, such as an unheated garage, attic, or crawlspace. Read this Energy Vanguard Article to learn how. (https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/7-ways-to-improve-ducts-in-an-unconditioned-attic/)
Watch this video to learn what you should expect from your licensed professional.
Thank you to Mikey Pipes – Pipe Doctor for creating this excellent video
Heat Pump Mini-Split Maintenance
Heat pump mini- splits require regular maintenance.
- Get annual system check-up from a licensed professional at the start of the heating season
- Heatpump and Mini-Split Owners – Clean the removable filters monthly. Clean filters will extend the time between the much more comprehensive (and expensive) professional cleaning of the mini-split head. However even with regularly cleaned filters, the mini-split heads should be professionally cleaned at least once a year.
- Heavily insulate any portion of the heating or cooling system that passes through unconditioned space, such as an unheated garage, attic, or crawlspace. Read this Energy Vanguard Article to learn how. (https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/7-ways-to-improve-ducts-in-an-unconditioned-attic/)
Watch this video to learn what you should expect from your licensed professional.
Thank you to Marr’s Heating and Air Conditioning for creating this excellent video
Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) or Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) Maintenance
Modern building codes require that homes are built “tight”, which means that gaps that allow cold air, water, humidity, and insects into your home are not allowed. However we now need to do add a source of fresh outdoor air. This fresh air is supplied by an Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) or Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV).
These ERVs and HRVs have filters that must be changed every 3 to 6 months depending on outside air conditions and a core that must be cleaned or replaced annually.
Watch this video to learn what you should expect from your licensed professional.
Thank you to Matt Risinger for creating this excellent video
Talk to us
Have any questions? We are always open to talk about your home and how we can help you.