Proper Maintenance Checklist

Regular maintenance of your home's heating and cooling system can optimize its efficiency, prevent future problems and help troubleshoot comfort issues. Scheduling off-season check-ups with a qualified heating and cooling professional will help keep your system running at peak performance and help prevent system failure during the heating and cooling season.

A crisis during peak season doesn’t allow you or your contractor the time to consider all your options when immediate comfort, not efficiency, may be your priority.

What You Can Do

Once a month inspect, clean or replace the filter in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump. A dirty filter may increase energy costs by causing your system to work harder, which also can possibly reduce the life of your system. Depending on your system, your filter may be found in the duct system versus the heating and cooling equipment itself. Electronic filters should be checked monthly and cleaned as needed. The manufacturer’s instructions should be followed carefully. Care should be taken to ensure the interior components are installed in the correct orientation after cleaning.
Check that there is adequate clearance around your outdoor unit of your central air conditioning system. Trim back shrubs or plants crowding the unit and be careful to avoid debris such as grass clipping getting inside the unit. Trim back shrubs or plants crowding the unit and be careful to avoid debris such as grass clipping getting inside the unit.

What Your Contractor Should Do

All System Types

Check air flow and your comfort level. The contractor should discuss with you if any of your rooms are too hot or too cold. The air flow being delivered to all rooms should be checked to detect comfort issues that may cause you to unnecessarily adjust your thermostat and reduce your energy savings.
Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away.
Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce its life.
Lubricate all moving parts (if required by the manufacturer). Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increase the amount of electricity used.
Check and inspect the condensation drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house, affect indoor humidity levels, and cause the system to stop working.
Check the system controls to ensure the equipment starts, operates and shuts off properly.

For Cooling Systems

Clean evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils. Dirty coils can reduce the system's ability to cool your home and cause the system to run longer, increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.
Check the central air conditioner's refrigerant level and adjust if necessary. Too much or too little refrigerant can make your system less efficient increasing energy costs and reducing the life of the equipment.

For Forced Air Heating Systems

Check all gas (or oil) connections, gas pressure and burner combustion. Improperly operating gas (or oil) connections can be a fire hazard and contribute to health problems. A dirty burner can cause improper burner operation and can cause the equipment to operate less safely and efficiently.
Check the heat exchanger for holes, cracks or warping. Boiler heat exchangers can leak water and are easy to spot. Furnace heat exchangers mix combustion gases with house air when they leak, which is an important safety reason to have them inspected.
Check the condition of your vent connection pipe and chimney. Parts of the venting system may have deteriorated over time. Chimney problems can be expensive to repair and may help justify installing new heating equipment that won't use the existing chimney.
Adjust the controls on the boiler or furnace to provide optimum water and air temperature settings for both efficiency and comfort.
Clean and adjust blower components to provide proper system airflow for greater comfort levels. Airflow problems can reduce your system's efficiency.
Water levels in humidifiers should be checked and adjusted monthly. Interior components should be replaced on an as needed basis. The pad on drum type humidifiers should be replaced annually. The water supply to humidifiers should be shut off for the summer months and activated for the heating months. On systems with air conditioning or a heat pump, the damper in the humidifier ductwork should be closed during the cooling season.

For Hot Water Systems

Radiators and convectors should be inspected annually for leaks, particularly at the valves. Radiators should be bled of air annually, and as necessary during the heating season.
Circulating pumps should be lubricated during the heating season (according to the manufacturers’ instructions). Expansion and pressure tanks should be inspected annually and pressure or level adjusted accordingly.
Electric baseboard heaters should be inspected to ensure an adequate clearance from combustibles. Baseboard heaters which have been mechanically damaged should be repaired or replaced.
Test that the pressure-relief valve and high-limit control are functioning properly.
Clean the heat exchanger. A dirty heat exchanger can reduce efficiency.

For Steam Systems

Drain some water from the boiler to remove sediments following manufacturers instructions, which improves the heat exchange efficiency if done regularly.
Test low-water cutoff safety control and high-limit safety control.
Drain the float chamber to remove sediments. This prevents the low-water cutoff control from sediment clogs
Analyze boiler water and add chemicals as needed to control deposits and corrosion.
Clean the heat exchanger. A dirty heat exchanger can reduce efficiency.