Does My Phoenix AC Unit Need Maintenance?
AC maintenance can be one of those home projects on your spring to do list that is super easy to put off, but don’t be tempted like that. Getting a tune-up for your heating and cooling system is one of the most important things you can do to prolong its life and save money.
What is AC Maintenance?
Air conditioning maintenance is any work that is done on the system that helps maintain the high working order of your HVAC units. This would not include any time your HVAC system breaks down and needs a repair.
The purpose of AC maintenance is to reduce the amount of repairs needed throughout the life of your air conditioner, furnace or heat pump. Regular air conditioner maintenance also helps the system to run longer and more efficiently over its life as well.
HVAC maintenance saves you money over the life of your air conditioner.
How Much Does It Cost For HVAC Maintenance?
If you’re looking for a tune-up for you have a few different options:
One-time maintenance – Wolff’s Tune-Up cost is around $120 Maintenance plans – Wolff’s Comfort Club rages from $17 – $36/month Gimikey cheap one-time maintenance – sometimes as low as $39
While the super low priced maintenance option might be tempting. Beware of companies that price their tune-ups that cheap. When HVAC companies bottom out their prices like that, they are losing money on the actual tune-up. They are betting that they can find something wrong with your system and sell you something more expensive.
What Does AC Maintenance Include?
Here at Wolff Mechanical, we gladly service all makes and models of HVAC systems.
Our AC Tune-Ups include:
- Checking thermostat
- Checking Filters (replace at extra cost)
- Checking electrical connections and inspect wiring
- Inspect safety controls
- Inspect disconnect device
- Check capacitors (replace at extra cost)
- Inspect Plenum or transition connections
- Inspect blower wheel
- Check blower operations
- Check blower amp draw and measure supply air temperature
- Measure return air temperature
- Inspect and wash condenser coil
- Inspect contactors
- Check refrigerant charge
- Inspect Evaporator Coil
- Check condensate drain lines and vacuum out if necessary
AC Repair vs Maintenance
Keeping up with good Scottsdale AC maintenance is important because it is much cheaper than an AC repair. Some repairs for your HVAC system can be fairly inexpensive, but these are large mechanical systems that have lots of moving parts that can be quite expensive to fix. Keeping your AC system properly maintained is one sure way to keep repair costs down.
How often should you have HVAC maintenance?
Wolff Mechanical recommends having your Phoenix AC system serviced at least once per year, though twice a year is better. If you’re only going to have our experts come one once per year, it should be in the spring before the heat of summer comes to the Phoenix Valley.
Are HVAC Maintenance Contracts Worth The Money?
HVAC contracts might seem like a waste of money, especially when you can find companies that are willing to do AC tune-ups for pennies. But a high quality tune-up is not some sort of do it yourself HVAC maintenance and generally costs between $100 – $200. Our normal AC tune-up cost is generally around $120 per system at the time of writing this post.
Our HVAC maintenance plans start around $17 per month per system, but they include more than just the maintenance visit. Being in the Wolff Mechanical Comfort Club gets you benefits like:
We also have plans that include 2 yearly maintenance visits as well as our Platinum Plan that includes a $600 credit toward any necessary repair, up to $2,400 yearly.
AC Maintenance And Warranty
Having a good HVAC warranty is important, while we service all makes and models of AC units, the brand we install is Daikin. Daikin includes a 12 year warranty which is one of the best in the industry. But Daikin, as well as all other HVAC brands, requires regular maintenance in order to keep the warranty in good standing.
Conclusion
You might be able to get by for a while with no Phoenix AC maintenance, but your system will only run for so long, and will not run as efficiently as possible. The only way to keep your system running efficiently for as long as possible is with seasonal HVAC maintenance and the cheapest way to do that is with a preventative maintenance program.
