For Boise homeowners, we generally recommend getting your HVAC system tuned up twice a year.
More specifically, we recommend getting your furnace tuned up in September—October (early fall) and your AC tuned up in April–May (late spring).
In this article, we’ll look at why we recommend getting a tune-up during those times of the year.
Need an AC tune-up or a furnace tune-up?
Why we recommend getting a tune-up twice a year
Both your furnace and AC system need to have annual maintenance, and it’s best to have each tune-up done separately—your furnace in early fall; your AC in late spring.
Why early fall and why late spring?
The main reason is that those times of the year are right before winter and summer hit in full swing—which is when you rely on your HVAC system the most.
Maintaining your heating/cooling system before winter and summer will ensure your system will run at its best when demand is the greatest.
On the other hand, if you skip maintenance for your HVAC system, you’ll run into issues like:
- Higher utility bills: Without maintenance, dust and other debris builds up on your AC and furnace parts, causing them to work inefficiently. For example, if dust builds up in the blower fan, it struggles to circulate air, running up your electricity bill. During a tune-up, a tech would clean the blower fan so you wouldn’t run into this problem.
- Increased chance of breakdowns: Say you never changed the oil in your car. It would eventually run into some serious issues, right? The same idea applies to furnace/AC maintenance. If you skip too many system tune-ups, parts will wear out and you could face an expensive repair bill or be left without conditioned air.
- Voided parts warranty: Most AC and furnace manufacturers require annual maintenance, otherwise your parts warranty will be considered invalid by the manufacturer.
What to look for in an HVAC maintenance tech
According to Energy Star, a maintenance pro should perform the following tasks during a typical maintenance visit:
- Check thermostat settings
- Tighten all electrical connections
- Lubricate all moving parts
- Inspect the condensate drain
- Test all controls of the system
- Change air filters if dirty
- Clean evaporator coil (for AC tune-up)
- Check refrigerant level (for AC tune-up)
- Check gas pressure and burner combustion (for furnace tune-up)
- Inspect and clean heat exchanger (for furnace tune-up)
Before you hire a tech to perform maintenance on your AC or furnace, make sure they (at least) perform those tasks during a standard tune-up. If they don’t, you’ll want to keep looking for a tech that does meet those minimum requirements.
We perform those tasks and more. See what we cover in our 20-point AC tune-up and our 22-point furnace tune-up.
Need an AC or furnace tune-up?
We’ll send one of our trusted techs to make sure your system is in tip-top shape and ready for the demands of summer and winter.
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