The start of spring in Atlanta means it’s time to transition from heating season to cooling season and think about heat pump maintenance. Why is now the time to service your heat pump? If you don’t properly maintain it, the odds of poor heat pump performance and wasted energy rise significantly.
Spring Heat Pump Maintenance Checklist
Try the following do-it-yourself tune-up steps and professional heat pump maintenance tips to prolong the life of your unit and keep it at its most efficient level.
Change Air Filter
Your heat pump likely worked hard this past winter to keep your home comfortably, which means the air filter also did some heavy lifting. To lessen your heat pump’s workload and avoid wasting energy via restricted airflow through the forced-air system this season, it’s important to keep up with changing the air filter regularly.
Clean Your System Inside and Out
Unobstructed airflow is vital to keeping your heat pump operating at peak performance, whether flowing through ductwork or passing across indoor and outdoor coils. Check your system’s outside compressor unit for any yard debris and clutter blocking airflow.
Use a garden hose to spray water gently through the fins, working from top to bottom. Remove any remaining debris with a soft brush.
Inside, it’s also important to keep household items such as rugs, drapes, furniture and toys from impeding airflow from your air delivery system. Remove your registers and grills, wipe them to remove dust buildup, and vacuum inside the ducts.
Schedule Professional Heat Pump Maintenance
Cleaning your heat pump’s components yourself first goes a long way toward keeping your unit in top form. Nothing, however, compares to a full system tune-up from a professional HVAC technician. The main aspects of professional preventative maintenance for heat pumps include:
- Thorough system inspection
- Adjustment and lubrication of all moving parts
- System checks
- Performance testing
Benefits of Regular Heat Pump Maintenance
All these maintenance tasks contribute to the overall benefits of taking care of your AC unit, which include:
Increased energy efficiency
It’s harder for a heat pump to operate at peak efficiency when it’s carrying several seasons’ worth of dirt, dust and deferred maintenance. When you follow a regular heat pump maintenance routine each spring, you achieve better overall system efficiency.
Fewer repairs
A thorough heat pump inspection helps a qualified technician pinpoint existing or developing problems and take action to fix them before they become major issues.
Prolonged system life
Heat pump maintenance keeps your system running year in and year out, which helps reduce the potential for premature aging. A properly-maintained heat pump runs for an average of 15 years or longer. In the south, we often see lower averages simply because we require a lot of them each summer.
Increased comfort levels
It’s easier for a heat pump to achieve your set temperature when excess wear and tear isn’t weighing it down.
Spring into Heat Pump Maintenance with Help from the Pros at Estes Services
Spring offers a great window of opportunity to have a professional help you optimize your heat pump’s performance for the coming season. The licensed HVAC technicians at Estes Services are here to help with all your heat pump maintenance needs. Contact us today to schedule an appointment in Kennesaw, Dunwoody, Marietta, Douglas, Peachtree City, Roswell, Druid Hills, Buckhead or Decatur.
