Spring is the season of air conditioning maintenance in Burlington, VT. It’s the best time of the year to arrange for this service to clean, adjust, tune-up, and inspect your AC so it’s ready for the heat of the summer.
We talked about some of the major benefits of maintenance in a post last month. Today we want to go into a little more detail and talk about some of the other ways getting AC maintenance can benefit you. These may not seem obvious at first, but over the life of your air conditioning system (as well as the air conditioning system after it) and your time in your home, you’ll see a significant difference.
Better indoor air quality
Air quality in homes has dropped over the past several decades to the point that the US Environmental Protection Agency lists poor IAQ as a major health hazard in the country. The air inside a home can be 2 to 5 times worse than the outdoor air, which is often the exact reverse of what people think it is. The reason for this decrease in indoor air quality is that homes are built tighter than ever to preserve energy efficiency.
Think about what you do when you run your AC: you make sure the doors and windows are shut to keep out extra heat. But that means you have a sealed indoor environment. If your air conditioner isn’t regularly cleaned and maintained, it will contribute to worsening indoor air quality by circulating contaminants. A major concern with ACs is the development of mold inside—something that regular maintenance will prevent or spot early.
Protect your home
You think of the air conditioner as beneficial for your comfort, which it certainly is. But the AC is beneficial for your home as well. When you go on vacation during the summer, you need to have the air conditioner working in your absence by setting the thermostat to 88°F. That’s too warm for people, but it will keep the AC running just enough during the time you’re gone to prevent heat damage to the interior of your house. So you need a well-maintained AC even when you aren’t around the home!
Help the environment
Your AC uses refrigerant to cool down the air, and refrigerant is potentially toxic for the environment—especially if your air conditioner is using an outdated type of refrigerant such as R-22 (which is possible if you had your air conditioner installed before 2010). Maintenance will locate refrigerant leaks, and it also gives your technicians an opportunity to tell you if you have an outdated system in need of replacement.
Help improve your home’s value
If you’re thinking about selling your home in the near future, having a well-maintained air conditioning system can help with making a sale with a better return on your investment. HVAC systems are important to home buyers—you’ve probably experienced this for yourself when you bought a home—and an air conditioning system in top shape will help increase your home’s value and make the house more appealing to buyers.
Red Rock Mechanical, LLC serves Northwest Vermont and Northeast New York. Call today to schedule air conditioning maintenance to prepare for summer.
