"Air Conditioning Maintenance"
Turns Your Air Conditioner...
Into A Lean Mean Comfort Machine

Is Air Conditioning Maintenance really important?

Most people know that the more efficiently a mechanical device works, the less it costs to operate. A well-tuned automobile engine offers far better fuel efficiency than a clunker.

The same holds true with your Air Conditioner. A clean filter, coupled with other Air Conditioning Maintenance tasks, makes your Air Conditioner operate more efficiently, consuming less energy and making it less susceptible to breakdowns.

Energy Savings equal money savings. Keeping your cooling and heating equipment running efficiently also helps our environment.

Cleaner Air Is Cheaper Air

Clean or replace your Air Conditioner Filter EVERY month! A dirty Air Filter makes your A/C System work harder and use more energy than a clean one. A dirty Air Filter is like trying to breathe through a straw.

Your Air Filter also protects the Blower Motor, Blower Wheel, and Evaporator Coils from becoming dirty. Dirt is the #1 problem in an A/C System that causes Motors to die prematurely, and makes your Air Conditioner work harder.

When you buy Air Filters, buy them by the case-they're cheaper, and when you install them make sure the arrow on the Filter is pointing in the right direction, it should be pointing toward the A/C Unit, not towards you.

Visit Air Conditioning Filters for the best filters to use.

Change Your Air Filters Every Month

However, if your A/C System is already dirty, than your monthly air filter changing is just preventing your A/C Unit from becoming dirtier than it already is, and it's not operating at top efficiency.

For instance, a dirty/clogged Evaporator Coil creates the same problems as a dirty filter. Visit Cleaning Air Conditioning Coils for more information.

Air Conditioning Maintenance - Is it Really Necessary
HVAC Insider Information

Air Conditioning Maintenance – Is it really necessary? This is the most commonly asked question that I receive from customers. So here I'm going to attempt to answer this question with Honesty and Integrity. In fact, what I’m about to tell you is HVAC Industry insider information that you are NOT likely to hear from anybody else.

I would like to point out that Air Conditioning Maintenance has a very real value. But I always press home to my customers and anyone else seeking the truth to know what that value is and not bank on the marketing of and/or out dated thoughts about air conditioner maintenance. Here are just a few things you should keep in mind:

First of all, most HVAC companies in Arizona and other states are advertising "A/C Tune-Ups”. But they're not tuning anything! Some companies are a little more honest and will call it "Preventive Maintenance". But they are hardly maintaining anything either. What it should be called is a "Preventive Maintenance Inspection" because that's EXACTLY what is being performed . . . . . . . . AN INSPECTION.

"Tune-Up" sounds better than "Preventive Maintenance" and preventive maintenance sounds better than "Preventive Maintenance Inspection" hence the reason most companies advertise Tune-Up (to make you feel you're getting more for your money than you really are).

The fact is that hardly anything is being done to your A/C system. Instead, most of a Techs time is spent inspecting your system and if they find anything out of the ordinary you will be given a recommendation to repair, replace, or clean the item and quoted additional for it. If something was found with your A/C system that wasn't quite right and you agreed to pay additional to fix it, then and only then could you call it "preventive maintenance", because you actually did something to prevent a future problem. But until then, all you're getting is an inspection.

So is it good to have your air conditioner inspected?

New and even old a/c units may be improved in only very small ways with air conditioning maintenance, or they may be improved quite extensively, it really just depends on the condition of your particular unit.

However, with many years of experience and observation the former happens much more often than the latter. There are even instances where absolutely nothing is changed after the performance of maintenance. In effect, it may turn out that the primary outcome you achieve with air conditioning maintenance is peace of mind. Is peace of mind worth the cost of preventative maintenance? That's entirely up to you. In my opinion, your primary home's A/C should be inspected at least once every 3 to 5 years.

If you have a rental home it should be inspected every year do to the fact that many tenants don’t change the filters on a regular basis or even use a filter for that matter which clogs up the coils.

I have learned over the years that the majority of a/c units I’ve repaired could not have been prevented or even delayed by preventive maintenance. Some if not most failures just happen regardless of any supposed preventive measures you could have taken.

Even though the seeds of many part failures were planted the day the air conditioning contractor installed the equipment, the problems related with inaccurate installation can take many years before a part failure is realized. In many cases the only thing a homeowner can do that will actually prevent costly repairs and extend you’re a/c units life is by replacing the air filter on a regular basis.

When talking about air conditioning maintenance, the main conversation amongst most contractors is not about how maintenance benefits you or the equipment. Rather, they direct their attention on how air conditioning maintenance agreements (bi-annual contracts to service your air conditioner) will grow their business by leaps and bounds. Yes, you heard that right, although the maintenance agreement itself is not exactly profitable. It's considered filler work for the slow seasons of spring and fall.

But the preventive maintenance agreement customer is very profitable. He or she gets treated to a twice a year sales presentation. Air Conditioning Maintenance agreement customers are more likely and expected to buy new a/c equipment, accessories, indoor air quality products, and other hvac services than their non-maintenance agreement customers.

Therefore, having you signed up on an agreement has become an ALL-CONSUMING goal for most A/C Contractors. That’s why they'll price the agreement way too low to hook you and then entice their technicians to up-sell you.

As a homeowner you may have heard:

"Well sir or madam, as you can see this fabricated repair will cost you the rightful amount of $695.00. But if you sign up on our most fantastic yearly air conditioning maintenance agreement you'll save 15% on that price (that we recently raised by 50%) and I'll get a $50 spiff. You'll also get priority service the next time you’re a/c fails. We always prioritize suckers like you.

When I return to do your bi-annual air conditioning maintenance I'll put on an awesome little dog and pony show where I buff the A/C, overcharge the air conditioner and fine tune nothing. I’ll even go so far as to find another problem with your air conditioner so I can fatten my wallet with another $50 spiff.

You'd really be doing me a favor because I need filler work to stay busy during the slow season. Plus, when I return I'll get yet another chance to foist some of our other bogus services on you. You'd be doing yourself a favor as well because you'll think that your system is running better. After all, perception is reality. And I'm perceiving me a nice commission check!"

Ok. So you didn't hear that. But if they were to mend their forked tongues that's what they'd be saying. When A/C contractors talk amongst themselves about residential air conditioning maintenance agreements there's one thing they don't talk about: the actual benefit of twice-yearly maintenance to the homeowner. It's been proven that residential maintenance agreement customers buy more, buy more often and shop around less. A customer who has an air conditioner maintenance contract forms a kind of bond to that company. As a result the money flows. Rather the maintenance agreement actually benefits you or not is insignificant.

You can show me a list of two and three letter abbreviations behind your name. But the fact of the matter is that the HVAC gurus are smarter than you in a highly specialized field that you know very little to nothing about. They have degrees too. And it is their mission in life to separate you from your money. So what have these PhD's of deceit figured out? They've learned that of all the employees an air conditioning company has, it is the service man that you trust the most. He's the problem solver.

He's there to help you. As such the HVAC guru masterminds have dedicated excessive resources to training their service men how to lie, cheat and steal . . . err - that is, sell. Sales training?

Absolutely! It's a win-win situation:

The boss wins bigger sales.

The employees win spiffs and commissions.

And you? Well . . . someone has to pay the winnings.

Does your system actually need twice a year maintenance? That’s up to you! I would check my personal home once every 3 to 5 years and I would check a rental unit on a yearly basis.

However, you won’t hear that from any other HVAC maintenance agreement contractors. Why? Because they have two slow seasons every year (Spring and Fall). Hence the maintenance agreement customer gets two visits every year (one in the spring and one in the fall). And quite often you'll find that your technician will find something wrong with your system that will help fatten him and his employer's wallet.

To add to the masquerade most air conditioning maintenance inspections are performed poorly with technicians introducing dirty contaminants or air into the system and the removal of refrigerant by improper use of their gauges. All of these poorly performed air conditioning maintenance tasks will cause pre-mature part failure for your air conditioner.

To be perfectly clear, I am not devaluing real air conditioning maintenance nor am I suggesting that you should not have it done. What I am doing is trying to bridge the gulf between misperception and reality. Do NOT take this as an implication of anything other than what I've stated explicitly. I will not be held responsible for some clown who uses this editorial as an excuse to ignore his HVAC system and gets himself hurt or killed.

To state it in a more businesslike fashion: It is the company policy of AC Handyman to recommend regular maintenance on your air conditioner and heater. All recognized authorities on the subject recommend the same. However, as I have made clear.....Yearly air conditioning maintenance may not provide all that you think. Part of that lies in incorrect expectations. The rest lies in companies and technicians that don't do complete and honest work. With proper knowledge you can take care of the expectations. I'll take care of doing a complete and honest job.

Sincerely,

Bradley Stansbury

Other Helpful Money Saving Hints & Tips!

and free helpful hints and tips scattered along the way to help increase your comfort and save you money.

Have an Air Conditioning Leak?

Think you should just get an Air Conditioning Recharge? This one is costing you extra money on your utility bills and can potentially ruin your Air Conditioning Compressor.

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Any Air Conditioning Maintenance task beyond changing the Air Filter should be performed by a professional. A complete A/C Unit check and Tune-Up will go a long way to ensure that your unit is operating at peak performance and putting Energy Saving dollars back in your pocket!

For Air Conditioning Maintenance or any other central air conditioning problems, find a low priced contractor in your area here.

For local service in the State of Arizona call the number below.

AC Tune-Up Just $59.95


A/C Handyman
Air Conditioning & Heating
Repair, Service, & Maintenance
1334 W Pepper Pl
Mesa, AZ. 85201
480-343-2530

Brands we service: All major brands including: Mastercool, Trane, Amana, Ruud, Goodman, Carrier, York, Goettl, Payne, Lennox, Rheem, Bryant, Heil, Kenmore, and Coleman.

Air conditioning reviews and ratings for companies are provided in the following states and Canada: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

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