If you tend to forget spring home maintenance chores like putting new batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, why not put together a to-do list to tackle when you’re changing your clocks for Daylight Saving Time? You can get the HVAC system ready to spring forward, too, by adding these tasks:
Improve Air Distribution Through the Duct System
Have an HVAC professional inspect the ductwork and correct deficiencies like damaged or disconnected sections. Then, get the accessible runs sealed and insulated. If it’s warranted, have the ducts cleaned as well, and make sure your registers are open and unobstructed.
Clean Up Around the Condenser
Insufficient airflow through the outdoor condenser makes cooling less efficient and more costly. It also puts unnecessary wear on the system’s most expensive component — the compressor. To prevent these issues, clear a two-foot wide area around the unit. Get rid of dead leaves, broken branches and other accumulated yard debris. Cut back tall grass or weeds, too, and trim low-hanging tree limbs and shrubs.
Lower the Equipment’s Workload
Reducing the load on the HVAC system can curb your energy consumption and cooling costs. Tightening up the ducts is a good start, but you can also air seal your home’s exterior using weatherstripping, caulk and expandable foam. Seal sources of leakage between the living areas and attic space as well, and make sure you have R-60 of properly-installed insulation between the attic floor joists.
Schedule a Preventive Care Visit
When you have the HVAC system thoroughly inspected, cleaned and tuned up in the spring, you’ll know it’s ready to keep your home comfortable as efficiently as possible once the weather heats up. An experienced technician should check the refrigerant level, clean the fans and coils, service and lubricate the blower assembly, flush the condensate drain system and change the air filter. Just remember to check the filter each month during the cooling season, and replace it when there’s any visible debris accumulation.
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