We get it. It’s fall, your AC is turned off or about to be turned off, your heater doesn’t need to come on just yet, and you’re probably enjoying a well-deserved reprieve on the electric bill. And at Bell Brothers, we think that’s great. Everyone needs a break, and every system does too. But sometimes breaks mean that systems don’t get looked at or tuned up–and fall is the perfect time to do just that.
But My System Isn’t Broken!
We want to keep it that way! It’s hard to spend money on something that appears to be working fine, and we know the old adage about “if it ain’t broke…” But let’s talk seriously for a second. When was the last time an HVAC tech checked out your system, inside and out, for wear, tear, and damage. Not just a filter change or a repair, but a solid old-fashioned tune-up?
If the answer is more than a year ago, you should know that your HVAC needs a little routine work now and then. Ideally, each system should get a tune-up at least once a year, especially if your system is more than 10 years old. We’re not just talking maintenance or repair, we mean a real checkup to look at stuff that often get missed–from pilot lights to condensers to thermal couplers. Everything that your system has needs to be checked out at times–and it’s cheaper than you might think. That goes double if you’re able to catch a problem early in the game before it develops into an expensive repair job or system replacement!
Funny Smells and Noises…
It’s possible you’ve noticed some new noises or maybe an odd smell emanating from your HVAC system or ducts. Maybe a little bad egg smell when you walk close to a duct in a particular room, or a dirty sock odor you can’t quite place. Maybe you catch a brief whiff of burning rubber when your AC kicks on and it blows just right.[1. https://www.hannabery.com/faq14.shtml] Perhaps you’ve noticed a clacking noise in the vent. Or even that the system sometimes trips your breaker once in awhile. These issues are usually more than just “quirks” of your system’s personality–they’re symptoms of bigger problems, portents of future damage and expense.
We know they’re easy to write off, but don’t! Any of the above and a host of other “funny” behavior can spell trouble for your system and your wallet. If you’ve been putting off that tune-up, now’s the time to get it done. Mention to the HVAC tech any issues you’ve noticed. We know at Bell Brothers that homeowners who have lived with an issue for days, weeks, or even months are a font of information about their system. They can give all the salient details that are needed to address a system’s problems and diagnose trouble before it starts. If you feel like you’re getting the brush-off from an HVAC contractor when they’re working in your home, you should know that that’s not a good sign for the work in general. A quality HVAC tech will listen to you and address each of the issues you bring up.
What If I Can’t Afford an HVAC Tune-Up Right Now?
You’d be surprised.
Seriously. You’d be surprised how cheap an HVAC tune-up can run. At Bell Brothers we price all our work with the client in mind–we know that you have other things you need to pay for, and we want the best for our clients and their systems. That’s why we price affordably and go to lengths to make sure our clients are impressed with the work they get for their money.
Routine tune-ups aren’t expensive, but when compared to the cost of serious repair (or heaven forbid, system replacement), they’re downright cheap. And that sort of major cost is exactly what you’re avoiding with routine tune-ups and maintenance. Like we said before, if your system is working great–that’s great! And as your go-to HVAC experts, we here at Bell Brothers want to keep it that way.