It’s easy to take indoor comfort for granted. As long as our Southern New Jersey homes are cool in summer and warm in winter, it’s all good. But when something disturbs the reliable flow of heated or cooled air, life comes to a standstill. The easiest way to keep South Jersey heat pumps, furnaces and air conditioners in good condition is to have them cleaned and inspected every year by a certified heating and cooling technician.
Annual HVAC Maintenance Equals Optimal HVAC Performance
You’ve probably heard over and over that you should be considering a maintenance service plan for your home HVAC system in South Jersey. But honestly speaking, it’s hard to get anyone to do much of anything if you don’t explain why it’s important! Why do you need a maintenance plan? What does it do for you? Well, at McAllister, we never want you to be in the dark about our services. So let’s have a chat!
Air conditioners should be cleaned and inspected every spring; heaters should be cleaned and inspected every fall. Although HVAC service plans involve a commitment, most of them come with perks and benefits that make the commitment worthwhile.
Ready to gain the benefits of a McAllister maintenance service plan? Contact our certified HVAC team online today to get started!
Maintenance Service vs. a Maintenance Service Plan
First, let’s differentiate between a regular maintenance service and a service place. A maintenance service is a one-time call in for tune-ups and cleaning for HVAC systems. They spruce your HVAC system up, improving performance, maximizing energy-efficiency and lowering costs, and ensuring you get a long, healthy lifespan out of your heating and cooling.
A maintenance plan is also all of these things. It’s just more long-term. Maintenance service plans are plans and contracts for routine service. They can be pursued yearly, or you can go for a longer contract as you choose. But that’s not all a maintenance service plan is.
With maintenance service plans, you get all of the service of a maintenance visit, plus you also get discounts, priority service, routine services, and even cuts on labor costs.
Why Is a Maintenance Service Plan the Best Choice?
It can all be summed up in one very important word: consistency. A one-off service is certainly better than nothing, but the true benefits of maintenance services come via consistency. With each optimization, cleaning, and inspection your system becomes more efficient and more reliable. More consistent, if you will.
There are also benefits to you personally as well, since you won’t have to manually keep track of when your last visit was, and potentially wait too long (losing you many of those benefits). In addition maintenance plans tend to cost far less than single visits, meaning you get some savings in efficiency, repairs, and in overall service costs.
And of course there’s a benefit to consistency for us as well. Not only do we know we were the last team to work with your system (and thus know what needs doing the most), but consistent business is just better overall.
How Often do Systems Need Maintenance?
It depends a bit on the system in question. And air conditioner, just your standard central setup, typically needs service once a year; best done in the spring. A heat pump, however, needs service twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, for heating and cooling both. This is another reason why a maintenance plan is better overall.
Experts know exactly what kind of service each system needs. If you have a heat pump system, we can provide tailored heat pump maintenance at the needed quality and consistency. If you need furnace maintenance, we know how to do that too, and when it needs to be done.
Benefits of HVAC Scheduled Maintenance Plans
Service plans can save you time and money on annual HVAC inspections. Some plans come with discounts on HVAC repairs and installations that may be required in between maintenance visits. Here are some additional benefits that may be included in an HVAC service plan:
- Scheduled service reminders. Just before the seasons change, HVAC contractors are very busy providing annual maintenance for heating and cooling systems. With a maintenance plan, you’ll be notified in advance to schedule service just before the rush. That way, you can be sure that your heater or air conditioner will be good to go for the season ahead.
- Maintenance documentation. When your HVAC systems receive annual maintenance, your HVAC contractor will provide you with documentation to show that your heating and cooling systems have been cleaned and inspected. Annual maintenance may be necessary to keep equipment warranties valid. It also demonstrates that you have had your heating and cooling systems serviced every year in the event that you decide to sell your property.
- Priority service. Many HVAC maintenance plans entitle you to priority service should your heater or air conditioner need repair or replacement. Depending on your maintenance contract, you may also receive preferential treatment in the event of an HVAC emergency.
- Discounted pricing. Many service plans come with additional perks, cost savings, and discounts as well. Depending on the company in question and the plan offered you can get reduced prices on parts and labor, as well as new technology and needed repair services.
- Longer equipment lifespan. Heating and cooling systems work around the clock to provide a comfortable indoor environment. Expecting your furnace, air conditioner or heat pump to work that hard without annual maintenance is like expecting your automobile to remain in good condition without regular oil changes and maintenance. A maintenance plansthat ensures annual service can extend the life of your HVAC by up to 50 percent. The better you care for your HVAC, the longer it will last and the better it will care for you.
- Energy-efficient performance. While skipping HVAC maintenance might not seem to have any immediate adverse effects, it does effect HVAC performance over time. When your heat pump, furnace or air conditioner is in optimal performance mode, it operates more efficiently. The more efficiently it operates, the less energy it will consume and the lower your utility bills will be.
- Correction of problems and potential issues before they escalate. With a service contract, you are not likely to skip annual HVAC maintenance. Duritune-upsups and inspections, your technician can identify any potential problems and correct them before they become serious and costly.
So Why Doesn’t Everyone Get a Maintenance Service Plan?
We don’t know! Maybe it’s a commitment issue. But honestly much of the time it’s probably just a lack of information on the topic. Maybe you’ve never heard of a maintenance plan. And that’s why we’re talking about it today!
When you choose a maintenance service plan, you get a stronger, more efficient HVAC system. And one that is far less prone to breakdowns, which is a huge boon unto itself. It’s the best way for our team to directly impact your comfort in a very positive way, which is why we place so much importance on it.
Want to learn more about the maintenance plans that the team at McAllister offers for Somers Point homeowners? Check out our maintenance service page for more details!
