Your HVAC system keeps your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. As much as you rely on it for comfort, it relies on you for maintenance and service. You have to make sure you arrange for technicians to come out and inspect the unit on a regular basis to keep everything working properly.
However, since this might only happen twice a year, it’s easy to forget about with everything else you have going on in life. The result is that you wind up waiting until there’s an issue before you call for service. An HVAC maintenance contract might be a different way of doing things, and there can be potential benefits to having one.
1. Financial Savings
One of the biggest selling points of these plans is the potential to save money. You might get discounts that bundle services together in groupings that cost less than getting them individually. Preferred or priority clients might get lower rates, and pre-season appointments might be more affordable than peak-season time slots.
The actual details vary from one plan to the next, but the biggest opportunity for savings might be catching possible issues early. Regular maintenance means technicians can identify issues and intervene while they’re still pretty cheap to fix compared to bigger disasters later on.
2. Convenience
You probably know how important spring maintenance is to summer HVAC performance. Fall appointments are also crucial to staying warm in the winter. With an HVAC service maintenance contract, your appointments might be automate, so you never forget to make them. At the very least, you can expect reminders by text, email, or phone to schedule your service. Doing this in advance gives you a broader choice of potential appointments that might suit your schedule, and you can beat the seasonal rush in many cases.
3. Healthier Air at Home
Since air inside isn’t naturally circulated like outdoor is, it can actually be several times more polluted than outdoor air. Also, some families spend as much as 90% of their lives indoors. That means your family can be exposed to indoor air pollution quite a bit, but regular HVAC service keeps the system clean and functional. That helps boost the quality of your home’s air.
If you have anyone with respiratory illnesses, allergies, or asthma, then this can be a source of great comfort. Your regular appointments are also chances to talk to your technicians about upgrades or options that might help improve your indoor air quality even more.
4. High-Priority Service
Homeowners who are part of HVAC service agreements usually get placed in the category of priority clients. Anytime they call for service, their appointments are moved to the front of the line. If you need service during peak demand times, then this can be very beneficial. The middle of summer or the first strong weather of any season can possibly drive up demand for service calls, and you won’t have to wait as long as everyone else. Being a priority-service client is a standard feature of many HVAC service agreements, but it’s an additional feature to others. Check out the details of any plan that you look at so you know where you will stand before signing the agreement.
5. Utmost Efficiency
Even though HVAC systems can last up to 15 years, they have to be maintained to make it that long. They also need regular service if they’re going to continue working at their utmost potential. The right HVAC preventative maintenance contract means you can enjoy a system that uses power efficiently and stays in great operating condition.
Having a system that remains strong and effective can also be a safety issue in extreme weather. Sick family members, children, and seniors might not be able to regulate their body temperatures as well as others if the heating or air conditioning goes out. Pets might also be at risk. When professionals constantly service your home’s HVAC system, it’s more likely to work in peak condition when that’s demanded of it.
6. The Paper Trail
An HVAC service plan gives you regular technician visits from the same service provider on an ongoing basis. This makes it much easier to create and maintain documentation that your HVAC system is being serviced by qualified professionals on a regular basis. That’s usually going to be necessary to keep the warranty intact on your system. It might even be necessary for your homeowner’s insurance.
What HVAC Maintenance Service Agreements Include
Not every HVAC maintenance service agreement is going to cover the same things, but you can reasonably expect routine visits and adjustments along with emergency service. General priority service agreements should cover supplies, parts, and labor. Supplies could include air filters, cleaning supplies, lubricants, and solvents. Labor costs might cover inspections, cleanings, maintenance tasks, and annual visits.
The parts covered can get complicated. Common parts, such as bolts, fuses, wires, and screws, are usually included in a maintenance service agreement. However, major parts might not be automatically covered in a standard plan. Examples of major parts include compressors, fans, and heat pumps.
Things to Consider
When you’re shopping around for a maintenance contract or service plan, you should focus on the potential benefits and weigh these against the potential costs. Also, factor in the specific details of a plan. Doing all of this is necessary to decide if such a plan is right for you and your home.
You will get regular service calls that are easier to remember and schedule. You’ll also make sure your equipment remains functional and possibly even works longer. However, you need to make sure that an annual or monthly fee for a service contract is relatively close to what you’d spend on your air conditioner on average anyway.
Priority levels of service can make you feel good, but you need to see how much faster they’ll actually show up. Being told you get to move to the front of the line is one thing, but ask about how much faster these appointments are in reality during peak times of demand.
Always check into the background and customer satisfaction levels of a business offering a maintenance plan. Be sure that you’re dealing with someone reputable and honest. Your contract is only useful if it’s actually honored and if you get what you pay for.
See What We Can Do for You
A preventative maintenance program for your HVAC system might be something that makes your life much easier. Our team of technicians can inspect, clean, and service your system at regular intervals to make sure everything stays in working order. You’ll get to know us the more often we show up, and you’ll feel comfortable having someone you know around when your appointments come due. If you live in Metuchen, NJ or the surrounding communities, then count on us at First Choice Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning for your home’s plumbing, heating, and cooling needs. Contact us right away to see if an HVAC maintenance agreement is right for you.
