Although cleaning the furnace coils isn’t a project that often comes to mind, it should. Keeping your furnace coils clean provides many benefits for you and your furnace, not the least of which is preventing a possible fire hazard.
Some homeowners opt to clean their furnace coils themselves, but a better option is to call a professional for an annual maintenance check-up or tune-up. It’s never advisable for homeowners to access the evaporator coil on their furnace, but your HVAC professional has been trained and has the tools to accomplish this safely.
Also, DIY furnace cleaning will sometimes void the warranty on the unit, and there’s the risk of incurring personal injury. If you’re not a trained HVAC technician, then your better option is to schedule professional maintenance on your HVAC unit.
Your technician will clean the coils and perform preventive maintenance to ensure the unit is in peak operating condition for the winter. In addition, an HVAC unit has two types of coils, condenser coils, and evaporator coils, and it’s essential to know which is which, and only a professional may know that.
What Are the Benefits of Cleaning Furnace Coils?
Keeping your furnace coils clean, especially if you have an HVAC unit, can be one of the most cost-effective ways of prolonging the lifespan of your unit. When coils and vanes are dirty, the unit has to work longer to heat your home. The harder the unit has to work, the shorter its lifespan, and this applies to heaters as well as air conditioners.
When the coils and vanes in a heater or an air conditioner are clean and free of debris, the unit works more efficiently, which translates into lower energy costs. If you’ve been keeping your thermostat at a less-than-optimal setting, you may be able to adjust it so that you’re more comfortable if you have the coils and vanes cleaned. Cleaning your HVAC coils has been rated as the most cost-effective method for increasing the efficiency and lifespan of your HVAC unit.
Dirt, grease, and debris act like an insulator on your furnace coils, so they can prevent your furnace from operating at peak efficiency. If you have a damaged or defective coil, a professional HVAC technician can replace or repair it so that you don’t have to forego heating or cooling when you need it.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a dirty coil can increase energy use by as much as 30%. This means that maintaining clean heater coils can pay for the cost of the maintenance call in just a few months or less. Change your filter on schedule to increase the efficiency of your heating unit and reduce the accumulation of dirt, grime, and debris on the heater coils. Installing a smart thermostat can help increase your unit’s efficiency since you can set the temperature and forget about it. That way, your home will be at a comfortable temperature while using the least amount of energy. Your technician can install that for you.
When dirt, grease, and debris accumulate on the coils or vanes, you can also have a fire hazard. Sometimes, it doesn’t take much to start a fire, and it can happen when furnace coils aren’t kept clean. This doesn’t mean you have to add them to your weekly cleaning schedule, but they should be cleaned at least annually, if not semi-annually.
Some units use the heat exchanger even in the summer, and when it reacts with the warm air in the home, mold and mildew can accumulate. This is definitely a health hazard, but you may be unaware of it. Cleaning your furnace coils and vanes can prevent this from happening, but since it’s inside the unit, it’s not a DIY project.
In addition to reducing mold and mildew growth, a clean HVAC unit will enable both the furnace and the air conditioner to keep your overall indoor air quality at a higher level. When coils are dirty, the unit can’t remove the microscopic particulate matter in the home, and your air quality deteriorates. For those with allergies or asthma, this can be a serious health hazard. When you schedule a maintenance call, your technician will also clean the air ducts and filter so that you don’t accumulate particulate matter in them. This can cause health hazards such as chest pain, shortness of breath, asthma flare-ups, coughs, and eye irritation.
In many areas, the furnace is used daily. As a result, various external factors can cause unnoticeable problems with your furnace. A maintenance call will check all connections and wiring to ensure they’re tight and repair or replace them as needed. Your technician will also check the flame and sensor, if applicable, to ensure that it’s burning efficiently. They’ll recalibrate your thermostat if necessary and lubricate all the moving parts in your heater. They’ll check the blower motor and test it to ensure it’s drawing the correct amperage, check the belts and replace them as needed, check for rust or corrosion, and remove any blockages from the intake grilles.
Is There a Good Time to Schedule Furnace Coil Cleaning?
Although we provide maintenance, tune-ups, and repairs throughout the year, the best time to schedule an appointment is before you need it. When you wait until the last minute or until your unit malfunctions, then you have an emergency, and those are always more expensive. They’re also more inconvenient, so don’t procrastinate in scheduling an appointment for your heater coil cleaning. You can schedule online or contact the office, whichever is more convenient.
We provide 24/7 emergency service to our customers, but it’s more cost-effective to schedule an appointment before you need one. We also offer a DAM plan to our customers, and it provides discounts, priority service, and other benefits to its members. So, ask us about it when you talk to us.
If you’re just starting your heater for the winter, you may notice an odd burning smell at first. This shouldn’t last for more than a day, but a service call may be needed if it does. If it smells like burning plastic, then you should definitely call a professional technician.
Need to Schedule a Heater Coil Cleaning?
The award-winning Dring Air Conditioning & Heating has been serving the area since 1953 and ensuring our customers’ comfort in the unpredictable weather of North Texas. All our technicians are fully vetted and accredited before hiring, so you can be comfortable allowing us into your home.
We pride ourselves on standing apart from the big-box mentality and providing the family-owned, small-business service that is so rare now. As a result, our company has steadily grown throughout the years, and our many outstanding reviews are a testament to the quality of our service and our technicians.
In addition to providing heating and cooling maintenance, we repair furnaces and air conditioners. If you need to replace your heating or cooling unit, we can help you with that too. We know that new units are expensive, so we offer financing services on approved credit. You can also turn to us for indoor air quality solutions and air duct and thermostat installation.
If you live in Carrollton, Texas or the surrounding areas and need to schedule a maintenance call or a heater coil cleaning, or you are interested in learning more about our other services, contact us at Dring Air Conditioning & Heating for an appointment.