There’s an ol’ saying that is very true. “Out of sight, out of mind.” We tend not to think about our indoor comfort system because it’s down in our basement, attic or crawl space. If it’s working and we’re comfortable, we show it very little attention. So is maintenance really necessary? Years ago, the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service at Louisiana State University teamed up with Gulf States Power to identify what benefits, if any, were provided by an air conditioning tune-up. A series of homes were heavily instrumented, data was collected over time, tune-ups were performed, and data was collected again. The results of this landmark study were staggering. The researchers found that tune-ups saved energy and restored lost capacity. How much?
Average Monthly Savings From a Tune-Up……… $32.76
Average Cooling Capacity Restored……………….. 0.79 Tons
The researchers concluded that:
Air conditioning maintenance benefits the consumer by lowering his operating costs, increasing his comfort control capacity, and is believed to extend equipment life.
But do homeowners need a tune-up every year?
To answer that question, researches repeated the study a year later using the same homes form the prior year. They found that 78% of savings were present. In other words one year of operation takes a toll on an air conditioner. It may still function adequately but not nearly as efficiently as it should.
Average Monthly Savings From a Tune-Up: After One Year Of Opoeration…………………..$25.60
Granted, these studies were performed years ago. That does not lessen their validity. They continue to be referenced because no one has funded additional research into the residential market. If anything, the studies understate the savings potential from a tune-up. Adjusting for inflation, the monthly savings from the first study would be $60.59 today. The savings from a tune-up after one year of operation would be $45.39. In addition, today’s air conditioners with greater efficiency levels, are more likely to need maintenance, due to changes in coil design (thinner fins, more surface area, thinner tubing, rifled tubing, etc), changes in refrigerants, and so on. So trust Brown’s Heating & Air Conditioning with your cooling system this year!
See what EnergyStar says about maintaining our indoor comfort system. What About Maintenance?
You’ll see we surpass what EnergyStar recommends! Call Brown’s today at 618-322-7162 to find out about Service Club Membership. Our Service Club Membership provides you with a semi-annual maintenance visits, discount off repairs, priority service, and free 1″ filters. As a club member, Brown’s Heating & Air Conditioning will call you to schedule your spring and fall visits. Nothing for you to remember or worry about! For homeowners, the bottom line is that given the low cost of a tune-up, the energy savings and restored capacity…Your Membership is Free!!
Don’t Neglect Your System!
Let Gene and his team make your cooling system happy and healthy again with their spring tune-up and safety inspection. They’ll perform over 30 inspection steps to ensure your air conditioner, heat pump, and indoor coil are at optimum efficiency, all electrical components are free from wear and secure, plus inspect all safety switches and sensors.
It will give you the peace of mind you deserve!