How Much Money Can a Well-Maintained Furnace Save Me?

The two main benefits of keeping your heating and cooling system tuned-up are avoiding sudden breakdowns and saving money on frequent repairs. Regular furnace cleaning or air conditioning maintenance are keys to keeping your systems running as efficiently as possible. Paying attention to the “little things” — like replacing dirty air filters and tightening seals — converts to potential savings on your utility bill. Regular maintenance also increases the lifespan of major appliances, reducing wear and ensuring better performance in the years ahead.

ARE THERE DIFFERENT KINDS OF MAINTENANCE?

There are two kinds of maintenance that most Arvada residents think of when it comes to major appliances or heating and cooling systems. We’ve heard them referred to differently over the years – “reactive” or after the fact, and “pre-emptive” or maintenance before something goes seriously wrong. Here are more detailed explanations for each.

• Reactive maintenance happens only when you encounter a problem – after the fact, in other words. Maybe something breaks, begins to smell bad or makes a loud noise, or there's worrisome smoke coming from an unknown source. Maybe the appliance or system in question suddenly stops working without obvious cause. When something goes wrong, this kind of maintenance is used to discover the problem and fix it, getting the furnace up and running as soon as possible.
• Preventive maintenance is meant to eliminate or limit the need for reactive maintenance. It’s designed to keep the system clean, effective, and running effortlessly. If professional furnace cleaners do this maintenance regularly, you can limit the number of issues that would call for potentially more expensive reactive maintenance.
• We always tell our customers that preventive maintenance costs less in the long run, especially if it extends the lifespan of your furnace and delays installing a new unit.

HOW MUCH MONEY CAN A WELL-MAINTAINED FURNACE SAVE ME?

Maintenance costs vary by many factors, including the difficulty of repairing certain systems, issues unique to certain brands, and many others including:

• The system itself, including age, complexity, size, and how it was installed. Larger systems normally require longer services, boosting labor costs, and complex systems may require the replacement of components like filters and humidifier pads.
• The provider. Furnace cleaning prices vary by provider, but top-not service is available at affordable rates if you shop for the best Arvada furnace cleaners near you. Maintenance services can be available as one-off or packaged services or included as a monthly maintenance agreement.
• A monthly maintenance plan normally offers the best value of all the tune-up services you can find. These plans often have the lowest up-front costs and offer additional benefits like discounts on priority service, repairs, guaranteed service, and more.
• Repairs normally include a full-system inspection by a trained technician. Such an inspection may uncover damaged, broken, or worn components which need to be replaced. We always bring these issues to the homeowner’s attention, and let them make the decision on repairs to further costs in the future.

THE BENEFITS OF PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE

Because of a busy job, family responsibilities, and other commitments, not all homeowners have the time to get their furnace inspected regularly. This is unfortunate, as there are numerous benefits of preventative maintenance:

• Preventive maintenance will catch minor problems We’ve all heard stories of a friend or family member who noticed a minor health issue, went to the doctor and got diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening disease, but received treatment and started feeling better. Why? Because they caught the problem in its earliest stage.
• The same idea applies to your furnace. Maintenance may uncover tiny hiccups with the system, but if you catch them early, you can stop them cold and address them before they morph into something much larger, more destructive, and much more costly to fix. This kind of maintenance may prevent the worst problems from ever occurring at all.
• More energy efficiency - If preventive maintenance is an idea that never comes to fruition, the chances are good that small problems will slowly build up throughout your furnace. One problem alone may not be enough to start trouble, but when minor glitches co-exist and new ones crop up, your furnace works harder than normal. This wouldn’t be the case if it worked at peak efficiency year-round.
• Improved lifespan - Any certified auto mechanic will tell you that a quick and easy way to get better gas mileage is to make sure your tires are inflated to manufacturer specifications and kept that way all year. Simple steps also work for your furnace, some of which could extend its lifespan. This is most often achieved through preventive maintenance, which keeps serious problems from happening.
  Most furnace manufacturers offer an estimated lifespan on their units, but it’s worth noting this is only a very educated guess, and it’s normally a conservative one at that. Ignoring simple, routine maintenance is a surefire recipe for disaster, but doing just the opposite – simple things like changing filters – will ensure your furnace meets or exceeds its estimated lifespan.
• Better air quality - Breathing clean, fresh air in your home is far better than the alternative. Clean air keeps us healthy, allows us to breathe easier, and makes it easier on your pets, too. To help maintain air quality, do the little maintenance tasks with your furnace. Install new filters, clean vents, and ducts, and stay on top of problems before they’re too hard to manage.

THE BEST ARVADA FURNACE CLEANING COMPANY NEAR YOU

For more than 40 years, Steve’s Air Duct Cleaning has served hundreds of satisfied customers throughout the Greater Denver metro area. Contact Steve's Air Duct Cleaning online, or call 720-419-7792 to schedule a no-obligation furnace inspection.