Polar Bear Air Conditioning & Heating Inc Blog : Archive for the ‘Maintenance Plan/Comfort Club’ Category

Is Your AC Ready for Summer?

Friday, March 13th, 2015

It may be hard to think about summer after the snowy, cold winter we’ve had, but spring is just around the corner and summer isn’t far behind. There is nothing more frustrating than turning on your air conditioner on the first hot day of the year only to find that it isn’t working, or is working poorly. But, the experts at Polar Bear Air Conditioning & Heating Inc., have a great solution for that: spring maintenance for your air conditioning system in Arlington, VA. And now is a great time to schedule it!

What Happens During a Maintenance Visit?

Maintenance isn’t a simple check of your air conditioning system; it is a full tune-up, complete with a thorough inspection and testing. Here is a general overview of what happens during a routine maintenance appointment:

 

  • Inspection and cleaning of evaporator and condenser coils – dusty, dirty coils can reduce a system’s ability to properly operate, so your technician will inspect them and clean them if needed.
  • Check of the thermostat – your thermostat is the control center for your air conditioning system, so it’s important to make sure it is in good working order.
  • Lubrication of moving parts – ball joints and other moving parts need to be properly lubricated in order to work correctly because friction can cause resistance in motors, which can lead to an increase of energy usage and poor operation.
  • Inspection the condensate array – faulty condensate trays can leak water, and clogged condensate drains can cause overflows and water damage. These items will be inspected during your maintenance appointment to ensure that all is working as it should.
  • Check of the system’s cycling – multiple checks to ensure that the system cycles properly.
  • Checking and adjusting the refrigerant level of your central air conditioner – too much or too little refrigerant can adversely affect the heat release/cooling process in your AC, so it’s important to make sure your AC’s refrigerant levels are exactly as they should be.
  • Check all fans – the condenser and evaporator fans are key components in the heat release/cooling process, and as such, need to be reviewed.
  • Check of electrical connections – loose connections are tightened, and voltages and currents on motors are measured. Poorly maintained electrical connections can reduce the life of your components.

As you can see, maintenance involves a number of tasks, all designed to make your AC more energy efficient and work optimally.

Get ready for summer this year by calling Polar Bear Air Conditioning & Heating Inc., and scheduling spring air conditioning system maintenance in Arlington, VA!

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Reasons to Schedule a Mid-Winter Maintenance Appointment

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

At this time of year, you might assume that if anything were to go wrong with your heating system, it would have happened by now. Your heating system seems to have worked fine since the beginning of winter, so why bother calling a technician at this time of year? But a maintenance visit can greatly improve the performance and efficiency of an HVAC system, even if you hadn’t noticed a problem before. Learn more in this guide about how you can save money, prevent issues, and begin a helpful maintenance schedule by calling and enrolling in an HVAC maintenance program in Alexandria, VA today.

  • An HVAC system can fail at any time – As the winter continues, the components of your heater or air conditioner begin to wear down more and more. In fact, your HVAC system is most likely to run into trouble in the worst kind of weather, when some of the components may become overworked from the added stress on the system. Instead of risking a sudden heating breakdown in the middle of winter, schedule maintenance now in order to reduce your chances.
  • Save money on bills and repairs – An HVAC maintenance visit can save you a lot of money every month. Heating systems account for a large portion of your bills in the middle of winter, and more so if the parts are overworked, worn down, or dirty. During a maintenance visit, a technician looks over your entire system, alerts you to any trouble, and cleans and adjusts some of the parts, which effectively reduces heating costs in most cases.
  • Begin an HVAC maintenance schedule now – Even if you’re not planning to set up a maintenance appointment now, you can start planning for the future by calling a technician ASAP. Most heating equipment manufacturers explain that their product can only live out its expected lifespan with annual maintenance, so getting your heating and air conditioning equipment on a maintenance schedule now with an HVAC maintenance program means you won’t forget to schedule an appointment later on.

Our customers have noticed fewer heating and cooling issues and lower bills after enrolling in the Polar Bear Preventative Maintenance Agreement.

At Polar Bear Air Conditioning & Heating Inc., we provide thorough maintenance for all types of heating and AC equipment. Call us today for a superior HVAC maintenance program in Alexandria, VA.

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Maintenance Really Does Save Money in DC

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

When it comes to your Washington DC home’s heating and cooling systems, you really cannot go wrong with proper annual maintenance. While it may seem like an unnecessary expense, especially if your systems are relatively new, you will save a lot in the long run if you pay that small fee once a year for each system.

During a maintenance visit, a technician can thoroughly clean out your heating or cooling system and check all parts to make sure they are not showing signs of excessive wear and tear. If they do find a problem or a part that needs to be replaced, they will be able to make the necessary repairs quickly and you will not have to worry about calling someone out later for an emergency visit.

Also, catching problems early like this means that repairs will likely involve fewer parts and cost much less than they would if you let the problem go and it became more widespread. The truth is that your heating or cooling system can continue to work when one or another of its parts is not working correctly, but that means that other parts of the system have to work overtime to create the same result.

Your heating or cooling system will also be much more energy efficient if it receives regular tune ups and attention from a professional. Even the best new systems lose a small percentage of their efficiency each year that they are in operation. While this is not much from year to year, the cumulative effect will soon cause your energy bills to climb higher than necessary.

Paying for regular maintenance, then, can actually save you money because it will mean you pay less each month to run your system. And it is never too late to start. Even if your heating or cooling system is not new, it will benefit from a thorough cleaning and tune up. You may be quite surprised how much your energy bills go down after this type of service has been performed.

Annual maintenance can also help you to get more for your money by extending the useful life of the heating or cooling system. Many systems that are properly maintained can last even beyond their expected life span, meaning that you will not have to replace it as soon as you would have otherwise. For all of these reasons, the minimal cost of an annual maintenance visit is well worth paying over the long term.

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