Purchasing an HVAC maintenance plan is a great way to protect your home’s heating and air conditioning systems. Any central heating or air conditioning system should be professionally serviced and fully inspected yearly. Signing up for a maintenance plan takes the hassle out of this and will ensure that you always get your heating or AC taken care of so the system is ready to go when you need it. Of course, you could always just schedule a tune-up every year, but purchasing a maintenance plan is always the better option since it may also entitle you to other great perks and benefits. In this article, you’ll learn why annual HVAC maintenance is so important and also what things you should look for when considering purchasing an annual maintenance plan.
Annual Maintenance and Tune-Up Services
A heating-only maintenance plan will help protect your furnace or boiler from damage and ensure it works effectively all winter long and for years to come. If you also have central air conditioning, you’re better off purchasing a combination plan that will cover both your heating and AC systems. This way you can also ensure your AC continues operating effectively so that your home always stays cool and comfortable in the summer. Cooling-only plans are also available, but this type of plan is generally only recommended if your home doesn’t have central heating.
When you enroll in a combination heating and cooling plan, you want to make sure that it includes two annual tune-up services. It generally isn’t sufficient just to have the entire system serviced once a year since issues will commonly arise with your AC or heating system when it sits unused over the winter or summer. This is why you’re always best to have your air conditioning serviced each spring and your heating system serviced every fall.
One major benefit of annual maintenance is that it helps to protect the longevity of your heating and air conditioning systems. The lifespan of any HVAC system will be greatly decreased if it isn’t inspected, serviced, and all of its components cleaned regularly. Signing up for a maintenance plan is a convenient way to ensure that your heating and/or air conditioning gets the help it needs. A maintenance plan will often end up saving you money in the long run by helping extend the life of your HVAC system and improving the efficiency of the system so your heating and cooling costs stay lower. In fact, annual maintenance has the potential to lower the energy usage of your HVAC system by up to 20%.
Complete Inspections
Any HVAC tune-up service should be truly comprehensive and include a full inspection of the system from top to bottom, inside and out. It’s not just enough for a technician to perform a quick visual inspection and then call it good. Instead, the entire system needs to be fully inspected and tested to make sure everything works exactly as it should. This means testing all of the safety switches and controls, measuring that the motors are operating at the correct amps and volts, and verifying that the thermostat is operating properly and correctly calibrated. If you have a furnace or boiler, it is especially important that the technician checks the draft of the flue to make sure the unit is properly vented so that carbon monoxide can’t escape into the home.
Payment Plan Options
Some HVAC maintenance plans require you to pay for the full year in one lump sum. At HB Home Service Team, we understand that having to pay for the yearly plan upfront can be an issue for some people. However, just because you’re on a tighter budget doesn’t mean you have to forego the benefits of a maintenance plan. Our Gold Shield HVAC Protection Plan allows you to choose whether you want to pay once a year or monthly.
Repair and Installation Discounts
One of the biggest perks of signing up for a maintenance plan is that it will usually entitle you to special discounted rates on any repairs your heating or AC system needs. Customers who sign up for our heating-only or cooling-only HVAC Base Gold Comfort Membership will automatically receive a 10% discount on any heating repairs or cooling repairs. HVAC Preferred Gold Comfort Membership customers will receive a 10% discount on both any heating and cooling repairs we perform. Our Premier plan offers even better value as members won’t have to pay any parts or labor fees on any covered equipment or when we provide any covered service.
Having to replace your heating or air conditioning system is a costly proposition so it’s also important to choose a maintenance plan that offers discounts on HVAC equipment replacements. No matter which one of the three plans you choose, you’ll also receive special discounts when you need to replace your furnace, boiler, AC, or any other covered unit.
Parts and Labor Warranty
Making sure that whatever HVAC company you choose fully warrants their work is also important for ensuring that any repairs are done properly. At HB Home Service Team, we provide a full one-year parts and labor warranty on all services. If any problems arise because the job wasn’t done properly, you can rest assured that we will take care of the problem at no extra cost.
Emergency Availability and Priority Scheduling
One thing you should definitely make sure before purchasing any HVAC maintenance plan is whether the company offers emergency services. The fact that most maintenance plans provide discounts on repairs means that you obviously want to have any necessary work done by the company you purchased the plan from. However, the discount obviously won’t matter if that company isn’t available over the weekend or outside of normal business hours since you’d then need to hire someone else. This is another thing that sets our Gold Comfort Membership plan apart from our competitors as we are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year so you can always count on us whenever any emergencies arise.
We also provide all plan members with priority scheduling for any emergency services. When an emergency arises, we’ll put your name at the top of the list so that you can be assured we’ll get the problem taken care of as quickly as we can. This way, you won’t be forced to wait hours or days and forced to suffer without heating or air conditioning.
Experience and Reliability
You also want to make sure that whichever company you choose has the knowledge, skills, and experience to fully maintain your HVAC system and take care of all of your heating and cooling needs. This is another thing that sets HB Home Service Team apart as we’ve been serving customers in Randallstown and throughout Central Maryland for more than 100 years. We employ a team of highly experienced, certified HVAC technicians who have what it takes to ensure your heating and air conditioning always works effectively.
Our technicians service, install, and repair furnaces, boilers, heat pumps, ductless mini-splits, air conditioners, and geothermal HVAC systems, so we can help no matter what type of heating or cooling system your home has. We also offer plumbing services as well as carbon monoxide monitors, smoke detectors, and whole-house surge protection.
To learn more about the benefits of our maintenance membership or to schedule an appointment, give us a call today.
