HVAC Twice-Yearly Inspections: Any value?

[samclem]

If you are a little handy, IMO there's not much to be gained from an annual inspection, and twice a year is definitely not worth it. Have a working CO detector, regular filter changes, clean the outside coil annually (easy), make sure the condensation drain is working, take a look at the >inside< AC coil every few years and clean >it< if necessary (use the correct cleaner, see the coil manufacturer's recommendation), visually inspect the heat exchanger for cracks.

The one exception IMO would be an oil furnace. They tend to burn dirtier than a gas furnace and the burners sometimes need cleaning/adjusting. Their flue temperatures (esp older, non-condensing models) tend to be higher than the temperatures for gas furnaces, which can lead to accelerated rusting of the flue, etc. The flue should be checked for residue buildup, integrity of connections and of the pipe itself, etc. A once-per-year inspection would seem plenty to me.

Disclaimer: I'm not a certified HVAC tech or even especially knowledgeable on this stuff.

 

[SecondCor521]

I'm also in the "waste of money" camp. I've lived in houses I have owned since 1993. I have never had inspections on any of them. I do always change the air filter on the heater (I have GFA - most common type around here) every few months. I did have the starter capacitor go bad on my current house's AC unit a few summers ago. They ripped me off on the replacement, but I had young kids in the house and it was hot, so it was $400 well spent in that sense.

 

[pb4uski]

This is an interesting thread to me. Our winter condo is our first experience with a heat pump and HVAC... our other homes had only had heating systems... one fuel oil where annual tune-ups are common and the other propane where they are not.

Given our unfamiliarity with HVAC and that many of our neighbors had annual servicing, we had our system serviced a year ago and I scheduled another servicing visit for next month before we leave for the summer. When they serviced it last year I bought a package of 4 servicing visits for $179... so 4 years for $179 in our case and this will be the second of four. After these are done, I may be comfortable enough with HVAC to go without a contract.... but one of the alleged benefits of being under contract is that you get prioritized over people without a contract if you have a breakdown.

 

[JoeWras]

I'm also in the "waste of money" camp. I've lived in houses I have owned since 1993. I have never had inspections on any of them. I do always change the air filter on the heater (I have GFA - most common type around here) every few months. I did have the starter capacitor go bad on my current house's AC unit a few summers ago. They ripped me off on the replacement, but I had young kids in the house and it was hot, so it was $400 well spent in that sense.

Starter capacitors are kind of like car brakes. Both are possible to do by a somewhat advanced DYIer.

Both are a bit scary to most, so the service people can upcharge a bit.

 

[Which Roger]

Starter capacitors are kind of like car brakes. Both are possible to do by a somewhat advanced DYIer.

Both are a bit scary to most, so the service people can upcharge a bit.

I have an old-ish forced air gas furnace, and always have an extra ignitor on hand. They cost less than 20 bucks and take just a few minutes to replace. Cleaning a flame sensor is also a good skill to have.

Ditto on the capacitor (and relay) for A/C. More advanced than the aforementioned furnace repairs, but the parts cost less than 20 bucks. Service people will have about a 1000% markup, plus labor.

 

[Bamaman]

Our local HVAC places do inspections for $49-$59. They are just as much sales calls as inspectioms. I am not about to pay $150 twice a year for a salesman's visit.

I have a father/son HVAC company that gives me great service fast. They charge $59 for the service call.

 

[Sunset]

I have an efficient furnace in the rental, it stopped working because the heat sensor inside the furnace was dirty. All due to the company not coming to do the cleaning as requested. I was having it cleaned due to warranty needs.

Now I continue once per year with cleaning, as this furnace has shown it is sensitive to dirt.

Our home furnace I had cleaned after 14 years ! Cost was $60 with coupon. It really was pretty clean (gas), but he did tell me the igniter was drawing more current, and could be replaced, for about $200.
I declined as I'm thinking of replacing furnace and Air, as they are 20 years old, and will save some $$ on A/C costs due to a new one being more efficient, plus don't want to replace in an emergency.

 

[Sunset]

I have an old-ish forced air gas furnace, and always have an extra ignitor on hand. They cost less than 20 bucks and take just a few minutes to replace. Cleaning a flame sensor is also a good skill to have.

Ditto on the capacitor (and relay) for A/C. More advanced than the aforementioned furnace repairs, but the parts cost less than 20 bucks. Service people will have about a 1000% markup, plus labor.

Wow, I'm going to check mine, as I watched him remove it to show me, pretty easy, and his markup is 10x that price (with the install , but he was already there).

 

[Yarnstormer]

My brother is in the business - he does recommend inspections (even tho I am not a paying customer) but I’m sure he would think twice yearly was overkill. Still, if it’s part of your contract go with it.
I had a presale inspection when I sold a house. The upstairs heat wasn’t working. I had no idea because it was the classic upstairs is heated by hot air rising from downstairs situation.

 

[pacergal]

We have the HVAC system maintenance done yearly, same company for the many years we have lived here. Good people, good service, helped keep the old furnace running close to 30 years and we only recently replaced it. They have tried to encourage us to get a larger AC unit, as the one we purchased at the time 15 years ago is not as efficient, but for the few weeks we use it each year, not worth it.

 

[jazz4cash]

I think once/yr is adequate for heat pumps in our area. That 75/inspection is a good price, but it really really depends on what they actually do during the inspection. They should check pressures and temps as well as clean the outside coil (may cost extra). I would expect a written report. Sometimes they won't do much more than prioritize your trouble call and give a discount for repairs. With 2 systems it's unlikely they both go out together so maybe not so critical to get priority response to a trouble call. Another thing... I don't understand how a thermostat would cause the problem you describe. That's usually due to low airflow from a bad blower or clogged filters. You say you're not DIY but hopefully you are changing the filters at least every 90 days. Our civic assoc helps the senior citizens with filter changes etc and some folks just completely overlook this.

 

[samclem]

They have tried to encourage us to get a larger AC unit, as the one we purchased at the time 15 years ago is not as efficient, but for the few weeks we use it each year, not worth it.

If your present AC system cools your house well, you don't need a bigger one (i.e. more tonnage). A system that is larger than required can lead to humidity that is higher inside your home.
And, while it is true that newer AC units are more efficient than the ones made 15 years ago, if you only run the unit for a few weeks per year then the energy savings would never pay for the new unit. This is especially true because the new unit will use the newer type of refrigerant, which requires a new evaporator coil inside your home (=more money).
If it is working, just keep running it. It could last a LONG time at just one month per year of use. The only down-side is that it may conk out an an inconvenient time, and you would be uncomfortable until a replacement can be installed. But that might be a decade or more from now.

 

[FrankiesGirl]

In the early days after we bought our house, I had twice yearly inspections. I was told they inspect the A/C in the spring, and the furnace in the fall, so that's why they want it twice a year.

They were supposed to clean and inspect the unit. Which after a while, I realized meant they'd pull out my garden hose to hose off any debris from the outside unit (and check to make sure there were no ants/vermin chewing on the wires - which I could do myself easily. The "inspect" part inside involved them getting up in the attic and just eyeballing stuff - no cleaning.

We don't do official inspections any more. I can clean the outside unit and we were shown the overflow tube in our attic and advised to throw a cup of bleach down it every year to prevent algae/mildew from clogging it. This is almost always the reason those things back up and cause water damage we were told - live in the Gulf Coast area. (Please do your own checking regarding bleach/HVAC exposure to cleaners for your own unit, just saying what we do as per what a good ol' boy installer told us and we trusted him but it seems to be recommended out on the interwebz too)

In the last few years, a good friend's husband got certified as a HVAC tech and loves his job and now we have a trusted person/company to call if we need work done and know he's not going to jerk us around on repairs/pricing.

Monitor your unit's outside appearance. Watch for any dents/bent fins and make sure no weeds/grass or anything get up against the unit blocking airflow. Locate your overflow valve and do some reading on how to keep it clear, change the air filters regularly. Make sure you have a working CO2 detector in the living areas of your house. If things start sounding weird or the heat/cool part seems to be worsening, then call someone in. Otherwise, you're probably fine.

 

[SecondCor521]

Starter capacitors are kind of like car brakes. Both are possible to do by a somewhat advanced DYIer.

Both are a bit scary to most, so the service people can upcharge a bit.

Right.

Mine went out on a hot day when I had three young kids in my house, so I didn't have the luxury of investigating / root-causing / ordering the part.

After he replaced the capacitor I did the research. I'd feel comfortable doing it myself next time, although if people asked me I would warn them about the capacitor because my understanding is that they are powerful enough to hurt someone badly if discharged accidentally.

 

[CaliKid]

$300 is a rip off. I think annual inspections or a waste. Twice a year seems double waste to me.

I get one inspection every 5 years. HVAC is 20 years old and works great.

 

[JoeWras]

Right.

Mine went out on a hot day when I had three young kids in my house, so I didn't have the luxury of investigating / root-causing / ordering the part.

After he replaced the capacitor I did the research. I'd feel comfortable doing it myself next time, although if people asked me I would warn them about the capacitor because my understanding is that they are powerful enough to hurt someone badly if discharged accidentally.

Yep. I understand the time pressure. I ordered two and did my second unit when my first went out. We limped for a day on one unit. Lucky.

Capacitors can zap you, no doubt. That's why I'd call this an advanced DYI project, and why I would never say "So easy anybody could do it," because you do have to have some respect for what you are doing and understand how something with a breaker off could still give you a serious jolt.

Same goes for car brakes.

 

[MRG]

We did in the midwest. Probably the biggest value was cleaning out the units. Second biggest was we were on a first name basis with our technician.

 

[aja8888]

We bought a 2007 - built 2,000 sq.ft. rental house in 2010 - 2011 when everything was in the tank. Apparently, the long distance owner paid for maintenance when things went wrong. A couple of years after we bought it, I noticed the power bills were pretty high (Texas area) and started looking into the A/C unit. My A/C guy pulled the evaporator coil and found it was plugged from years of tenants not changing (or using) a makeup air filter.

Pay me now ($5 per filter) or pay me later (new evaporator coil - $1000). Before and after pic below.

 

[LuckyDog]

I have never had an annual inspection of any of the units that I have owned. We change filters (furnace) regularly and hose off the coils outside (AC). A Major Manufacturer factory representative told me that annuals are not necessary and to only call for service when you have a problem..

 

[CardsFan]

We bought a 2007 - built 2,000 sq.ft. rental house in 2010 - 2011 when everything was in the tank. Apparently, the long distance owner paid for maintenance when things went wrong. A couple of years after we bought it, I noticed the power bills were pretty high (Texas area) and started looking into the A/C unit. My A/C guy pulled the evaporator coil and found it was plugged from years of tenants not changing (or using) a makeup air filter.

Pay me now ($5 per filter) or pay me later (new evaporator coil - $1000). Before and after pic below.

A really good example of why an HVAC filter is essential. Now imagine what the outdoor (condenser) coil, which has no filter, looks like if it is not cleaned regularly!

If you wait until the plugging has a noticeable effect on power costs or cooling ability, then you have waited too long.

If a person is not a DIYer, then even $150 per year (once, not twice) is money well spent, PROVIDED they actually clean the outside coil properly. If they don't ask for a water hose and take off part of the outside unit for access to clean from the inside out, then you ARE wasting your money.

 

[travelover]

I didn't read every post, but in scanning, I didn't see any comprehensive list of what constitutes an inspection. It is kind of hard to quantify worthwhile without that. Keeping clean filters in furnaces and cleaning condenser fins in AC units seems to be the majority of maintenance needed. Tightening belts and oiling bearings are long gone.

 

[6miths]

No, inspections will rarely catch faulty parts, they are primarily revenue generators for service companies. I don't see the value in paying for periodic HVAC inspections.

Agree with this. I change my filters and humidifier pad once in a while. Not much else to do. Fan is an electric motor and MTBF is very high and not likely to be impacted by 'inspections'. I don't think much else is going to be caught by inspections either. Agree with smoke and CO detectors. My mother was widowed 14 years ago and lives alone. If she didn't have me around to look at things now and then I guess a service contract might make sense but the truth is that the HVAC people still come out very quickly for any issue as there are many service providers.

 

[brucethebroker]

I guess three things are bugging me...
1. $300 seems like a lot of money. In our area, we pay about $60-70 per inspection.
2. $300 over 12-15 years is REALLY a lot of money, and would go a long way towards totally replacing your system.
3. I am really surprised that your repair was not covered under the original factory warranty.

Our best luck with HVAV people have been local, "Mom and Pop" type shops that depend upon referrals and repeat business-talk to your friends who are DIY types-they will know the good ones. The big "ad on TV" guys always seem to try to sell a new system (the last one suggested a new unit after 7 years! DW told him to hit the road!)

 

[Newventurer]

In the event that no one has mentioned it, if you are cleaning the coil in the outdoor unit, throw the breaker and direct the hose spray from the inside, pushing crud towards the outside. Do not use a pressure attachment as you will flatten the coils and reduce their efficiency. They do make ‘combs’ to straighten them out if you have accidentally flattened them already. Some coils are hard to reach to clean well and you actually have to remove a shroud and or the fan, a little more involved, but not hard.

And if you live in an area with a lot of cottonwoods, these can be a good addition:
https://www.amazon.com/Product-Grou...ktop/144-3059689-1599231?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Beldar]

Inspection vs Maintenance Service...

Our new HVAC system has a full (parts/labor) warranty for 3 yrs. In order to extend that to 10 yrs, the manufacturer REQUIRES a twice a year maintenance service, with specific items to be checked and cleaned. Yes, I can do that myself, however, the manufacturer does not recognize shade tree mechanics (me). So they require documentation from one of their dealers in order to satisfy the 10 yr warranty.

The installer threw in the 1st 2 yrs at the time of the install. They will charge abt $79 for each subsequent year.

So, you can roll the dice and DIY and save $79/yr, but if anything quits after year three it's on your nickel.

This is a bi-annual maintenance function, NOT a season start-up / inspection check, big difference.

_B