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We schedule regular dental and medical check-ups to help ensure our internal systems are functioning at their best. As one of the hardest working systems in your home, your HVAC system also benefits from regular, preventative maintenance.

In most cases, it’s recommended that this maintenance be completed twice a year (before heating season and before cooling season). During the maintenance appointment, your HVAC technician will inspect your unit and make any needed adjustments and repairs.

There are valuable reasons to choose HVAC maintenance for your HVAC system:

Avoid untimely repairs. Proper preventative maintenance can catch problems early on, or – in some cases – before they start. The technician can make any repairs right away, instead of dealing with the hassle of scheduling a repair appointment when your system is no longer working properly or breaks all together.

Keep your family safe. Your technician will inspect your HVAC system for any issues that may pose a safety risk to your home and family.

Extend the lifespan of your HVAC units. Regular HVAC maintenance provides benefits much like regular car maintenance. Just like tune-ups keep your car in top condition, preventative maintenance will keep your heating and cooling units functioning in peak condition as well.

Save on electric bills. Regular HVAC maintenance keeps your heating and cooling units running as efficiently as possible. When your units are running efficiently, they use less energy and save you money.

If you are an Aiken area homeowner, regular HVAC maintenance has multiple benefits. Beech Island Appliance Service Co., offers three maintenance service plan options, to fit your needs and your budget. If you’re looking for a company to maintain your HVAC units, we hope you’ll give us a call. Since we made our first service call in 1959, Beech Island Appliance Service Co., has been a family-owned business committed to the highest standards of customer service. We don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Dogs, cats and other household pets are part of the family, but they also introduce fur, dander and outdoor contaminants into your home. It’s important to consider the impact these things may have on your home’s indoor air quality and HVAC system, and take steps to mitigate the impact.

Groom your pet regularly. Consistent grooming, including regular brushing and fir trimming, not only helps keep your pet looking and feeling its best, it also lessens the amount of hair and dander entering your air filters and air ducts. The result is cleaner filters and ducts and improved air quality and HVAC functionality.

Keep your carpets and furniture clean. Your pets may gravitate toward cozy spots in your home – who can blame them? But when they are relaxing, they are transferring hair, dander and allergen-ridden surprises from outside onto your indoor surfaces, and carpets and fabric surfaces can be harder to clean. The contaminants on indoor surfaces can contribute to heightened allergies, asthma or respiratory illness.

To counteract this, be sure to regularly vacuum your carpets, and have them professionally steam cleaned per manufacturer’s instructions, often once per year, and wash/shake out other fabric surfaces consistently. When you do this, you can minimize the negative effects of fur and dander on your family’s health and your HVAC system.

Protect your exterior HVAC unit. Regularly check your HVAC to make sure your pet isn’t clawing or chewing on the unit or consistently marking it, both of which can have negative impacts on the unit’s functionality and longevity. If you notice your pet interacting with your HVAC unit in this way, contact your HVAC provider for ways to protect your unit without blocking air flow or breaking housing codes.

Keep your filters and ducts clean. This step is crucial to maintaining an efficient HVAC system in any home, especially one with pets. Experts typically recommend that you change your air filter every 1-2 months when you have a pet in your home, and check your filter every 30 days when you are a pet-free household. When you should change out the filter depends on the type of filter, the extent to which you are using your air conditioner, and the amount of debris gathered by the filter – which increases when you have pets. Talk to your HVAC professional about the optimum air filter for your home and HVAC system. Dander can easily get into air ducts. When pet dander or other airborne contaminants get stuck in your air ducts, they are then recirculated in your home whenever your HVAC system is on. Ask your HVAC professional to inspect your air ducts for pet hair, dust, and debris as part of your regular HVAC maintenance.

At Beech Island Appliance Co., we love our clients, their pets, and an efficiently functioning HVAC system. We offer three tiers of annual HVAC maintenance, all of which include both duct and filter inspections. And if your unit is in need of immediate attention, we also offer repair and installation services. Would you like to talk more about increasing the efficiency of your HVAC unit with pets? Call Beech Island Appliance Co., today at (803) 827-0421.

After mild spring temperatures, the summer heat hits hard, and the resulting electricity bills can be hard to stomach. Here are five ways to lower your electricity bill.

Replace your air filters regularly.

Air filters catch pollen, dust, lint and other debris and help circulate clear air throughout your HVAC system. They perform a critical function to help keep the HVAC system functioning properly and efficiently. A system with clean air filters uses less energy than a system with dirty filters. The less work your HVAC system has to do, the less energy it expends, and the less energy it expends, the lower your electric bill will be.

Check the temperature on your water heater.

Your water heater distributes hot water to sinks, showers, washers and dryers and dishwashers. Unless you have a tankless water heater, the water heater has a tank that maintains warm water at a temperature you designate. Lowering the temperature on your water heater can lower the total cost of your electricity bill. According to the Department of Energy, setting your water heater to 120°F (49°C) can save money on hot water and prevent scalding.

Check your doors and windows for leaks.

Taking actions such as caulking, weatherstripping and/or replacing seals on your windows and doors when needed will keep cold air from escaping or hot air from coming in. (Doing this work provides an equally critical function in cold weather, keeping warm air in and cold air from coming in.) Additionally, especially if you have younger children, make sure your exterior doors close easily. Otherwise, you may not realize just how often your doors are sitting slightly ajar, letting in hot air, requiring your HVAC system to work harder. You may also consider light filtering curtains or window tinting in rooms that receive constant direct sunlight.

Wash clothes in cold water and use your dryer efficiently.

Modern washing machines are designed to clean effectively in cold water. Though there may be occasions that warm or hot water is necessary to properly clean a load of laundry, when at all possible, wash your clothes in cold water. This doesn’t strain your water heater and can also extend the life of your clothes. Consider doing multiple loads of laundry at a time (instead of one or two a day). Your dryer stays warm and requires less energy to work as required.

Check that your appliances work properly.

Your refrigerator and other large appliances should be cleaned and repaired regularly to ensure they are working as efficiently as possible. Your HVAC system, which is the largest contributor to a household electric bill, benefits from regular maintenance to ensure it is working at peak efficiency (and to avoid costly repairs!).

At Beech Island Appliance Service Co., we offer air conditioning maintenance, installation and replacement, and repair, as well as large appliance repair for all major brands. Since we opened our doors in 1959, we’re proud to be your heating and cooling experts in Beech Island, Aiken, and North Augusta, SC, and across the CRSA.