[jrref]

Reasons why we really need a professional HVAC tech to do maintenance at least once a year.

Below are my reasons. List yours and for those who DIY and or for those who never have a professional look at their unit, tell us how old your system is, does it have a fur coat and how much it's costing to run an old system like that. Also, for those who have a tech come out multiple times a year, tell us how much you spend, if anything, when they come.

After reading lots of posts and doing a lot of research, if you have a basic single stage heat pump or A/C system, no gas furnace, there are basically only a couple of components.

1) Condenser compressor and fan and their associated start capacitors, contactor, some pressure switches and if you have a heat pump, then the control board for the reversing valve.
2) In the Air Handler you have the filter, blower motor, maybe a capacitor for the blower motor, auxillary heat coils, condensate drain and the TXV valve.
3) Inside your home yout have the thermostat.

Give all this, for those who are capable for DIY, you can change the capacitors or the contactor and maybe event the condenser fan motor when they fail. I think you can get the heat pump controller board on-line as well. You can clean your condenser coil and maintain your condensate drain.

BUT, what you probably can't do unless you invest in some equipment is check the refrigerant pressures, super heat and sub cooling. If you don't have a good meter, you can't test the capacitors to see when it's going out of spec..

If you want to get the most life out of your system, the refrigerant and the capacitors need to be checked. Why? Because a weak capacitor is putting extra strain on the compressor and or the fan motor. Just waiting for it to fail doesn't save money because your weak capacitors are damaging the compressor and or the fan and shortening their life. Although your system seems to be cooling just fine, and you shouldn't loose refrigerant with a sealed system, if you develop a small leak, over time the under charge will damage the compressor and shorten it's life. A dirty filter will restrict air flow over the evaporator coil effecting the level where the refrigerant changes from a liquid to a gas, potentially damaging the compressor. The same goes with a dirty condenser coil that develops a "fur coat". Your wife may like a fur coat but not your HVAC system.

For certain, cleaning your condenser coil once or twice a year along with making sure your air filter is clean and changed regularly and pouring hot water from the tap down your condensate drain will insure a good working system and unnecessary failures. This maintenance along with a once a year visit from a reputable professional is optimal to help increase the odds that your system will last a long time with minimal failures.

Just want to make a note, if you have a furnace, then although you can do some maintenance on it, I always recommend using a professional since no maintnenace or bad maintenance could cause problems such as release of carbon monoxide that can kill you and your family. You need a reputable professional to make sure your gas furnace is working properly.