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Frequently Ask Questions
Ask the Experts Accurate Heating and Cooling What maintenance can I do myself?
What routine maintenance do I need help with? Tips and Terminology What maintenance can I do myself? With the proper maintenance and care, your equipment will operate economically and dependably. There are a few simple, routine maintenance operations you can do to help ensure the best performance and comfort from your system. Safety First Before you perform any kind of maintenance disconnect all electrical power to the unit before removing access panels to perform maintenance. Please note that there may be more than one power connection switch. Routine Maintenance Check the air filter in your furnace or fan coil every 3 to 4 weeks. A dirty filter will cause excessive strain on your furnace, air conditioner or heat pump. Replace your filter when necessary, or clean it if you have the reusable type. (If you have a reusable filter, make sure it’s completely dry before you re-install it.) The prefilter and collection cells of an electronic air cleaner should be cleaned at least two or three times per year. Clean dust off of your indoor coil. With a vacuum cleaner and soft-brush attachment, you can remove any dust from the top and underside of the coil. Make sure you only do this when the coil is dry. If you can’t get the coil clean this way, call your dealer for service. Keep your outdoor condensing unit free of debris. If you keep grass clippings, leaves, shrubbery and debris away from your outdoor unit, it should only require minimal care to operate properly. Check the base pan (under the unit) occasionally and remove debris, to help the unit drain correctly. If the outdoor coil becomes dirty, use a brush or a vacuum cleaner with a soft brush attachment to clean the surface. To clean dirt that is deep in the coil, contact your dealer. Make sure your outdoor unit stays in a level position. If the support for your outdoor unit shifts or settles and the unit is no longer level, re-level it promptly to make sure moisture drains properly out of the unit. If you notice that water or ice collects beneath the unit, arrange for it to be drained away from the equipment. Inspect your furnace’s combustion area and vent system before each heating season. If you find dirt, soot or rust, your system may not operate properly or at its peak efficiency. Call your servicing dealer and do not operate your furnace until it is professionally inspected and/or repaired. Have oil-fired boilers inspected annually. Call your servicing dealer before each heating season to replace your oil filter cartridge and conduct a thorough inspection of the unit’s operation. Clean your humidifier at the beginning of every heating season. Review your owner’s manual for the proper procedure to clean the external and internal components of your unit. The evaporator pad should also be replaced before each heating season. If the water in your area is hard or has high mineral content, you may need to clean or service your humidifier more frequently. What routine maintenance do I need help with? Think about how you take care of your car. Sure, most people can handle the little stuff - checking and topping off fluids, keeping tires inflated to the correct pressure, changing the wiper blades. But, to keep your car operating at its best, you need an occasional tune-up from a trained professional. Your heating and cooling system is no different. To get the most performance and longest life from your system, it's a good idea to have a professional perform routine checks in the spring and in the fall. Spring maintenance In the spring, your dealer will typically check a heat pump or air conditioner for all or some of the following:
In the fall, you can expect a dealer to check your furnace in the following areas:
Glossary of Terms AFUE – Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. A measure of a gas furnace's efficiency in converting fuel to energy the higher the rating, the more efficient the unit. For example: A rating of 90 means that approximately 90 percent of the fuel is used to provide warmth to your home, while the remaining 10 percent escapes as exhaust. BTU – British Thermal Unit. This is the amount of heat it takes to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. For your home, it represents the measure of heat given off when fuel is burned for heating or the measure of heat extracted from your home for cooling. CFM – Cubic Feet Per Minute. A standard measurement of airflow. A typical system requires 400 CFM per ton of air conditioning. Capacity– The output or producing ability of a piece of cooling or heating equipment. Cooling and heating capacities are referred to on BTUs. Comfort-R™ Airflow System – An exclusive feature of a high efficiency home comfort system from Trane. This method of ramping airflow gives you greater humidity control in cooling and provides warmer air during heating start up. Compressor – The heart of an air conditioning or heat pump system. It is part of the outdoor unit and pumps refrigerant in order to meet the cooling requirements of the system. Condensor Coil or Outdoor Coil – In an air conditioner, the coil dissipates heat from the refrigerant, changing the refrigerant from vapor to liquid. In a heat pump system, it absorbs heat from the outdoors. Damper – Found in ductwork, this movable plate opens and closes to control airflow. Dampers can be used to balance airflow in a duct system. They are also used in zoning to regulate airflow to certain rooms. Ductwork – Pipes or channels that carry air throughout your home. In a home comfort system, ductwork is critical to performance in fact, it's as critical as the equipment. Evaporator Coil or Indoor Coil – The other half of your air conditioning system located inside your home in the indoor unit. This is where the refrigerant evaporates as it absorbs heat from the air that passes over the coil. Gas Furnace Heat Exchanger – Located in the furnace, the heat exchanger transfers heat to the surrounding air, which is then pumped throughout your home. HSPF – Heating Seasonal Performance Factor. This rating is used in measuring the heating efficiency of a heat pump. The higher the number, the more efficient the unit. Package Unit – A heating and cooling system contained in one outdoor unit. A package unit is typically installed either beside, on top of the home, or sometimes in the attic. Refrigerant – A chemical that produces a refrigerating effect while expanding and vaporizing. Most residential air conditioning systems contain R-22 refrigerant. R-22 is regulated by international controls under the Montreal Protocol and in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency. It is scheduled to be in production until the year 2020. It's used in approximately 95 percent of air conditioning equipment manufactured in the U.S. today. SEER – Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. A measure of cooling efficiency for air conditioners and heat pumps. The higher the seer, the more energy efficient the unit. The government's minimum SEER rating is 10. (It's similar to comparing miles per gallon in automobiles.) SEET – Seasonal Extreme Environmental Test Lab. This is Trane's torture chamber for heating and air conditioning systems, where five years of service are condensed into 16 torturous weeks. If a product doesn't make it through our SEET lab, it's not manufactured. We push our equipment to extremes because we'd rather test them in our lab than in your home. Split System – The combination of an outdoor unit (air conditioner or heat pump) with an indoor unit (furnace or air handler). Split systems must be matched for optimum efficiency. Thermostat – A thermostat consists of a series of sensors and relays that monitor and control the functions of a heating and cooling system. Ton – A unit of measurement used for determining cooling capacity. One ton is the equivalent of 12,000 BTUs per hour. Zoning – A method of dividing a home into different comfort zones so each zone can be independently controlled depending on use and need. |