Why Maintaining Your Air Conditioner Is Necessary If You Want Your Heater To Work

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How to Keep Your Cool When the Mercury is Rising

When the heat is rising to record-breaking levels, it can be really tough to stay cool. This summer, I found that my air conditioner had trouble keeping up with the temperatures. It wasn't that the AC wasn't working, it was just that I couldn't seem to get my house cooled down as much as I wanted. I worried that I would have to replace the whole AC system. Luckily, I have a good friend who works as an HVAC contractor. He took a look at my system and gave good news -- it didn't need to be replaced. Instead, he shared a lot of tips for helping my air conditioner work more efficiently, as well as some ideas to help supplement the AC and keep the house cooler. I'm using those tips to create this blog to share ways for all of us to keep cool on the hottest days.

Why Maintaining Your Air Conditioner Is Necessary If You Want Your Heater To Work

7 November 2022
 Categories: , Blog


As winter quickly approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, the idea of maintaining your air conditioner now may sound kind of ludicrous. It's cool in warmer parts of the country and cold in cooler regions; why on Earth would you be concerned about your air conditioner at a time like this? Well, if you have a combined HVAC system, such as central heating and air, you should be concerned because the state of your air conditioner could affect the state of your heater. And as the weather gets colder, you want that heater to work. It follows, then, that you still need to do maintenance on your air conditioner in the meantime.

In a Combined System, Both Share Some Parts

In a combined HVAC system, the heater and air conditioner share some parts. Many are specific to one system or another, but some, like the blower, the ducts, and the thermostat, are shared by both. When you arrange for maintenance for your air conditioner, those parts will be serviced, too. That only helps your heating system. If you never have your air conditioner serviced, those parts could suffer a little more until you decide to have your heater serviced. By the way, don't think that you can get away with servicing just one. Again, while they share parts, they also have system-specific parts that will need their own maintenance work.

An AC Problem May Actually Be a Heater Problem

Another reason why maintaining your air conditioner is necessary if you want the heater to work well is that sometimes an air conditioner problem is really a heater problem. For example, the blower in the system is often the furnace blower, and the air conditioner just happens to use it. If you are having issues with airflow in the air conditioner, and you think the blower needs help, you're actually fixing part of the furnace system. Many times, it's easier to arrange for the whole HVAC service at once because of this.

Ignoring Maintenance in One May Lead to Inefficiency in the Other

But even those parts of the air conditioner that aren't shared with the heater can affect the heater. If the air conditioner is losing efficiency, the extra strain on the system can wear down motors, for example, which could make the heater less efficient in the long run.

Call an HVAC service company and ask them to inspect your air conditioner now that you don't need it daily. With those parts in great shape, your heater will have an easier time working over winter. And next spring, when it's time to prepare the air conditioner to work once again, you'll have less to worry about. For more information on air conditioning services, contact a professional near you.