Furnace and HVAC issues always seem to strike when temperatures are freezing or when all of Chicagoland is under a heatwave.
Older housing stock, aging systems, and winters/summers that genuinely test your heating equipment mean there’s less margin for the kind of system wear that goes unexamined.
Our 5-Star Maintenance program ensures your furnace and HVAC stay working no matter the season, and continue reading to learn more about what our technicians are on the lookout for.
What Technicians Look For
A maintenance visit is more than just changing a filter or taking a look around your unit. Certified technicians take a deeper look at how your HVAC or furnace is performing, tune up any areas of concern, and identify potential future problems.
Let’s break this down by furnace and HVAC, the two main services on Flader’s 5-Star Maintenance Plan.
Furnace Maintenance
When performing maintenance on your furnace, technicians focus on five specific areas: the heat exchanger, burner condition, ignitor and flame sensor, blower motor, and the ventilation system.
Your heat exchanger is an extremely important component of your system, and if cracked, could lead to the release of CO into the air. This especially applies as your furnace ages.
If your furnace’s burners are dirty, it could lead to incomplete combustion. All of that then turns into an inefficient furnace and an increased risk of Carbon Monoxide leaking into your home.
During the winter, if you notice your furnace hesitating or failing to light, that’s an early indication that your ignitor or flame sensor is nearing the end of its service life. Don’t ignore this when it happens because you shouldn’t risk losing your heat when the weather gets cold.
The blower motor is what moves the heat through your vents, so even when your furnace turns on, you won’t get any airflow if the blower motor goes down.
Lastly, technicians always check your ventilation to ensure nothing is leaking out that shouldn’t be.
Depending on your system, Flader Plumbing and Heating may perform additional checks and inspections to ensure that everything is working properly throughout the winter.
HVAC
Your HVAC and furnace may share some components, but spring maintenance plans typically include their own checks to help your home stay cool in the Chicagoland heat. These include checking your refrigerant levels, the condition of your evaporator and condenser coils, and your condensate line.
A slow refrigerant leak is one of the most common hidden AC problems we see. It starts with lower performance and ends with an HVAC system that isn’t working.
If your evaporator and condenser coils are dirty, your system uses more energy and accelerates wear and tear on your compressor. Unfortunately, these parts are among the most expensive for your HVAC.
For your condensate line, your technician wants to ensure there are no blockages, as they can cause water damage, mold risk, and, in many systems, an automatic shut-off.
Like furnace maintenance checks, HVAC tune-ups, and cleaning are also performed during an appointment.
The main goal is to prevent potential problems from sneaking up on you when the weather is at its warmest.
The Cost of Waiting
One of the biggest differences between HVAC/furnace repairs and other home repairs is that the longer you wait, the more expensive everything becomes.
If something isn’t working with your furnace in the fall, it’s a repair; when your furnace stops working in the winter, that’s an emergency.
Emergency furnace and HVAC service calls during peak season routinely cost more than a scheduled visit. During the holiday season, parts may be on backorder or the shop may be closed. With technicians fully booked, it can be difficult to get someone out to your house during extreme heat or cold.
Repeated strain can lead to costs soaring into the thousands.
Equipment that’s already 15 to 20 years old has less margin for deferred wear. A component that might last two more seasons with proper maintenance might not survive one without it. And when older systems fail without warning, they rarely fail cheaply.
A furnace running with dirty burners or a degraded heat exchanger works harder to produce the same heat. An AC struggling with refrigerant loss or coil buildup runs longer to hit the same temperature.
The difference between a $200 maintenance visit and a $5,000 emergency replacement matters a lot.
Flader’s 5 Star Maintenance Plan
For homeowners who want this level of attention on a yearly basis, Flader’s 5-Star Maintenance Program is designed around protecting your systems for the long haul.
In the middle of a Chicago winter or during a stretch of 90-degree July days, our priority service is a great option if your system is struggling.
And because the program eliminates overtime and holiday fees, an after-hours call doesn’t incur a penalty.
Regular, scheduled maintenance by Flader’s certified technicians keeps both your heating and cooling systems inspected, tuned, and running the way they’re supposed to, which, as Flader has seen across more than a century of Chicagoland service, is the most reliable way to extend equipment life and avoid the failures that catch homeowners off guard.
If you own an older home, rely on your heating and cooling systems to carry you through Chicago’s extremes, and would rather pay for prevention than emergencies, it’s worth looking into our maintenance program.
Ready to Protect Your HVAC and Furnace? Call Flader Plumbing and Heating Today.
For homeowners in Chicagoland, where winters push furnaces to their limits and summers do the same to air conditioning, the window between a minor issue and a major breakdown can be surprisingly short.
If you want heating and cooling protection built into every season, Flader’s 5-Star Maintenance Program is the best way to keep your system running year-round.
