ADVANCE
AIR & HEAT COMPANY, INC.

If you depend on HVAC, refrigeration and controls for your business, we’re the contractor for you. We make it our business to keep your business running.

Give Us a call at (508) 763-3738
Preventative
Maintenance
If you depend on HVAC, refrigeration and controls for your business, we’re the contractor for you. We make it our business to keep your business running.
Give Us a call at (508) 763-3738
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HVAC maintenance- A/C repair

Preventative HVAC Maintenance Saves You Money!

Up until now, there was no useful way to calculate the cost-benefit of preventative maintenance. After all, much of the benefit of preventative maintenance is the “prevention” part – meaning if you do it, bad things won’t happen. But how do you calculate cost-benefit of something that may or may not happen? Consequences vary wildly by customer, industry, time of year and type of problem.

Recent studies prove that whether or not disaster strikes, the cost of performing preventative maintenance costs LESS than if you don’t maintain.

Benefits of a Maintenance Agreement

We schedule your maintenance automatically at the right time for your business and your equipment. You don’t have to worry about forgetting to call and then trying to get someone on that really hot day. This option is available without a Maintenance Agreement as well.

With our upfront pricing, you can plan the agreement into your budget ahead of time. We even offer payment plans to fit your needs.

On those really hot or really cold days, our maintenance agreement customers are at the front of the line with priority service. It’s nice to be special sometimes.

Whichever option you choose, preventative maintenance extents the life of your HVAC equipment, reduces the cost and hassle of emergency repairs and enhances energy-efficiency.

Call 508-763-3738 NOW FOR AN ESTIMATE!

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN CALCULATING THE COST-BENEFIT OF MAINTENANCE:

The dirty, clogged machine has to run harder and longer to create the same amount of heat or cooling.

Spend a little, to save a lot. Testing the equipment during maintenance can often catch equipment problems before they cause noticeable malfunction or damage.

If a machine is constantly dirty or clogged, it constantly runs harder and longer. This leads to early replacement or frequent component change-outs.

Based on a study done by Nu-Calgon, a manufacturer of HVAC products for over 50 years, a 10-ton cooling unit costs an average of $1,650 to operate over the length of one cooling season. The same unit running with dirty coils will use an additional $618 of electricity during the same period.

  • Based on our own figures, average maintenance costs on the same unit for the cooling season would typically be about $400 (see our Sample Maintenance Agreement). That’s $200 LESS than the money you spend NOT maintaining. And that’s with just a dirty coil. According to ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers), if your unit also has a clogged filter, energy costs go up by another $10-80 per month or up to $480 for the cooling season.

Energy Savings – Heating Maintenance

During the heating season, if your HVAC economizer malfunctions or your sensors are out of calibration, your equipment could be drawing cold outside air into your building. The additional cost to heat this cold air could be up to $1,400 per year for each malfunctioning unit. A routine check of the economizer and sensors during a maintenance visit takes only a few minutes, but could make a big difference to your bottom line.

An unmaintained boiler, with as little as a 1/16” of soot buildup can increase fuel consumption by 2-8%. If it also has scale buildup (caused by naturally-present minerals in boiler water) fuel consumption may increase by an additional 2-5%. The more build-up, the less efficient the boiler will be. Average boiler maintenance costs are about $850 per year for oil and $450 for gas boilers. When deciding whether or not to maintain your heating systems, consider the additional costs to your fuel bills. Also consider the impact of an after-hours heat failure in the middle of a cold snap. It doesn’t take long for pipes to freeze during our frigid New England winters and the cost to repair and clean up after burst heating pipes is high.

Preventative HVAC maintenance reduces the cost of repair in the long run

Cost of service calls

Cost of Shortened Unit Life-Span A well-made HVAC unit should last between 10-20 years on average, though we service some 30-plus year old ones that are still going strong. Manufacturers calculate the average unit lifespan based on the unit running within specified temperatures and pressures, and assuming regular maintenance is being done. When maintenance is not done, the unit runs outside of acceptable temperatures and pressures which causes additional wear and tear on the unit, shortening its overall lifespan and causing premature failure of its components. To put it into numbers, if you have a $10,000 HVAC unit with a forecasted lifespan of 10 years and you assume maintenance costs of $700 per year (for both heating and cooling), your total 10-year investment is $17,000. If you take the same $10,000 unit and do no maintenance, you can expect to replace the unit before the end of its ten year life, costing (if you’re lucky) another $10,000. That’s $20,000 in the same ten years! However, you can’t forget to add in the extra energy usage from your dirty unit – $7,000-$11,000 over ten years. Now your 10-year total is $31,000. That’s $14,000 more and you had poor climate control for ten years!

Cost of shortened Unit Life-Span

A well-made HVAC unit should last between 10-20 years on average, though we service some 30-plus year old ones that are still going strong. Manufacturers calculate the average unit lifespan based on the unit running with specified temperatures and pressures, and assuming regular maintenance is being done. When maintenance is not done, the unit runs outside of acceptable temperatures and pressures which causes additional wear and tear on the unit, shortening its overall lifespan and causing premature failure of its components.

To put it into numbers, if you have a $10,000 HVAC unit with a forecasted lifespan of 10 years and you assume maintenance costs at $700 per year (for both heating and cooling), your total 10-year investment is $17,000. If you take the same $10,000 unit and do no maintenance, you can expect to replace the unit before the end of its ten year life, costing (if you’re lucky) antoher$10,000. That’s $20,000 in the same ten years. However, you can’t forget to add in the extra energy usage from your dirty unit – $7,000-$11,000 over ten years. Now your 10-year total is $31,000. That’s $14,000 more and you had poor climate control for ten years!

Assumptions: 10-Ton cooling unit for average cooling season of 1,500 hours with typical Kw/hr energy costs and SEER Rating. Sources: ASHRAE and Nu-Calgon

Summary

We think the numbers are fairly clear. Taken separately, the extra costs resulting from deferring maintenance – increased energy use, more service and repairs and more frequent unit replacement – are substantial. But when these costs are combined, the case for preventative maintenance really makes itself. Whether you do it by contract, by call, or have your own in-house staff take care of it, preventative maintenance can actually save you money. And your units, energy bill, and employees or tenants will thank you!

Call 508-763-3738 NOW FOR AN ESTIMATE!
Key Components of a Maintenance Visit

Service Area

emergency HVAC in Massachusetts

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