Regular maintenance of your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is crucial for efficiency, comfort and safety. One essential task is measuring temperature differences that can reveal issues.
Why Temperature Checks Matter
HVAC technicians:
- Measure the temperature of air coming out of supply vents.
- Compare it against the set point on the thermostat.
- Determine the temperature drop between supply and return air vents.
Large differences typically indicate problems, like:
- Refrigerant low or leaking
- Blocked or dirty air filter
- Problem with heating and cooling coils
- Restricted or imbalanced airflow
In addition, technicians:
- Check indoor vs. outdoor temperature swings to ensure cooling is adequate.
- Make sure temperature is consistent across different rooms and levels.
Catching issues early through proper temperature checks avoids:
- Higher energy bills from running the system over capacity
- Reduced comfort levels in some areas
- Breakdowns that require costlier repairs
Proper temperatures help optimize efficiency and system life.
Importance of Proper Calibration
- Thermostats regulate temperatures but can drift out of calibration over time.
- Improperly calibrated thermostats cause the HVAC system to overwork, wearing out parts faster and wasting energy.
- A digital thermostat is usually accurate to within half a degree; older mechanical thermostats can be less accurate.
- HVAC technicians will calibrate thermostats that are out of spec during maintenance.
Measuring the right temperatures at the right points helps technicians diagnose issues correctly. Coupled with other checks, temperature readings aid early detection of minor problems that can become major – and costly – failures if left unaddressed.
In conclusion, measuring supply, return and indoor/outdoor air temperatures and ensuring thermostats are properly calibrated is an important part of comprehensive HVAC maintenance. Catching potential issues revealed through heat checks helps keep systems running safely, efficiently and for their design lifetimes.
Check out with Dr Clean Air for HVAC maintenance strategies and sessions.