Two years ago, my furnace quit in the middle of January. There was no indication of any problems with the heating system. It simply stopped supplying warm air. The furnace failed during the night, while my whole family was asleep. Since the outside temperature was well into the negatives, it didn’t take long for the house to cool down. I woke up shivering at four o-clock in the morning. I fiddled with the thermostat settings and changed the batteries in it. I checked the electric panel for a tripped breaker and replaced the air filter in the furnace. When nothing worked, I hoped the water pipes wouldn’t freeze without access to heat. As soon as the local HVAC company opened for business in the morning, I called to schedule a furnace repair. I was thankful that they agreed to send a technician right over.
The technician took the heater apart and showed me the buildup of dust and other debris within the inner workings. He asked how long it had been since I’d had the equipment professionally serviced, and I was embarrassed to admit that I never had. We’d owned the furnace for nearly ten years by that point. He was definitely disgusted by my answer. Fortunately, a thorough cleaning, adjustment, testing and a few minor replacement parts restored the heating system to proper working order. The technician then recommended I sign up for a maintenance plan. He had said that annual HVAC maintenance is necessary to maximize the efficiency, capacity, safety, reliability and longevity of all types of heater. Because of the improvements his services made to the comfort and air quality of the home, I agreed to the maintenance plan.