What first-time buyers should know about HVAC systems

Buying a house means buying not just the building but all the systems in it. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC — you’ll save yourself time and money if you learn the basics about how they work. Here’s how to keep your new home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system pumping out clean, comfortable air.

Change the filters
Your HVAC unit pulls air from the house through one or more filters before running it through the heating or cooling system. Like any filters, they need to be changed periodically. The number and location of these filters depends on your home and how many HVAC units you have, but it’s easy to see the tell-tale grates in the wall or ceiling.

The manual that comes with your HVAC unit will tell you how often to change the filters, but every three months is pretty standard. Consider more frequent changes if you have pets or suffer from seasonal allergies.

Keep the vents open
You’re not saving money when you close the vents in one room of the house. You’re messing up the air flow. The HVAC system was set up based on air moving through all the ducts and throughout the house.

Blocking that flow makes the system work harder and costs you money. So, even if you rarely use a room, it’s better to let the air-conditioned or heated air flow through the empty space than trying to take it out of the system’s loop.

Pay attention
Today’s HVAC systems and programmable thermostats should keep everything comfortable without much attention from you. However, you do need to watch for changes that indicate a problem. Is the air conditioner suddenly running longer at night to maintain the same temperature as before? Does the “hot” air from the heater feel lukewarm at best?

Noticing the first signs of a problem and having it investigated in a timely manner can help you avoid costly emergency service calls — and maybe larger problems in the future.

Take the time to familiarize yourself with all the systems in your new home. That knowledge can save you time and money when something goes wrong.