When your HVAC system works right, it is a great thing to have. A unit that cools your home on a hot and humid day or warms your home on blistery cold days is essential to your overall comfort. But, it can change fast if you have an HVAC emergency. These tips will help you master some very simple HVAC maintenance strategies to prevent this nightmare from occurring.Tour your home before calling a contractor. Make a list of the temperatures in each room and whether they are hot or cold. That knowledge can help the technician figure out what is going on.Clean the coils and blades in your condenser at the beginning of summer. If you are doing more than a light surface cleaning, make sure that the power is shut off to the HVAC unit. Clean the outdoor condenser as well.Regularly remove debris from outside condenser units. Wind can pile up all sorts of debris against its grill. Left unchecked, your unit is more likely to break down.Your HVAC system could suffer when trees begin dropping their leaves. During this time of year, check and clear off the fan grill on your unit on a regular basis. The fan must not have anything in the way so that air can flow into it, and if it is clogged, you'll have a lot of headaches eventually.Lubricate the oil ports on your condenser once each year. You will see rubber or metal caps covering the ports. Look for an oil that is lightweight and then put about 10 drops inside the port. You don't want to put in too much.When choosing the area for placing an outdoor compressor device, place it in a shady area. The cooler the air that the unit is able to access, the less work it has to perform.The Cooler The Air That The Unit Is Able To Access, The Less Work It Has To Perform.You can boost the efficiency of your HVAC unit by replacing it with a new energy efficient one or moving your old one to a shady outside location. This will help ensure that the AC is pulling in cooler air, reducing the amount of work it has to do and saving you money.Make sure your HVAC systems is checked twice a year. The normally recommended time for HVAC system inspections is once before the peak cooling season when it gets hot and you'll be using your AC, and once before the peak heating season, during the cold months when you're likely to be using your heat. Even if everything seems fine, check things out to find potential problems.Condenser units for the outdoors should be shut off when it starts to get cold outside. The unit will become damaged if you do not take care of it. Your system will work longer for you this way.To save money and be more comfortable in your home, install double-paned windows instead of single pane. Double-pane windows keep inside air cooler, allowing you to reduce AC usage in the summertime. Likewise, in the winter more hot air stays inside during the cold season.Your HVAC unit is vital to your home. Bad things will happen when you don't do regular maintenance inspections. With this advice in mind, you are ready to care for your system.