Seasonal HVAC Tune-Ups in Superior

A house built to the 2021 IECC is tight enough that it depends on mechanical ventilation. An ERV or HRV has filters that need cleaning or replacing, a core that should be cleaned on the manufacturer's schedule, and outdoor hoods that collect debris. Clogged ventilator filters quietly reduce fresh air, which you may notice as stuffiness or high indoor humidity. We include the ventilator in every visit for homes that have one.

Original furnaces and air conditioners in Rock Creek Ranch are now well past mid-life. The fall tune-up focuses on the heat exchanger, CO testing, the inducer motor and pressure switch, flame sensor and igniter, and gas input, which should run about 22 percent below the sea-level rating at this elevation. Superior's code requires combustion air for furnaces in mechanical rooms, so we check that storage or a finished basement has not closed off the air supply.

Superior's design wind speed is 154 mph, one of the highest in the metro. Wind loosens condenser panels, tips outdoor units off their pads, and blows snow into side-wall vents. We check each of these on every visit. During wildfire smoke, EPA recommends MERV 13 filtration if the system can handle it, more fan run time, and closing outdoor-air intakes, which in a rebuilt home includes setting the ventilator to recirculate or off during heavy smoke. We measure static pressure before recommending a heavier filter.

Spring visits clean outdoor coils, check refrigerant readings, test capacitors and contactors, and inspect for hail damage. For heat pumps, we also look at the reversing valve operation and the defrost board, since the system has just come through a full heating season.

Older Superior homes are dry in winter, and furnace humidifiers help. Rebuilt homes behave differently. A tight house holds moisture from cooking, showers and people, so adding a humidifier can push indoor humidity high enough to frost windows and wet window frames on cold nights. In rebuilt homes we check indoor humidity, look at how the ventilator is set, and adjust the humidistat or recommend leaving the humidifier off. In Rock Creek Ranch homes, we service the humidifier pad, valve and drain as usual.

Colorado law requires CO alarms within 15 feet of each sleeping room entrance in homes with gas appliances or attached garages, and newly rebuilt homes should have them already. Book the fall visit in September and the spring visit in April or May. Our Colorado HVAC tune-up checklist covers each step.