HVAC Maintenance in Vancouver WA

Almost every no-heat call we take in January could have been a routine visit in October. Maintenance is not upselling — it is the difference between a technician replacing a worn igniter at your convenience and replacing it at eleven at night while your house is at fifty degrees.

Call (360) 891-2002 or request a callback below.

What a tune-up covers

• Burners, heat exchanger and ignition on a furnace — including a crack inspection, which is the safety one
• Refrigerant charge, coils and electrical connections on AC and heat pumps
• Reversing valve and defrost operation on heat pumps
• Blower, filter and airflow
• Thermostat calibration and operation
• Venting and combustion air
• Safety controls and limit switches

When to schedule

Heating equipment in early autumn, cooling in spring. If you have a heat pump it does both jobs and wants seeing twice a year. Gas fireplaces want service before first use each season.

The Energy Savings Agreement

Tri-Tech’s maintenance plan is the Energy Savings Agreement (ESA): a complete cleaning and check of your equipment, no after-hours fee on emergency calls, and 10% off any repairs you need. Billed annually; the cost depends on which equipment is on the plan.

What it is worth

Equipment that is maintained lasts longer, uses less, and fails less often — and most manufacturer warranties require documented annual maintenance to stay valid. That last one catches people out.

Are your ducts the problem?

Contact Tri-Tech Heating, Inc. to schedule repair or annual service.

What a maintenance visit actually covers

Not a look and a sticker. A proper visit is measurement and cleaning, because the things that shorten equipment life are gradual and invisible until they are not.

Heating: burners and heat exchanger inspected, ignition and flame sensing checked, gas pressure verified, safety controls tested, blower cleaned, temperature rise measured against the equipment’s own specification, venting checked for draft and integrity.

Cooling and heat pumps: coils cleaned, refrigerant performance checked, temperature split measured, condensate drain cleared, electrical connections and contactors inspected, defrost cycle verified on heat pumps, airflow checked.

Both: filter, thermostat operation and calibration, and a look at anything visibly failing before it does.

Why it is worth the visit

• Most emergencies are gradual. A weak igniter, a fouled flame sensor or a blocked drain gives warning to anyone measuring. To everyone else it fails on the coldest night of the year.
• Dirt costs efficiency. A dirty coil or blower makes equipment work harder for the same result, and you pay for that every month.
• Warranties often require it. Manufacturers commonly expect documented annual maintenance. The office can confirm what applies to your equipment.
• Safety. Heat exchangers and venting are checked by someone who knows what a failing one looks like.

When to schedule

Heating before the cold arrives, cooling before the heat does — which in practice means autumn and spring. Booking in the season itself means competing with everyone whose system has already failed.

A heat pump runs in both seasons and carries roughly twice the operating hours of a furnace, so it benefits from being seen twice a year rather than once.

What you can do between visits

• Change or clean the filter on the schedule the filter calls for, not when you remember
• Keep the outdoor unit clear of leaves, cottonwood, grass clippings and anything stacked against it
• Keep supply and return vents unblocked by furniture and rugs
• Replace thermostat batteries once a year rather than when the screen goes blank
• Test carbon monoxide alarms, and have them on every level if you have any fuel-burning appliance

The Energy Savings Agreement (ESA)

Tri-Tech’s maintenance plan is called the Energy Savings Agreement. What it includes:

• A complete cleaning and check of the unit. The measurement-and-cleaning visit described above, rather than a look and a sticker.
• No after-hours fee. If something fails at 10pm on a Sunday, members are billed at regular pricing. This is the benefit most members end up using.
• 10% off any repairs you need. Applied to repair work found on the visit or called in later.

The agreement is billed annually, and the cost depends on which equipment you put on the plan — a single furnace and a house with a furnace, a heat pump and a water heater are not the same job. Call (360) 891-2002 and the office will price it for your system.

Worth doing the arithmetic before you decide: one after-hours call in January, plus 10% off the repair that comes with it, is often the whole agreement.

Related work

If something is already wrong, start with furnace repair, AC repair or heat pump repair. If maintenance keeps finding the same fault, see furnace installation or heat pump installation. Comfort problems maintenance cannot fix are usually ductwork, and air quality is indoor air quality.

Where we work

Vancouver, Salmon Creek and Camas, and across Clark and Cowlitz Counties — including Woodland, Kalama, Longview, Battle Ground, Hockinson and Ridgefield. If you are just outside that, call and ask; the office will tell you straight.

Licensed, insured and guaranteed

• HVAC license #TRITEHI952LL
• CCB license #161426
• N.A.T.E. certified technicians
• Licensed and insured
• We guarantee our work 100%
• Financing available through Synchrony, subject to application

Maintenance questions we get

How often does my system need servicing?

Once a year for a furnace or an air conditioner. Twice for a heat pump, which runs in both seasons.

My system is working fine. Is this necessary?

Working fine is exactly when it is useful. Maintenance is measurement — the point is catching what has drifted before it becomes a failure, and a system that is running well is the cheapest one to keep that way.

Does maintenance really lower running costs?

Clean coils and correct airflow measurably reduce the work a system does for the same output. We are not going to put a percentage on your house, because it depends on how dirty it was.

Do you maintain equipment you did not install?

Yes.

What if you find something wrong?

You hear what it is and what it takes to put right before any work starts. Finding it in October is the entire point.

What does the Energy Savings Agreement cost?

It depends on which equipment is on the plan, so there is no single number to publish. The office will price it for your system when you call. It is billed annually.

Do members really pay no after-hours fee?

Correct. Energy Savings Agreement members are billed at regular pricing on after-hours calls, and get 10% off repairs.

Book a maintenance visit

Call (360) 891-2002. The office is open Monday to Thursday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, and Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm. Emergency service is answered 24/7 on the same number. You can also send us your details and we will call you back.