How Much Does It Cost to Maintain a Furnace in South Carolina?

Thinking about getting a tune-up or investing in yearly maintenance for your furnace? If so, you’re probably wondering how much it costs.

In York County, South Carolina, you can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $400 for furnace maintenance. The cost will vary depending on 2 major factors:

• Whether you buy a one-time tune-up or subscribe to a maintenance plan
• The HVAC contractor you hire for the job

But first, let’s go over why it’s important to have your furnace serviced by a professional and the benefits of regular maintenance.

The benefits of furnace maintenance

It’s common for homeowners to question whether or not furnace maintenance is actually necessary or if it’s simply another way for HVAC companies to make a quick buck.

But the truth is, regular maintenance can significantly improve your furnace’s efficiency and overall performance, increase its lifespan, and save you money over time.

Here are some of the key benefits of regular maintenance:

• Preserves your manufacturer’s warranty valid. Most manufacturers require that you have your furnace professionally maintained each year to keep your warranty valid.
• Prevents costly repairs. With regular inspections, HVAC technicians can catch minor issues and identify broken components before they snowball into much larger, more expensive repairs, or worse, down the road.
• Extends the furnace’s lifespan. Faulty or damaged components can cause other components to work harder in order to compensate. By checking to see that all components are working correctly and are in good shape, you can reduce the wear and tear on other parts of your system.
• Reduces energy costs. When your furnace is operating properly, you’re less likely to see spikes in your energy bills due to inefficient operation.
• Increases your family’s safety. Gas furnaces produce potentially harmful gases during the combustion process that are carried out of your home through an exhaust vent (when operating properly). During tune-ups, a professional will ensure the exhaust vent is connected properly and unblocked so that the combustion gases are safely exiting your home.

Now that you understand some of the benefits of professional regular furnace maintenance, we’ll go over the difference in cost between one-time tune-ups and maintenance plans.

Tune-ups vs. maintenance plans

When we’re talking about furnace maintenance, HVAC companies likely charge for maintenance in two ways: one-time tune-ups and annual maintenance plans. Typically, tune-ups as part of a maintenance plan are less expensive than one-time tune-ups.

One-time tune-ups can range in price in York County from $50 to $200.

Annual maintenance plans can range from $200 to $400 annually. Most contractors offer annual maintenance plans to customers for a low monthly fee. For example, at Elite Air, we charge $19.99 a month to be a member of our HomeTeam Service Plan.

Depending on the contractor, maintenance plans typically include 2 HVAC tune-ups per year (one for your AC and one for your heating system), priority scheduling, discounts on repairs, and other perks exclusive to maintenance plan members.

Annual maintenance plans are more expensive, but you’re likely to get more bang for your buck due to the added benefits.

The HVAC contractor you hire for the job

The more experienced and thorough the contractor’s maintenance checklist is, the more expensive a maintenance visit will be. However, you want to hire a contractor who will do a thorough tune-up of your furnace to get all of the benefits listed above, even if it may cost a little more upfront.

When you’re choosing a contractor for your furnace maintenance, you’ll want to look for the following:

1. A thorough checklist
2. The overall quality of the contractor

A thorough checklist

Most reputable HVAC companies or contractors have a checklist of tasks to perform during a tune-up. The more tasks on the checklist, the more thorough the tune-up will be.

The Department of Energy states a contractor’s checklist should include the following tasks (at minimum) during a tune-up:

• Make sure the thermostat is set correctly
• Tighten all electrical connections
• Replace dirty filter
• Check all gas (or oil) connections
• Verify gas pressure is at a normal level
• Make sure the burners and heat exchanger are working properly

Before you hire a contractor, ask to see their maintenance checklist and be sure to compare it to the one listed above. If their checklist doesn’t include all of the tasks recommended by the DOE, keep looking for a contractor.

The overall quality of the contractor

More experienced contractors will typically do a better and more thorough job but will charge more for their level of expertise.

To find a high-quality contractor, we recommend looking for someone who:

• Is fully licensed and insured
• Has at least 10 years of experience in York County
• Has excellent reviews on sites like Google and Facebook
• Provides upfront pricing and a maintenance checklist