How to Increase HVAC Life on Your Rental
Experienced landlords will all agree that one of the biggest issues when it comes to the repair and maintenance of rental properties is the HVAC system. HVAC repairs are extremely expensive, so in order to avoid considerable costs, it is crucial to make sure that the system works properly on a regular basis.
Change the air filters
The most effective way of prolonging the life of the HVAC system on your rental property is to replace the air filters regularly. Why? Sooner or later, all air that circulates inside the property will pass through the air filters. Over time, dust, pet hair, pollen, airborne bacteria, and dirt will adhere to the filters and clog them, often with dire consequences for your rental investment:
- Clogged filters make the HVAC system less effective at cleaning and heating or cooling air, lowering the air quality and imbalancing the temperature in different rooms. These may affect the general quality of life of your tenants and make them decide to move out.
- Clogged filters put a strain on your HVAC system. The engine will work harder and harder for the same results and skyrocket the electricity bills, which means that landlords that agree to pay the bills will lose a portion of their rental income.
- If filters are too clogged, the system will eventually break and you will need several thousand dollars to replace it.
Change air filters on average once in 3 months
When to change the air filters on your rental property depends on a variety of factors, from the quality of the air filter to how often your HVAC is used. If you choose low-quality air filters you should expect to change them once a month, but high-quality versions may last up to 6 months at a time. What your tenant does is also important. Do they overuse the HVAC, or have one or more pets? Pet hair and intensive air circulation clog air filters sooner, so expect to change them more often. At HomeVault Property Management, we find that changing air filters every 3 months is ideal for keeping rental properties’ HVACs in the best shape.
Tenants generally have to change air filters
We have established that air filters need to be changed regularly, but whether you are a DIY landlord or work with a rental property manager, your question now may be the same: does the landlord or the renter change air filters?
Changing the air filters yourself every 3 months or even more often is highly impractical even for DIY landlords. It is extremely hard to align schedules with the tenant, so DIY landlords may want to consider including a line on HVAC air filters and their replacement in their lease with the tenant.
On our rental properties, we keep the tenant responsible for replacing air filters. On the other hand, tenants are notorious for not being reliable with maintenance and repair work, so how to make sure that air filters are actually replaced?
Make sure air filters are replaced: mail them and check afterward
At HomeVault Property Management, air filter delivery is part of the Resident Benefits Package that we are offering our tenants. This way, quality air filters are delivered timely and straight to our tenants’ homes. We send them the appropriate size and if the home requires more than one filter, we’ve got that one covered, too, at no additional cost. The biggest benefit, when filters are changed regularly, utility savings can be as big as 15%! That’s huge! All they have to do is install the filters when they receive them.
This strategy has a number of benefits for landlords:
- We maximize the lifespan of the HVAC and increase the time between replacements.
- We maintain the air quality and temperature in the rental property and make our tenants happy and willing to stay longer.
- We decrease the number of maintenance and repair tickets by up to 30% and avoid considerable landlord income loss.
Want to find out more about how we do it? Contact us at hello@homevault.com to learn more about our air filter delivery system.
Thanks for the advice to change the air filters to make your HVAC system more effective. My husband and I have noticed that our energy bills have gone up, so we think there’s something wrong with the HVAC system. I don’t know if it’s the filter or something worse, so I’ll start looking for a contractor to look over my system.
I like what you said about keeping the tenant responsible for replacing air filters. I being the tenant, don’t really want to do that, so I will hire an HVAC contractor. They will probably need to swap out the condenser coils.
You know being a landlord this is one of the prime concerns for me. The rising electricity bills sometimes dishearten me. I appreciate your ideas and would love to check myself but my increasing age is asking me to better call for HVAC contractor and get it done.
My aunt has been thinking about getting the right kind of filters for her AC unit. She would really like to get some help from a professional in order to be safer. It was interesting to learn about how the filters should be changed once every three months.
My sister is currently looking for an HVAC contractor that may address her AC’s leakage. I also agree with you that the AC’s filter must be replaced every three months. Aside from this, you made a pretty good point that preventive maintenance is a must as well.
Thank you for sharing these valuable tips on increasing the lifespan of HVAC systems. Proper maintenance, regular cleaning, and investing in professional servicing are essential for long-term performance and efficiency. Great advice!