One of the major causes of a system failure is when a part goes bad without any knowledge and cause further damage. The other is plain old dirty coils and blowers, or running low on refrigerant for a long time.
Checking these things out greatly reduce the chances of that happening.

Thanks daddo. What would you consider a 'regular' interval to be...6 months, yearly, every two years. What would I expect to pay for such a service?

The costs vary depending on location and the company.
If you get a contract with the company that installed the system, you should get a better deal.
bi-annuals range $100.00 to $200.00 and may include a discount on parts or labor should you need service between checks and you should be on a priority list.

I had my propane furnace serviced every year... didn't have AC so that wasn't a factor. I'm not sure how heat pumps compare in terms of wear and tear and need for maintenance but I'd have anything I owned checked at least yearly. I don't know what the going rate is now but for me it paid off -- they caught some things that I wouldn't have caught until a cold winter night :) and a couple of times when things went wrong after I had the furnace serviced (any time that winter), all I had to pay for was parts. It was a great program. I don't think $200 sounds out of line for what you're getting but I don't know current prices (sold my home a while back; I think I was paying $60 for fall maintenance).

On the other hand, it's a new system covered by a 10-year warranty -- so I'm not sure why you would need the extra plan. I typically avoid maintenance agreements except on new computers. The common knowledge on this is that most people don't need them, and you said yourself your warranty covers parts and labor. Depends on what yearly checks (or semi-annual checks) would cost in comparison.

Like I said, I never had AC -- so you might want to consider spring and fall maintenance. It can save a lot of headaches during a heat/cold blast.

I personally at least would go with yearly fall maintenance regardless of warranty, just to cover my rear (I can live without AC better than I can live without heat), but given your warranty, probably not buy into a contract -- might pay to call around and find out what a fall maintenance check would cost from a few people. My parents found a good local person who checks their AC/heat every spring and fall -- the company doesn't require a contract, but the guy is there in the middle of the night if there's a real problem. It pays to shop around and find good people.

Just my 2 cents :)

...I saw what they did on my old oil butner and it was messy. I just don't see what they are going to do twice a year or even yearly. I can change my own filter and when pushed he admistted there was not much they chec on to tell if something were wearing out. Oh, well...I will need to consider this. That extra $150 - $200 a year for 10 years (at least) buys me the more super dooper more efficient unit.

Just make sure and read the 10 year warranty contract.
Some will stipulate that the warranty may be void or parts and components not covered should the system not recieve regular maintanence that would have prevented the failure of the part or component under warranty.
What is the cost of the warranty? A simple motor replacement in new systems can run as high as $600.00. An electronic controller- $400.00. A leaky coil- $1,000.00, a compressor-$1,200.00, a simple leak repaired- $300.00.
Some cost more, some less, just depends on the equipment and materials and time.

I did ask about the warranty. The AS 10 year warranty cover everything and the dude said that whether or not I bought his additional maintenance agreement, there would be no issue with the manufacturer's warranty....unless the same part kept dieing and it was do to something we were NOT maintaining...for which ecould describe no such part!

I had another quote today for a Tran 14i system. That person said there no yearly visit was necesary...maybe eveery few years. He said that tinking can cause more trouble than not. Ex: checking the freon level twice a year is fine but you loose a hose worth of freon each time. Eventually you may for a charge. He said it would not hurt to get a cleaning every few year depending on whether you have kids, dirt, smoke and how much you run the unit...at least that was my understanding of whast he said.

"I had another quote today for a Tran 14i system. That person said there no yearly visit was necesary...maybe eveery few years. He said that tinking can cause more trouble than not. Ex: checking the freon level twice a year is fine but you loose a hose worth of freon each time. Eventually you may for a charge. He said it would not hurt to get a cleaning every few year depending on whether you have kids, dirt, smoke and how much you run the unit...at least that was my understanding of whast he said."
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This sounds like the many companies that preffer installing systems (more money in it) than keeping them going, as his statements are wrong!
Outdoor coils can get seriously dirty in just one years time and this affects the life and efficiency of the system. Drains can clogg up and ruin cieling or carpet.
So what if you have to add a little vapor freon every 3 or 4 years of checking the pressures? What's the damage caused by a system improperly charged year after year? Unbelievable!
Read the contract warranty with Trane! It states quite clearly that if the system or parts fail due to abuse or lack of maintanence may void the warranty (Read the back of the contract, right side upper corner "customers responsibility") Get these things in writting, not from a "shucks -don't worry about that" word of mouth contract.
A proffessional a/c and heating check is not "tinkering", and if that is what he calls it- don't deal with him!
I really feel sorry for folks that have to put up with such bs companies and not knowing where to turn.
I'll bet he would be one to say "Why clean the house- it's just going to get dirty again"! :)

Thanks Daddo...I am starting to get the feeling that the company I purchase from and the one that serbvices the unit may be different. A happy medium may be a once a year inspection. The Trane company does have a very good reputation for installs. The other company also has a good rep for service. After I get my quote I probably choose one or the other or a combination! Ay' Carumba!

Just came across this thread and I have a follow-up question. I just had an annual fall inspection on our year-old Lennox dual-fuel system. It would have cost $92 for this visit by itself. However, I went ahead and purchased an annual service plan for $162 that will include the spring "AC" inspection, which also would cost $92 separately. This service plan also includes some of the other normal stuff like discounted pricing on labor not covered by warranty, priority service, no over-time charges, etc.

My question is, and pardon my ignorance, but would the work that is performed during the fall inspection against the heat pump specifically cover whatever work is recommended in the spring? I mean, it's the same physical unit, so what's different between a fall heat-pump inspection (plus gas furnace) versus the spring heat-pump inspection? Is it necessary to have the heat pump serviced twice a year? If not, I'll go with just an annual fall inspection. Since my system is new, with a 10-year warranty, I don't think I need to be as concerned about some of the other benefits included with the service plan.

Thanks in advance for your time, and apologies if I hi-jacked the thread.

speaking of how quickly they can get dirty, i personally cleaned all 4 units at our office with coil cleaner in March. in June one of them quit cooling. it was clogged again with grass and dust.

we used to have to get the units cleaned at least twice a summer, until the tech told us to make sure nad shut the units off when cutting the grass. after we started doing that, it went down to once a year, other than the one unit that can never be shut off due to it covering our network operations center.

"That person said there no yearly visit was necesary.."

"This sounds like the many companies that preffer installing systems (more money in it) than keeping them going, as his statements are wrong!"

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I agree with Daddo. Some companies don't want to waste their time with $100-$200 yearly contracts and have to fly out to the customer's home ASAP for FREE in the event something does go wrong. They rather have you think they are doing you a favor, but in reality they make more changing a compressor, fan motor, etc once every few years off of you than they would having a service contract for 10 years.

If your car guy told you not to change your oil every 3000 miles, just keep driving it until it breaks down. Then bring it to me. He'd make more fixing a major problem then he would changing your oil and filter for $30.

sorry, i posted before i finished.

i personally did not purchase the maint plan. i am thinking about it though. i can clean my own coils and change my own filters, but havign them give it a good once over a couple times a year is just good practice.

since i am in the service business, i know how maint contracts work. usually they are a money maker for the provider. but many times they do catch a problem before it causes a major failure and this SAVES you money in the end. keep in mind that they are not going to cover actually fixing anything, you warranty would do that, but what they will do is catch most problems before they cause an outage. think of it this way, if the system is low on charge they fill it and prevent a compressor failure that could potentially cause you to have no heat/cool for a few days. at least with the heat you would have the aux heat to keep you warm, but during the summer it would be open windows and some fans. plus if the manufacturer decides the problem was due to a leak in teh lines causing the premature failure, they may not warranty the compressor. rare, but it happens. if there is a leak in the line, it is also easier to document since they would hav eot top off the charge each time, and therefore easier for you to get them to fix!

200 a year is what i was quoted for mine as well.

"My question is, and pardon my ignorance, but would the work that is performed during the fall inspection against the heat pump specifically cover whatever work is recommended in the spring? I mean, it's the same physical unit, so what's different between a fall heat-pump inspection (plus gas furnace) versus the spring heat-pump inspection?"

I can only guess at this but maybe the fall inspection concentrates more on the gas furnace than the heat pump. Maybe they clean the outside coil on the heat pump in the fall and clean the inside coil in the spring (as well as change the filter, check refrigerant charge, check split temperature). My best guess. You could always ask them and see what they say.

I'll buy the maintenance plan (once a year) just because the 10 year parts and labor warranty covers only M-F, 9-5 labor - the maintenance plan covers weekend and after hours labor.

A very interesting question for which I wish some organization like Consumer Reports would provide a definitive answer. I am on an annual contract now for my two heat pumps one of which is 14 yrs old and the other is 2 yrs. It costs me $320 for both for two visits per year. I relucatantly agreed to try this but I keep thinking it's really not cost effective. Before that I had an Amana that was never serviced for 11 years that was replaced due to a leaky condensing unit and the older Carrier similarly ran for 12 years without any annual maintenance.