HVAC preventive maintenance worth it?

[Zoe Lee]

We are looking at an annual HVAC tune up plan for our rental. This is what one company's tune up entails:

Spring AC tune up:

Indoor Unit

*Blower Motor *Amp Draw *Bearings *Blower Wheel Balanced *Control Board *Operating Properly *Incoming Voltage*Connections *Low Voltage *Electrical Connections *Change/Clean Filter *Capacitor *Thermostat *Check Operations *

Outdoor Unit

*Compressor*Amp Draw*Condenser Fan Motor*Amp Draw*Bearings*Capacitor*Electrical Connections*Clean Condenser Coil(water)*Check Refrigerant Levels*Check Contactor *Relays Operation*Check Operations*Clear Condensation Lines*

Furnace:

Fall Maintenance Checklist

*Replace Filter*Electrical Connections*Check Thermostat*Verify Blower Condition*Check Control Operations*Check Control Board*Check Capacitor(s)*Amps of motor operations* Check Relays*Heat Exchanger Condition*Burner Condition* Remove and clean flame sensor* Inspect Blower Wheel*Inspect and check ignition operations* Check ALL safety operations* Verify a good clean burning flame*

Are these pretty standard work supposed to happen for tune ups? 

We don't live close by so doing it ourselves is out of question.

The property is in a rural area, it seems the outside unit gets dirty rather quickly. We had one new AC put in May, it's already tripped the circuit last month due to dirty coil of the condenser outside. The AC company said it might be dirt or foliage and tried to sell us their maintenance plan for $105/yr. It cost us about $500 to fix it (AC technician + electrician) this time. I figure the annual maintenance might be worth it but not sure. Our own AC never gives us any trouble and it's much older. Is it true that tenants beat up the house badly because it's not theirs?

Another option is to order one time tune up as we see fit.

Any thoughts, advice would be appreciated.

Zoe

[Nathan Gesner]

Sounds pretty detailed. Just keeping the air filters changed would have the biggest impact. I've heard regularly changing the air filter can reduce service calls by 40% or more. I don't do any preventative maintenance unless it's a heating system that services multiple units.