“Everyone needs love. Everyone desires love.*” But, sometimes we fail in giving it for a number of reasons.

We’re not even going to attempt to tell you how to navigate love with humans, but we can offer some suggestions for you to show some love to your HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, if you didn’t know) system.

• The number one act of love that EVERYONE recommends is to change your furnace filter. Here’s a handy tip to help you figure out how often this should happen: if your filter is an inch thick, change it monthly. For four-inch filters two times a year will suffice.

“What the world needs now…”

If someone in your house is fanatical about cleaning, so much so that they dust before the dust settles, you shouldn’t have to change your filter more than once every two years. For the rest of us…see above.

• Your second act, during warmer months is to wash your A/C condenser coil. Watch the following short film for details. (Note: the audio isn’t the best, but the visual is easy to follow.) http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKYMTGL_9Fo
• Staying outside by your condenser, the number three way to get your heating and cooling system to love you is to clear away any plants or other obstructions that might restrict airflow, clog the coil, or make it hard to access the unit for service.

Your yard can make excellent habitat for all kinds of creatures with the right plants, but don’t let them grow next to the A/C unit.

• Head back inside for tip number four.

Do you have lots and lots of furniture? Are any of the pieces covering your registers? If so, you’re restricting air flow and causing your equipment to work harder than it has to, wasting energy, and inefficiently cooling or heating your home.

“Keep away, people.”

Solution? Move the furniture off of the vents. That was easy, wasn’t it?

• Tip number five is another relatively easy thing: change your humidifier pads annually. What happens if you don’t? Bacteria and mold will accumulate in the air you breathe and consequently accumulate in your lungs. That’s not a good thing at all.

It’s also advised to have your humidifier checked every two years.

• Lastly, if your energy costs have increased by 50% or more in the time since you’ve owned your heating and cooling system, it’s probably time to replace what you have. Technological advances have bettered the efficiency of many systems now. A new furnace and/or A/C will pay for save you money in the long run.

Perhaps you don’t care if your HVAC system loves you, fair enough. But for the sake of money, energy, and clean air in your home, you may want to learn to love it in the right way.

*Pope Benedict XVI