In this episode of Home and Life Comfort, Derek Cole addresses homeowners in the Sandhills who are hesitant to act on high interest rates and rising costs. He explains that typical HVAC systems in the region last 12‑15 years, and once a unit reaches the 10‑year mark it enters a critical window where efficiency, airflow, and energy consumption begin to decline even before a total failure occurs. Cole contrasts two homeowner mindsets – those who wait for a breakdown versus those who stay ahead with a preventive maintenance plan. He argues that a regular maintenance plan (similar to a health check‑up) can catch wear early, keep the system running efficiently, extend its useful life, and avoid costly emergency repairs during peak summer heat. Drawing on his company’s experience since 1953, he urges owners of 10‑year‑plus systems that haven’t been serviced recently to schedule a tune‑up now to preserve comfort, peace of mind, and long‑term savings.
Chapters
Home and Life Comfort with Derek Cole. Here's probably something that you've heard a lot lately here in the Sandhills, which is, "I was going to move, but the rates are a little high. I'm going to wait till they come down, see where they are." And honestly, when you hear that, you get it. Rates are high, prices are up. But when that decision is made, it changes everything about your HVAC system. So if you bought your home 8 to 10 years ago and now you're planning to stay in it for another 10 or 15 years, that system that was good enough for now has become that system that's going to carry you to the finish line. Most systems last about 12 to 15 years here in the Sandhills in this climate with the heat and humidity. And if you're sitting at year 10, that's not early. You're right in the window of when you need to start looking at maintenance or replacement. And here's the truth most people don't hear: most systems don't just break, they break down first. They wear down first, efficiency drops, Airflow drops, energy bills go up, runtimes get longer, and you don't even notice it until one hot summer day when the system seems to not be working. And now it's July, it's 95 degrees, you have to make a decision under pressure, and that's where you don't want to be. There's really two types of homeowners. There are The ones that wait until it breaks, uh, and there are the ones that get ahead of it or stay ahead of it. The difference is a maintenance plan, which is something we do here quite often, every single day, take care of our club members. I'll just say it straight, if you're planning to stay in your home, a maintenance plan is not optional anymore. It can help you catch problems early. It can keep your system running efficient. It can extend the life of that system, and it can avoid those emergency situations because you're staying ahead of any problem. Now, it's not going to prevent all problems from happening, but you're giving yourself a better chance. It's kind of like your health and the doctor. If you have a regular checkup, you can catch things early. It's not going to prevent things from happening, but you're going to know about it ahead of time before you get behind it. You can start getting ahead of it. Your home, your HVAC system is the same way. We've been doing this in the San Diego since 1953, and We've seen what happens when systems are maintained and we see what happens when the systems are not maintained. There's always a big difference. So if your system is close to 10 years or older and you haven't had it serviced in a while, now is the time to do it before it breaks, before it's struggling, before it gets to another hot summer where it's under load. And it could break down. Go ahead, take advantage of our tune-up. Get us out to the home, go through the system, see what's going on with it, and see what the next steps are to help extend the life, extend the comfort, and extend that peace of mind. Home and Life Comfort with Derek Cole.
