Checklist guide
The HVAC heating tune-up checklist
Heating maintenance carries a safety weight cooling doesn't: cracked heat exchangers, flue problems, and CO risks hide behind systems that appear to run fine. A disciplined checklist is how those get caught in October instead of discovered in January.
Combustion and heat exchanger (gas furnaces)
- Inspect the heat exchanger for cracks, rust-through, and hot spots
- Check burners for even ignition and clean flame pattern
- Test gas pressure against the data plate and adjust if needed
- Inspect the flame sensor and clean or replace
- Verify flue venting: slope, connections, corrosion, termination
- Measure carbon monoxide in the flue and in the living space
Safety controls
- Test the high-limit switch and rollout switches
- Verify pressure switch operation and tubing condition
- Confirm the door switch and safety interlocks work
- Check condensate handling on condensing furnaces, including trap and neutralizer where fitted
Heat pumps
- Verify defrost cycle initiation and termination
- Check auxiliary/emergency heat staging and lockouts
- Measure heating-mode pressures and temperature rise
- Inspect the reversing valve operation
Airflow, electrical, and wrap-up
- Replace the filter and record temperature rise against the rated range
- Check blower wheel, motor amp draw, and belt where applicable
- Tighten electrical connections and inspect wiring
- Confirm thermostat staging and run a full heat cycle
- Document everything with photos and pass / issue / fail results
Because heating checks are safety checks, required items matter: a tech should not be able to close the job with the CO reading blank. In AirMatch, checklist items can be required and photo-backed, and the job cannot be finished until they are complete. A professionally built Heating Tune-Up template ships with every account.
Get all seven editable HVAC checklists inside AirMatch.
Seven professional templates with 126 inspection points ship free with every account: required items, photo proof, autosave, and results that live on the job forever.