Seasonal Calendar
Furnace in the fall, AC in the spring, heat pump twice a year. The shoulder seasons — March–April and September–October — are the window, when there is time to fix anything the visit finds.
The maintenance hub — furnace, AC and heat pump
HVAC Maintenance Plans in Fort Collins, CO
HVAC maintenance in Fort Collins is a calendar, not a single visit: the furnace is serviced in the fall before the heating season, the air conditioner in the spring before the cooling season, and a heat pump twice a year because it does both jobs. This is the hub page — the calendar, what each visit covers, and the links to the three maintenance pages. DNA Refrigeration does HVAC maintenance across Fort Collins. Call (970) 932-2324.
About this service
The Fort Collins Maintenance Calendar
Fort Collins runs on its heating system for most of the year — 5,797 heating degree days against 624 cooling degree days, a heating season from October/November through April — and the maintenance calendar is built around that. The furnace gets its annual visit in the fall, September to October. The air conditioner gets its annual visit in the spring, March to April. A heat pump gets both visits, because it heats in winter and cools in summer. The shoulder seasons are the window for all three.
Each system has its own maintenance page, with its own checklist. Furnace maintenance covers the flame sensor, igniter, condensate drain, heat exchanger, and combustion readings — the parts that fail in January. Air conditioning maintenance covers the coils, refrigerant charge, capacitor, and airflow — the parts that fail in July. Heat pump maintenance covers both, twice a year, plus the defrost cycle and auxiliary heat staging that only a heat pump has. This hub page does not repeat those checklists; it is the calendar that ties them together.
The local reasons for maintenance are specific. Fort Collins’ freeze risk is pipe freeze and condensate-drain freeze, and a fall visit is when a drain line running through an unheated space gets flagged — before the first hard freeze. Summer is wildfire-smoke season, and after the Cameron Peak Fire of 2020, the largest in Colorado history at 208,663 acres, a clean filter and a sealed cooling system are what keep indoor air liveable. And with only 51.6% of homes owner-occupied, landlords and property managers are a large part of the maintenance market — a turnover visit resets the system for the next tenant.
Fort Collins sits at 5,003 feet, and the City’s mechanical guide puts furnace derating at 10–20% at this elevation — sea-level ratings do not apply here, so systems are sized from a Manual J load calculation at altitude, not from square footage alone.
- ✓ Furnace maintenance every fall
- ✓ AC tune-up every spring
- ✓ Heat pump visits twice a year
- ✓ Filter and safety checks each visit
What's included
What HVAC Maintenance Covers, Season by Season
The calendar is the plan. These are the six things it covers, across the year.
Heating-Season Readiness
The fall visit is about January: the igniter, the flame sensor, the condensate drain, and the heat exchanger. Fort Collins sees about 150 freezing nights a year — the heating side is not a formality.
Cooling-Season Readiness
The spring visit is about July: the coils, the refrigerant charge, the capacitor, and the airflow. The cooling season is short but sharp — about 30 days a year at or above 90°F — and a dirty coil is the difference between keeping up and falling behind.
Filter and Air Quality
Filters are checked on every visit, and in wildfire-smoke season that matters more than usual. A clean, well-sealed system with a good filter is what keeps indoor air liveable when the smoke comes; a clogged filter chokes airflow and a dirty coil kills capacity.
Safety Checks
Combustion readings and heat exchanger inspection on gas furnaces, electrical checks on every system. Safety findings are shown to you, not just noted — a cracked heat exchanger is a replacement, not a tune-up item.
Landlord and Rental Coverage
With only 51.6% of Fort Collins homes owner-occupied, rental maintenance is a large part of the market. A turnover visit — filter, safety checks, system condition documented — resets the system for the next tenant.
Maintenance calendar, at a glance.
| System | Visit | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Furnace | Fall visit | Flame sensor, igniter, condensate drain and safety checks |
| Air conditioner | Spring visit | Coils, refrigerant charge, capacitor and airflow |
| Heat pump | Twice a year — spring and fall | Two visits a year, because it heats and cools |
How it works
How HVAC Maintenance Works, Across the Year
Furnace, air conditioner, heat pump, or all three. Each system has its own maintenance page and its own checklist — this hub is the calendar that ties them together.
The furnace is booked in September–October, the air conditioner in March–April, and a heat pump at both. Call (970) 932-2324 to book the season that is coming.
Each visit follows its system’s checklist: the furnace visit covers the flame sensor, igniter, drain and safety readings; the AC visit covers the coils, charge and airflow; the heat pump visit covers both, plus defrost and auxiliary heat.
You get a plain account of each system’s condition: what is fine, what is wearing, and what to watch. If a part is near the end of its life, you hear about it in the shoulder season — not in January or July.
The next visit is booked for the next shoulder season. A furnace serviced in October is booked again the following October; a heat pump serviced in April is booked again in October.
STEP 01Choose Your Systems
Furnace, air conditioner, heat pump, or all three. Each system has its own maintenance page and its own checklist — this hub is the calendar that ties them together.
Tools & methods
Tools and Methods We Use on Maintenance Visits
Multimeter
Tests igniters, flame sensors, capacitors, contactors, and control board voltage — the readings that decide whether a part is good or worn.
Combustion Analyzer
Reads oxygen, carbon monoxide and flue temperature on gas furnaces, confirming the system burns clean and safe.
Manifold Gauges
Reads refrigerant pressures on air conditioners and heat pumps, and verifies charge against the manufacturer’s chart.
Coil Cleaner and Brush
Cleans indoor and outdoor coils without damaging the fins.
Thermometer Set
Supply and return air temperatures confirm each system is heating and cooling to specification.
Filter Gauge
Confirms the filter is the right size and type for the system — a filter that is too restrictive causes short cycling all winter.
Real results
HVAC Maintenance Across Fort Collins
HVAC Maintenance
Fall Furnace Visit in Old Town
Old Town homes often run older 80% furnaces with original igniters and decades of heating history. The fall visit cleans the flame sensor, tests the igniter, and checks the heat exchanger and flue.
After: The visit keeps an older furnace running safely through the season instead of quitting on the first cold snap — and it is the visit that finds the weak igniter in October, not at 2 a.m. in January.
Call (970) 932-2324 → HVAC Maintenance
Spring AC Visit in Rigden Farm
Rigden Farm air conditioners head into summer with a dirty coil and a filter that has been in place since autumn. The spring visit cleans both, checks the refrigerant charge, and verifies cooling before the first 90°F afternoon.
After: The visit also sets the system up for wildfire-smoke season: a clean filter and a sealed cooling system are what keep indoor air liveable when the smoke comes.
Call (970) 932-2324 → HVAC Maintenance
Twice-Yearly Heat Pump in Southridge
Southridge dual-fuel heat pumps need both visits: the fall visit tests the defrost cycle and verifies the furnace handover, and the spring visit cleans the coils and checks the charge before cooling season.
After: The two visits together are what keep a heat pump holding its rated capacity in both directions — heating through 5,797 degree days and cooling through the summer.
Call (970) 932-2324 → Problems we solve
HVAC Maintenance Problems We Prevent
Most breakdowns were visible at the last missed maintenance visit. Here are the four we catch most.
Ask a pro →Missed fall tune-up, January breakdown
A furnace that was never serviced in the fall quits in January, when the repair peak hits. The fall visit is the one that finds the weak igniter and the dirty flame sensor in time.
Dirty filters, short cycling
A filter that has not been changed in months chokes airflow and trips the high-limit switch. Every maintenance visit checks filter size and condition.
Frozen condensate drain
A condensate line through an unheated space freezes and shuts a condensing furnace down. The fall visit flushes the drain and flags routing that will not survive a hard freeze.
Summer breakdown, dirty coil
An air conditioner with a dirty coil cannot keep up on a 90°F afternoon. The spring visit cleans the coil and checks the charge before the cooling season.
Proof you can check
How HVAC licensing works in Fort Collins
Colorado has no state HVAC licence — HVAC work in Fort Collins is licensed by the City of Fort Collins, not the state. Colorado licenses only electricians and plumbers at the state level. Fort Collins licenses HVAC contractors through the City — ask us for our licence details when you call. We pull a mechanical permit for replacements through the City’s Accela portal, and size equipment to ACCA Manual J. Refrigerant handling follows EPA Section 608 rules.
- City of Fort Collins contractor licensing — HVAC is licensed locally, not by the State of Colorado
- Mechanical permits for furnace, AC and heat-pump replacements, applied for through the Accela Citizen Portal
- ACCA Manual J load calculations, sized for 5,003 feet of altitude
- Refrigerant handling follows EPA Section 608 rules
- 5.0 ★ (23 Google reviews) — every review on Google is five stars
Customer reviews
What Fort Collins Customers Say
★★★★★
“Denis always does a great job taking care of our 9 locations. Goes above & beyond to make sure our shops stay running smoothly. We have him do walk-in installations & maintenance, HVAC installation & maintenance, ice machine maintenance & installations, preventative maintenance & repairs on all of our sandwich tables and cabinets.”
TL
Tom LoftusGoogle review · a year ago
✓ Verified“
★★★★★
“These guys rock! Anytime we need something, Denis pops in and fixes it like it was nothing. Everyone from their crew has a great attitude, and we won’t call anyone else for our heating, cooling, or other general maintenance work! Read the first sentence again.”
MD
Mike DeeGoogle review · a year ago
✓ VerifiedThe furnace gets one annual visit in the fall, the air conditioner gets one annual visit in the spring, and a heat pump gets two visits a year — spring and fall — because it heats and cools. The shoulder seasons, March–April and September–October, are the window for all three.
It depends on the system, and each system has its own page: furnace maintenance covers the flame sensor, igniter, condensate drain, heat exchanger, and combustion readings; air conditioning maintenance covers the coils, refrigerant charge, capacitor, and airflow; heat pump maintenance covers both, plus the defrost cycle and auxiliary heat staging. Every visit includes filter checks and a plain account of the system’s condition.
In the shoulder seasons: September–October for the furnace and the fall heat pump visit, March–April for the air conditioner and the spring heat pump visit. The heating season runs October/November through April and the cooling season runs June through September — the shoulder season is the window between them, when there is time to fix anything the visit finds.
Yes — in two ways. A clean filter and a sealed cooling system keep indoor air liveable when smoke arrives, and a heat pump or air conditioner running with a dirty coil and a clogged filter will not keep up in the heat. What maintenance does not do is remove smoke with UV light — UV does not remove smoke. Filtration and a sealed system do.
Ready when you are
Book the Season That Is Coming: (970) 932-2324
The shoulder season is the window — March–April for cooling, September–October for heating. Call (970) 932-2324 and book the maintenance visit for the season that is coming, for the furnace, the air conditioner, or the heat pump. We are open 24 hours, every day.
Call Now (970) 932-2324 →
Call to book
Get in Touch
Call us at (970) 932-2324 any time, day or night. We are open 24 hours, 7 days a week. There is no email address for the business — the phone is the way to reach us.
Call anytime(970) 932-2324
Office hoursOpen 24 hours · 7 days a week