Tucson Home HVAC Season Checklist

Two short passes for a Tucson house: fall and winter, then spring and summer. Print it, walk the system, and stop if something smells wrong or will not run.

Fall and winter

Do this before the first cold night, not the morning the house is already cold. A heat pump and a gas furnace are not the same test.

Set the thermostat to Heat, not Emergency. Put the setpoint a few degrees above the room.
Furnace: listen for the inducer, then burners. Heat pump: the outdoor unit should start. Supply air from a heat pump is warm, not hot.
Replace a filter that packed up over monsoon season. Open supply vents and keep returns clear.
Clear leaves and debris around an outdoor heat pump. Do not cover the unit while it is supposed to heat.
Press the carbon monoxide alarm test button. If it is chirping for a dead battery, replace the battery. If it alarms for gas in the air, leave.
A light dusty smell on the first fire can be dust cooking off. A rotten-egg smell is gas: leave, do not use switches, and call 911 or Southwest Gas.
If Aux or Emergency stays on during a mild Tucson evening, the heat pump is probably not carrying the load. Note that on the form.
Write down the ZIP, furnace or heat pump, and what you heard. That is the useful note if you send the form later.

Spring and summer

Do this before the first week that is actually hot. A system that “worked in April” has not been tested at 105.

Set the thermostat to Cool, setpoint below the room. The outdoor fan should start, and supply air should be cool, not merely moving.
Reset a tripped breaker once. If it trips again, leave it off.
Check the filter. A blanket of dust after a haboob is a different problem than a dead compressor. Do not pressure-wash the outdoor coil.
Look at the indoor unit for water. A clogged condensate drain overflows. It is not a reason to keep running the system over a wet closet.
If the house uses a swamp cooler, confirm the pump wets the pads and the pan is not overflowing. A cooler that was drained for winter needs a deliberate start, not a guess.
Do not close most of the supply registers to force air into one room. That raises static pressure and can ice a coil or trip a limit.
A mini-split that serves a casita is a separate machine from the main house. Test the head that is supposed to cool that room, not only the hallway thermostat.
If cooling is already off and someone in the house is at risk from heat, use the AC quit checklist and Pima County’s cooling-center map. This page is the seasonal pass, not the emergency page.

Sabino Creek Heating & Cooling · Tucson · (520) 329-1252 · sabinocreekhvac.com/contact

When a line on the list is already a problem

The checklist is the homeowner pass. It is not a diagnosis and it is not a price. If the furnace will not light, the heat smells wrong, or the cooling is already off, use the contact form. We follow up by phone or email, typically the same business day. That is a callback, not an overnight line.

Go to the contact form Call (520) 329-1252

Checklist questions

Is this checklist a diagnosis?

No. It is a homeowner pass for the season change. If a step fails, or you smell gas, use the contact form or leave the house and call 911 or Southwest Gas.

When should I run the fall half?

Before the first cold night, often in October or November in the Tucson valley. Foothill houses usually need heat sooner than central Tucson.

When should I run the spring half?

Before the first real hot week, after a cooler has been winterized or a heat pump has spent the winter in Heat.

Does the checklist quote a price?

No. If you want the system looked at, the contact form is a free estimate request. A price comes after the equipment is seen.