If you want to keep your heater, AC, and ventilation working smoothly, then you should consider doing a bit of maintenance and cleaning. Here are some tips that you can use to reduce the likelihood of your HVAC systems breaking down and wearing out:

Basic Cleaning

Although it may seem like common sense, people don't usually clean out their heaters or air conditioners on a regular basis. If debris builds up in either of these units, then it could lead to drastically reduced efficiency. An air conditioner that is full of leaves, dirt, or anything of that nature will use a lot more electricity. The more stuff that is packed in there, the harder it will be for heat to escape the air conditioner. In turn, that trapped heat will warm up the entire unit and force the appliance to do more work for the same results.

Cleaning the Surrounding Area

This can be more of a problem for air conditioning units, since they rest outside while most heating units reside inside the home. This also means that it's a good idea to keep the area around your air conditioner clean. If you clean an air conditioner but neglect the surrounding area, then a small breeze could easily blow some damaging material into the AC.

Intensive Cleaning

Every once in a while you should open up your air conditioner to do a more thorough cleaning. Before doing this, you'll want to make sure that the power is off and the unit is unplugged. Even though, you should wear insulated gloves to prevent any residual electric charge from shocking you. There will be a drain line in your air conditioner that is used to collect condensation. You should clean this with a vacuum and mop up any excess moisture with rages. If possible, use a cleaning solution (like bleach or soap and water) to remove as much filth as possible.

Replacing Filters

A wide variety of HVAC units need replaceable filters to function. If you don't replace or clean these filters, then the units will probably not be nearly effective as you might like. If you have a humidifier, certain space heaters, or other similar appliances, then you should check to see whether or not you need to replace the filter and how often you should do so. Some larger appliances also use filters, but you should be careful to follow the instructions for cleaning if there are any. Some cleaning solutions could be quite damaging to sensitive filters. 

For further assistance, contact local professionals, such as those from A Absolute Plumbing & Heating.