Schedule preventative heating maintenance at your residence before winter hits.
Fall is here, and that means winter is right around the corner. This is the ideal time of year to conduct routine HVAC maintenance and get your furnace ready for another heating season. Here are 10 easy steps you can take to avoid furnace breakdowns and ensure heating safety this winter.
Set Your Thermostat for Energy Savings
As the temperature starts to drop, now is the time to shift your thermostat from cooling mode to heating mode. By making this change and a few others, you can help improve energy efficiency and always be comfortable indoors. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- If you live in a warm climate, keep the room at home no warmer than 70 degrees. To help you stay comfortable, dress for winter weather.
- Set the temperature between 60 and 62 degrees while you’re gone all day or resting at night. You may set it and forget it with a programmable thermostat.
- Overriding your preprogrammed settings as little as possible is the best approach. If you’re chilly, add another layer or snuggle under a blanket before turning on the heat.
- Only make minor temperature adjustments. You won’t heat your home any faster by setting the temperature to 80 degrees, and you’ll use a lot of unnecessary energy when the temperature goes above what’s comfortable for you.
Check & Clean the Air Vents
Examine the air registers in each room. Is there any dust on the grilles? If so, clean them with the brush attachment to improve airflow. Then check for return and supply vents behind furniture, rugs, or curtains. Remove any obstacles to air flow so that it may flow freely. It’s tempting to close unused rooms’ vents believing you’ll save money in the long run. However, this can cause airflow imbalance and increase wear and tear, as well as boost your energy costs. This is why maintaining at least 80% of your registers open all of the time is critical.
Seal the Ductwork
Leaky air ducts can be incredibly wasteful because they leak heated air into unconditioned spaces behind the walls and above the ceilings. However, despite its name, you should never resort to using duct tape to seal ductwork. For the best results, hire an HVAC contractor for professional ductwork sealing. This investment will reduce your heating costs, make your home more comfortable, and improve indoor air quality.
Check the Furnace Flue
If your flue is blocked, it could result in backdrafting– increasing your exposure to carbon monoxide gas. To prevent this, check that nothing is blocking the exhaust vent before running your furnace for the first time this fall. If the inside of the flue is clogged , an HVAC contractor can clean it out for you.
Avoid Using the Utility Room as a Storage Area
You should not store anything near your furnace. This is because the furnace needs room to “breathe.” This means that you should leave a space of 10 to 15 feet between the furnace and anything else. If your utility closet is too small for this, you should keep it empty and just put your HVAC equipment there. It is especially important to keep anything flammable away from the furnace, including cans of paint and paint thinner, cleaning supplies, beauty products, and aerosol sprays.
Schedule Professional HVAC Maintenance
While you may be able to complete several fall HVAC maintenance procedures yourself, only a professional expert can give a comprehensive examination, cleaning, and tune-up. Professionals recommend that you have expert air conditioning maintenance performed every spring and furnace maintenance done every fall.
The aim of annual HVAC servicing is to keep the system operating efficiently and detecting little issues early, avoiding bigger problems later on. You may anticipate lower heating expenses, fewer emergency repairs, and a more pleasant house if you stick to the suggested timetable.
Consider Replacing Your HVAC System
If your furnace is more than 10 years old, it may only be 60% efficient. This means that it will not work as well as a newer furnace and you may have to replace it sooner. A high-efficiency model is more than 97% efficient and can save you money on your energy bills.