During the cold season, your furnace is invaluable and ensures thermal comfort for you and your family. However, it requires regular care and maintenance to function optimally, increase its lifespan, and avoid costly repair bills. The last thing you would want is your furnace breaking down during a cold winter night.
Learn six tips for furnace maintenance this winter.
Inspect Ducts
Ducts play a crucial role in distributing heated air throughout your home. After years of use, your ducts wear out and accumulate dirt and debris, decreasing their efficiency and compromising your home’s air quality. Also, critters like rats, squirrels, and spiders can invade them.
Before winter, schedule a duct inspection to identify leaks, deterioration, damage, or poor sealing. If you experience uneven temperatures, high energy bills, moldy odors, and a dusty home, call in a professional to check your ducts. The professional not only tackles any issues but may also recommend duct cleaning.
Double-Check the Thermostat
The thermostat is your furnace’s engine and thus requires special care. Start by changing the batteries to maintain functionality. Do not forget to have an extra set of replacement batteries. Then, reprogram your thermostat to meet your unique heating needs at the beginning of the cold season.
One of the most significant benefits of a programmable thermostat is the ability to create heating schedules. For example, you can set the thermostat to a lower temperature during the day when you are at work and raise the temperatures a few hours before you get home. This saves energy and money and protects your furnace from premature wear.
Clean and Clear
Your furnace needs regular cleaning to facilitate a smooth and safe operation. Use a soft brush to eliminate dust and dirt on the furnace’s interior, and then vacuum it.
Do not forget to clean the flame sensor as well as the combustion flue regularly. Switch off the furnace during the cleaning process for safety reasons. Also, ensure the area around your unit is clean and free from obstruction, especially anything combustible.
Change the Filter
Changing your furnace’s filter is one of the easiest, yet overlooked, furnace maintenance tasks that can reduce your energy bill by 5-15%. Due to continual use during the cold season, your unit’s air filter becomes dirty and needs changing or cleaning. A clean filter maintains good indoor air quality while increasing the furnace’s efficiency and lifespan.
Numerous factors such as the type of filter, your home’s unique needs, and manufacturer specifications determine the frequency of filter change. While some filters should be changed monthly, others can serve you for 1-3 months. Nonetheless, if you have pets or smokers at home, you should replace your filters more often.
Keep Registers and Vents Open
Blocked vents and registers may lead to cold and hot spots in the house, moisture issues, and poor indoor air quality. They also increase energy bills since your furnace has to work harder to meet the desired temperature. As such, always keep your vents and registers open and clear from furniture, appliances, and other objects.
Schedule Furnace Tune-Ups
Although you should inspect your furnace regularly to identify any problems or signs of damage, hiring an HVAC expert to examine your unit is advisable. A tune-up before winter ensures your furnace functions effectively and detects any issues before they wreak havoc on your system. It goes a long way to save you time, headaches, and money in the long run.
Regular maintenance keeps your furnace in pristine condition and protects your investment. Get in touch with Steele Bros Heating Inc. for all your furnace maintenance needs in the Greater Denver Metropolitan Area. Our NATE-certified technicians help maintain your furnace’s peak performance and save money.
