How To Avoid Furnace Repair This Winter
There is nothing worse than waking up on a cold morning to a freezing house due to your furnace dying overnight. While there is no way to guarantee your furnace will never break down, there are certain things you can do to be proactive and avoid furnace repair this winter.
How A Furnace Works
For most of us – we just know that when we turn the thermostat up to 72, the heat kicks on and life is good. A furnace is actually a complex piece of equipment that carefully regulates the temperature of your home. A furnace is designed to convert fuel to energy and circulate the energy as heat through the ductwork or pipes in your home, keeping everything warm.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the annual fuel utilization efficiency, or AFUE, of a furnace should be over 75%. Modern furnaces can have up to 98% efficiency! When it comes to energy costs and performance, furnaces made today are functioning at a much higher level than they were ten or twenty years ago, thanks to the advances which have been made in furnace technology.
Caring For Your Furnace
The furnace is a huge part of your home. There are many complex parts and if something is broken and you replace it with the wrong part, it can be very expensive. While serious maintenance should be left to the professionals, there are things homeowners can do in order to avoid furnace repair this winter.
Be Aware When you are home, relaxing and hear a thud, clang or bang, check to see if it is your furnace. Any rattling that you hear, could indicate that something is about to break. Remember, as the weather changes, metal expands and contracts, which can cause nuts, bolts, screws and other connections to come loose.
Maintain Change the air filters according to the manufacturer specifications in the furnace to ensure proper flow of air. A dirty filter can cause air flow to decrease, which may result in a house fire. To ease air filter woes, schedule cleanings of the filters every three months.
Scheduled Furnace Maintenance
To maintain a properly functioning furnace, schedule maintenance visits with our team at R&D Indoor Comfort twice a year. During visits the team will review electrical connections, pump operations, drain lines, air filters, condenser coils and overall furnace performance. When we come to visit, be sure to mention any strange smells, loss of heat in any rooms of the home or strange sounds you may have heard coming from the furnace. Scheduling twice yearly visits, ensures proper heating all year long.
Stay Warm All Winter
No one wants to wake up to a cold home. Following these tips and paying close attention to your furnace will help keep you and your family are warm no matter how cold it gets outside. Avoid furnace repair this winter by contacting our team at R&D Indoor Comfort today!