For many people, November marks the beginning of “the most wonderful time of the year.” If you put your holiday decorations up the day after Halloween, you’re probably looking forward to the holiday festivities and the cooler weather.
However, to fully enjoy the holidays, you need a cozy home that’s nice and warm when the cold weather hits. Let’s go over 5 things you can do to make sure your furnace is ready for the ho-ho-holidays. From scheduling furnace maintenance to changing the air filter, making sure your heating system will keep your family and guests comfortable is as easy as pumpkin pie.
1. Schedule Heating Maintenance
It doesn’t matter what type of heating system you have–that heat pump, furnace, or boiler needs maintenance. Scheduling a heating tune-up is the best way to help ensure that you won’t be without your heating system when you need it most–on the coldest day of the year, during a holiday party, or when the in-laws are staying for an extended visit.
2. Change the Air Filter
Your furnace needs one thing more than just about anything else to work well and that thing is excellent airflow. The next 4 items to check all have to do with maximizing that airflow.
Great airflow starts with a clean and clear air filter. If this isn’t on your fall maintenance checklist, it should be. Your furnace’s air filter should always be changed just before the heating season starts.
The filter’s job is to keep dirt, dust, and debris out of your furnace’s internal mechanical parts. A clean furnace is a furnace that runs well, providing your home with strong, hot airflow and lower utility bills.
3. Check Your Ductwork
Did you know that as much as 30% of the conditioned air your heating system generates can be lost to leaky ductwork? Tears, holes, and poor connections in your home’s air ducts can eat up a lot of precious warm air that leaks out of these holes and ends up behind the walls, floors, and ceilings of your home.
Although a lot of your home’s ductwork is hidden, you can still make a quick inspection of your visible air ducts, looking for checking for holes, tears, and feeling for drafts. Unnaturally high heating bills that can’t be accounted for by usage are also a sign of problematic ductwork. If anything seems amiss, give us a call.
4. Check Your Vents and Indoor Unit
Over the summer, items tend to accumulate where they shouldn’t. That means lawn equipment that piles up around your indoor unit and boxes of summer items placed in front of your vents. Remove any items in front of your home’s vents and make sure there’s a 2-foot perimeter that’s free and clear of items around your indoor unit.
5. Check Your Outdoor Unit
Plant growth can also go wild over the summer, surrounding your outdoor unit and prohibiting airflow. Make sure there are no twigs, leaves, branches, or tall grass around the outdoor unit.
Live a happier, healthier, and more comfortable life—contact Breathe Easy of CNY Heating & Cooling for your HVAC services in Syracuse, NY! We are consumers too!