Don’t head into the new year wondering how much longer your heater will continue to keep you comfortable. Commit to these simple resolutions to enjoy improved performance, a longer service life, and more reliability from your heater.
Lower Your Temperature Each Day
This doesn’t mean dropping your thermostat to a new lower setting every day. Rather, there are periods in most homes where you’re away or when you may be comfortable with a lower temperature. During these times, reduce your temperature by 7 to 10 degrees.
This reduces the strain on your heater during those periods, extending your unit’s service life. It also helps reduce your utility expenses when you’re not there to benefit from the extra expense.
Bring the Warmth Down With Ceiling Fans
You’ve probably heard that heat rises, and that’s true in your home as well. That means when your heater runs, the heat eventually settles at your ceiling, leaving you with heavier, cooler air.
Running your ceiling fans can help correct this. You’ll find a switch on the side of the fan that reverses the direction the fan spins. Over the cooler months, you want to have the blade turning clockwise on low. This will gently draw the cooler air up while pushing the warmer air down where you can feel it.
Improve Airflow Around Your Home
Your heater depends on its ability to circulate air both through the system and around your home. The better the air flows around your home, the more efficiently your heater will do its job. Start by checking that your registers are open so that air can flow from them. This is an important part of circulating air around your home.
Your system creates a low pressure at the return register. It also creates high pressure at each of the output vents. This difference causes the air to move around your home as it tries to equalize the pressure. It’s this movement that helps circulate the heat around each room as it comes from the vents. Closed vents interrupt the process, causing the air to stagnate in that area.
Blocked vents are just as problematic as closed vents. Be sure that each one has enough clearance to allow the air to flow out and into the room. The general recommendation is to have clearance of no less than two inches above and around each vent.
Check Your Furnace Filter More Regularly
Another key to keeping air moving around your home and through your heating system is your air filter. A clogged air filter means the system won’t draw enough air in to create the pressure differential needed for circulation. It also causes overheating in your system, which leads to component damage and additional repairs.
Standard one- and two-inch filters require changing about every three months. However, pets or poor air quality may require more frequent filter replacements. Checking your filter monthly will help you see when your filter is dirty enough to need changing. While you’re checking your filter, gently vacuum off the loose dirt to improve your unit’s efficiency between filter changes.
Get That Annual Maintenance Scheduled
Your heater needs routine maintenance to keep it at peak operational performance. However, it’s easy to forget to schedule it with everything that comes with the end of the year.
When you neglect your maintenance, your system develops internal airflow restrictions at the heat exchanger and circulating fan. It also slowly loses efficiency as parts begin to wear and connections loosen due to the system’s vibration. Our technicians handle all of this during their maintenance visit, improving your system’s reliability.
Start Planning for an Upgrade
Heating systems don’t last forever and will eventually wear out. Now is a great time to start planning for your next replacement, especially if your system is over 10 years old. Whether you have a furnace, a heat pump, or a geothermal system, it’s better to plan for your replacement than wait until your current system suffers a catastrophic failure. In planning for a new system, consider whether you’ll need to upgrade its capacity due to home renovations you’ve made.
Dr. HVAC Inc has provided trusted and reliable heating and AC service to people around Margate for more than 10 years. Our team of expert technicians provides dependable heating and cooling installation, maintenance, and repair services. Call to schedule your heater repair or maintenance appointment with one of our technicians today.
