Maximize Your Furnace, Minimize Your Heating Bills
During the winter season, you likely don’t give your furnace much thought as long as it’s working. To keep from experiencing an unnecessary breakdown or excessively high heating bills, gain some maintenance insight from an HVAC contractor in Santa Rosa and Marin County. Next Level HVAC is here with several maintenance tips to keep your furnace up and running for as long as possible, allowing you and your family to stay warm during the next cold snap.
Calibrate Your Thermostat at Least Once a Year
You may not realize it, but something as simple as a poorly calibrated thermostat can bump up your heating bills. What happens is that dirt can get inside the thermostat, or someone could accidentally bump the thermostat, throwing off the calibration and setting. It’s best to have your thermostat inspected by a certified HVAC contractor at least once a year.
Invest in a Programmable Thermostat
Another adjustment you can make to your thermostat is to invest in a programmable one. The glory of modern thermostats is you can program them to your comfort level without even touching them. For instance, you can program your thermostat to bump the temperature down between seven and 10 degrees when you’re at work, which is great if you often forget to lower the temperature before you leave the house. While you’re driving home, you can program the thermostat to raise the temperature so the house is nice and cozy when you get back. Programmable thermostats are a great way to save money without sacrificing on overall comfort.
Invest in a New Furnace
Do you find your current furnace breaks down more than it actually works? If so, you’re likely better off spending your money on a new furnace rather than repairs. Modern furnaces are made to be more energy efficient than older models. Also, a newly installed furnace can have some great features, such as an air pressure switch that prevents hazardous gas buildup, and a variable-speed motor that makes it so you and your family aren’t over or under heated.
Take Proper Care of Your Burners
Your furnace’s burners play a big part in its overall efficiency. Rusted, corroded and dirty burners compromise overall efficiency. It’s good for you to get into the habit of occasionally visually inspecting your burners to see if they’re in good shape, calling an HVAC technician if you suspect something may be amiss.
Use Ceiling Fans to Supplement Your Furnace
Rather than shut your ceiling fans off in the colder months of the year, keep them going. What you want to do is reverse the direction of your fans in the winter so they spin clockwise. The fans push rising warm air down near floor level. Besides overall comfort, this tip is great for easing some of the stress of your furnace working to heat up a room from top to bottom.
For more furnace maintenance tips, don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Next Level HVAC. Fill out a contact form, like us on Facebook, find us on LinkedIn and subscribe to our blog.
15 Comments
You Might Also Like6/12/2019 02:53:28 pm
Wow, I had no idea that there was an option for a programmable furnace that could change the temperature without you even being there! My home always has been either too cold or too hot, an I would love to install something to help it be more efficient. Or maybe I should have someone come in and see if there is something wrong with is that is making it not have consistent temperatures. 7/18/2019 10:52:27 am
I like that you said that it is a good idea to invest in a programmable thermostat. I remember when I used to live in my old house, my furnace kept turning every 5 minutes. I'm going to look for a professional to help me install my new thermostat to save energy. 8/22/2019 07:59:48 am
I like how you suggested keeping maintenance in your HVAC system to make sure it does not break down. My mom told me that there was a leak coming from the HVAC pipes. I will recommend her to call a contractor to make sure her HVAC system is working fine. 9/9/2019 08:54:43 am
I love how you said to use fans to push down the warm air so that your furnace doesn't have to work as hard to heat your house. I just got a new furnace and I don't want it to break as the last one did, so I'll definitely use that tip to keep it from overworking. It should also save me some money because the heating bill will be lessened. 9/9/2019 04:58:37 pm
It makes sense that older models aren't as energy-efficient and that it's cheaper to just buy a new one sometimes. My new house actually doesn't have a furnace, which isn't good because winter is coming and I'm more used to warm air. I'll have to find heating system services. 9/11/2019 07:58:46 am
I found your tips on furnace maintenance helpful. I like how you said to inspect the furnace's burners to see if they are rusted or dirty. I'll have to consider having a professional come show me how to check the burners for debris, since I am scared to touch my furnace. 10/10/2019 03:42:51 pm
My furnace isn't working as well as I want it to. It could be really nice to get it checked out and repaired by a professional. Thanks for the tips on how properly maintain it. 10/18/2019 06:54:56 am
It's interesting to know that you need to calibrate your thermostat at least once a year. My husband and I noticed that the heating system at my mother's house is not working properly, and we are looking for advice. I will let him know about the benefits of calibrating the thermostat every once in a while to help my mother. 10/18/2019 08:04:46 am
I never knew that a poorly calibrated thermostat could actually affect my heating bills. If I were to choose, I'll hire someone to conduct regular maintenance on my heating system so I can make sure that it's in working order. This way, I can keep the costs of my electricity low. 10/22/2019 01:03:48 pm
It's interesting to know that you need to calibrate your thermostat at least once a year. My mother noticed that her HVAC unit is not working properly, and we are looking for advice. I will call a professional to help my mother with that problem before it turns into something worse. 10/31/2019 05:13:29 pm
We should look more into this. My furnace isn't working all that well. A professional should be able to help us out with this. 11/5/2019 07:25:31 am
It's my first time to get a furnace in my house, and I'm excited to use it since I've experienced a lot of winters where I had to put on a lot of blankets. Thanks for enlightening me that I should visually inspect my furnace's burners to make sure that it's always functional. I think I'll contact a heating contractor in case I find something wrong with it or if it needs a tune-up so I can use it all winter long. 11/18/2019 03:58:51 pm
Of the things you listed here, I think that going with a programmable thermostat would help me out the best. As you said, you could program it to lower or raise the temperature when you aren't home. Which in turn, would save you money in the long run. 1/6/2020 12:47:39 pm
I never consider the fact that the thermostat should be calibrated at least once a year because dirt will eventually get insider the thermostat. Now that you mentioned it, my brother has noticed his utility bill has been rising dramatically lately. I will pass this on so he can hire an HVAC technician to take a look at his furnace. Leave a Reply. |
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