As a homeowner, you know you have to maintain your furnace to function efficiently and last for a long time. The big question is, how do you maintain a furnace? If you are in this dilemma, here are furnace maintenance tips you should consider as given by heating service repair professionals:
Reduce your home’s heating load
Your home’s heating load is the amount of heat you need to warm your house comfortably. The more heat you need, the harder your appliance will have to work.
Hire heating professionals to inspect your house and determine the areas in your house that have the biggest problems and help you make improvements. In most cases, professionals use specialized equipment and infrared cameras.
To reduce your heating load, the contractors have to weatherstrip windows and doors, seal and insulate the ductwork, insulate the attic, among many other things that will ensure you retain as much heat inside the house as much as possible.
Clean or replace the air filter
The air filter is at the heart of your heating appliance. Its major role is to remove air particulates before the air gets into the furnace and gets heated. A properly functioning air filter will remove all types of particulates, including pollen, bacteria, dust mites, dust, spores, and many others.
Due to their location and role, air filters get dirty, and when this happens, the furnace has inadequate airflow and doesn’t operate as efficiently as it should.
What is the consequence of this? You spend a lot of energy heating up your house.
Luckily, you can keep your furnace in top working condition by regularly cleaning the air filter. At least once every three months, open up the air filter compartment and check the condition of the filter. If dirty, clean it.
Use a vacuum cleaner, warm water, and soap for cleaning. Remember to also clean the surrounding areas near the air filter as you don’t want the air filter to get dirty after you return it to its compartment.
If you have had it for a long time and the filter is too dirty or damaged, replace it with a newer, better model.
Properly set the thermostat.
The thermostat controls how the furnace works. If you set the thermostat, but still the house isn’t heating properly, you might be having a thermostat problem. Chances are the thermostat has stopped working or needs replacement.
Ask a furnace technician to inspect it and replace it if too old or requires expensive repairs.
Take a look at the fan belt.
Before touching these, ensure you switch off the circuit breaker panel and the furnace switch. Carefully go through the fan belt and ensure there are no signs of wear and tear or cracks.
If the belt is worn out, replace it.
Have a gas furnace? Take a look at the pilot light.
Begin with confirming you have switched on the pilot light and that the pilot light lights up. If the light goes out, relight it. If the light lights up but doesn’t stay lit long enough, it means the opening is clogged.
Turn off the gas valve, get a fine wire, and clean the opening using the wire. If you do this several times and still there are no improvements, chances are the thermocouple is faulty. Don’t continue trying to fix it. Call a repair professional to fix it instead.
If you have an electric furnace, you most likely don’t have a pilot light. The system uses an electrical element that heats up and ignites the burners. If any of these parts stop working properly, don’t try fixing them by yourself. Instead, get a professional to look into them and fix the problem.
Tune-up the appliance
Tuning up the furnace requires the services of a furnace repair services Arlington VA provider. At least once a year, hire a technician to look into the furnace and fix any issues. Some of the things the tune-up professional does include:
- Clean the burners
- Clean the flame sensor
- Tighten the electrical components
- Test the fan amperage
- Test the temperature and velocity rising
When hiring the professional, ensure they have the necessary experience. You don’t want someone who will mess up your appliance, do you?
