For Home Heater Maintenance, You Need a Trusted HVAC Professional.
As a residential property owner, you likely have heard that you need home heater maintenance on an annual basis. Despite the existence of this commonly accepted wisdom, few homeowners take their HVAC maintenance needs seriously. This is a major mistake, and can lead not only to costly repairs, but possibly the failure of your furnace when you need it the most. After all, one aspect of proper furnace maintenance is the determination of whether your unit can withstand the heightened needs of its service on the coldest days. At Elite HVAC, we help ensure that the furnaces of our clientele can keep up with any demand.
One issue we frequently encounter as HVAC professionals is a homeowner’s drive to make repairs or perform maintenance on their own. While some small repairs are perfectly fine to attempt on your own, we strongly discourage DIY furnace maintenance. This becomes doubly true with a gas furnace, since improperly maintained devices can present a serious health risk. If you need home heater maintenance in Orange, CA, call us today at (714) 464-6622. We have affordable pricing for this indispensable service, and can offer exceptional work that ensures your comfort throughout this year’s cold season.
The Importance of Home Heating Maintenance
As stated above, home heating maintenance stands as one of your primary responsibilities as a homeowner. If you skip heating maintenance intentionally, or simply forget about it from year to year, you may have to deal with the following consequences.
- Unreliable or Uneven Heating Throughout Your Home
- Premature System Failure
- Higher Energy Bills
- Safety Concerns
As a furnace ages, it will naturally begin to develop problems that impact its ability to perform well. These can result from dirty air ducts, loose connections, worn parts, or any number of problems. As these issues accumulate, they will reduce your furnace’s effectiveness, and force it to consume more energy to render a comprehensive level of comfort. This increased energy demand will not only lead to higher gas or electric bills, but also put further wear on your system. This vicious circle can lead to premature system failure, a dire consequence that usually happens at the worst possible time: the coldest days of the year, when the demand on your furnace is at its highest.
Additionally, furnaces that do not receive maintenance can become safety hazards. With gas furnaces, problems with certain valves and connections can create a gas leak. Problems with your furnace’s venting can also lead to the entrapment of carbon monoxide in your home, an even more dangerous concern. For these and the reasons described above, you should absolutely schedule annual home heater maintenance with a service professional like Elite HVAC. If you do, you will enjoy the following benefits.
- Up to a 30 Percent Reduction in Your Energy Bills
- The Detection of Dangers Like Natural Gas and Carbon Monoxide Leaks
- Maintain Your Furnace’s Manufacturer Warranty
- A Safer, Warmer Home
How to Do Heater Maintenance Checklist
Dirty Vents Indicate a Need for Air Duct Cleaning.
We strongly recommend that you entrust your home heater maintenance needs to a qualified professional. Despite this, there are some elements of heating maintenance you can do on your own. These items can help you narrow down a list of potential problems before you call for service, or help ensure proper functionality in the months between your annual maintenance appointment.
Check Your Thermostat: Turn up your thermostat, and listen for the sound of your furnace’s activation. If you hear this, and it continues to run for several minutes, your thermostat works properly. If it switches back off after a short period of time, you are dealing with an issue called short-cycling. This could be caused by a thermostat in need of calibration, or an overheated heat exchanger.
Forced Air Checklist: Most furnaces operate by means of forced air, the process where an HVAC pushes air through your ducts. If this sounds like the type of furnace you have, you need to keep the airways clean for proper functionality. Perform the following checklist:
- Check and replace your air filter(s) on a monthly basis.
- Ensure that a professional HVAC technician checks your ducts for damage or wear as part of regular maintenance.
- If your air registers are dirty, schedule professional cleaning of your air ducts.
- Make sure that your furnace technician cleans the combustion chamber and blower, and inspects the blower belt.
Common Questions About Home Heater Maintenance
The Most Important HVAC Maintenance a Homeowner Can Do Is Replace the Air Filter.
How Many Years Does a Gas Furnace Last?
With properly scheduled maintenance and repairs, a modern gas furnace can last from 15 to 20 years.
How Often Should I Get My Furnace Serviced?
You should have your furnace professionally inspected and serviced once a year.
Why Do I Need to Service My Furnace Every Year?
Furnaces are high-demand appliances with a great number of moving parts, and the propensity to accumulate dust and debris from your home’s air. Furthermore, gas furnaces consume a type of fuel that’s toxic to breathe, and create an even more toxic substance, carbon monoxide, as a byproduct. For these reasons, regular maintenance is a dire necessity for both your furnace’s proper operation, and the health of you and your family.
How Do You Maintain a Furnace?
The most important thing a homeowner can do themselves to maintain a furnace is to check and replace the air filter on a regular basis. You can also pay attention to your air registers and call for duct cleaning should they appear dirty.
Is Do it Yourself Furnace Maintenance Safe?
No. Only a qualified professional can inspect your furnace for safety concerns like gas leaks, or the improper functionality that leads to carbon monoxide emissions in your home.
When Should You Replace a Furnace?
If your furnace requires repair more than once a year, or has surpassed the 20-year mark, you should go ahead and have it replaced.
Best Home Heater Maintenance in the Local Area
While we understand the “do-it-yourself” impulse, there are many home repair and maintenance tasks that simply demand professional service. When it comes to furnaces, especially gas furnaces, maintenance, repairs, and the installation of linked systems like a dehumidifying module necessitate professional aid. At Elite HVAC, we’re the local experts for home heater maintenance in Orange, CA. As an aspect of our maintenance service, we can make minor repairs right away, or offer an estimate for more complex needs. If we determine that you should replace your home’s heater, we proudly recommend a Bryant heating and air conditioning system. To schedule service or learn more about our company, give us a call at (714) 464-6622.