With the winter in Edgewater, MD, swiftly approaching, you’ll want your furnace to last long and function effectively. Above all, it’s important to avoid having your system break down on a cold winter night. Therefore, we’d like to share four tips that you can use to extend the life of your furnace.
Schedule Furnace Maintenance
An enormous number of reasons weigh heavily in favor of scheduling professional maintenance for your furnace at least once per year. For starters, to keep your manufacturer’s warranty valid, you’ll need to provide proof of annual maintenance. Tuneups can also prevent your heating bills from rising unnecessarily.
In addition to these considerations, maintenance has the power to greatly extend your furnace’s service life. Prolonged use will undermine the physical integrity and overall effectiveness of your furnace’s various parts. If you do nothing to slow this process, eventually, these components will degrade so much that the system will simply no longer be able to function.
This point of complete degradation may well arrive long before your furnace lives an average service life. To make sure that this doesn’t happen, professional intervention is essential.
Gas-powered and oil-powered furnaces are typically able to perform well for 15-20 years, while electric ones can remain effective for as many as 20-30 years. Without annual or semi-annual tuneups, your system may never reach these ages; with it, it may exceed them.
Replace the Filter When Necessary
While only trained service technicians can perform tuneups, you should be able to replace your furnace’s filter on your own. Over time, filters accumulate dust and other debris on them, which can inhibit further airflow and decrease overall system performance. Weak airflow may lead to overheating or may cause your thermostat to force your furnace to work harder, which will put it under greater strain.
To prevent this, you must make sure that your filter doesn’t become too dirty. We strongly recommend replacing yours at least once every 90 days.
Learn to Recognize Signs of Trouble
When your furnace is in trouble, it’ll usually do something to let you know it. It may begin making strange and annoying sounds that it never made before, or it may start producing bizarre odors. It may begin short cycling, operating without end or expelling soot into your home.
Your system may suddenly begin heating your home unevenly, or the color of its pilot light may change from blue to yellow. These are only a few of the things you may see to alert you that something is wrong. However, you must understand what all of these signs mean.
For example, a blue pilot light generally indicates that there’s been a carbon monoxide leak. Strange smells may suggest a gas leak, while banging, whistling or squealing noises typically point to ignition issues, airflow restrictions or a faulty blower motor belt.
If you can interpret these signs, you’ll be able to ask heating service technicians to come in and fix the problems that they point to. If you can’t, difficulties will remain and may get worse, eventually causing your system to totally collapse.
Install a Smart Thermostat
Smart thermostats are extraordinarily useful devices that can bestow considerable benefits on those who use them. They can significantly increase the efficiency of both your furnace and your air conditioning system. They do this by subjecting the operations of these systems to precise control.
Once your furnace is under the control of a smart thermostat, it’ll stop operating at the exact point when indoor temperatures are just high enough to meet your preferences and only start working again after temperatures fall back down out of your ideal range. This will minimize energy waste, decrease your heating bills, and most importantly, minimize stress on your furnace. As a result, your furnace will probably enjoy a longer lifespan.
If you implement our suggestions, your furnace can keep your Edgewater, MD, home warm for many years to come. If you have any issues, call Coastal Heating & Air Conditioning Co., Inc. to ask for our furnace repair services.
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