October 17, 2024
Heating maintenance in Foothill Ranch, CA

An efficient, responsive furnace is the key to ensuring your home remains warm and cozy during the cold months of winter. Fortunately, all furnaces can guarantee this with some help. Here are five things you can do to ensure your system runs efficiently and smoothly.

1. Calibrate Your Thermostat

Your thermostat is the control center of your furnace. It is where you can program the minimum and maximum temperatures of your home. Therefore, it must always be accurate to prevent your system from overworking or underworking, which can affect your comfort.

Your first step should be to confirm that your thermostat is working correctly. Your furnace should run within five minutes of keying your desired temperature. If it takes longer, it may be having trouble communicating with your system. This could be due to electrical issues or problems with the furnace itself.

Next, compare the temperature reading on your furnace to that of a home thermometer. You can get one online or at a retail hardware store near you.

To test for thermostat accuracy and efficiency, pick a location a few feet away from your thermostat as your control spot. This area should not be near doors, windows, appliances, or exposed to direct sunlight.

Take a soft piece of paper and place it against the wall in your chosen location. Set your glass thermometer on top of the paper and tape it in an upright position at the same height as your thermostat.

Leave the thermometer for about 20 minutes and note its recorded temperature. If its reading is the same as that on your thermostat, then your thermostat’s accuracy and efficiency are good. If the difference is greater than four degrees, your thermostat sensors may have a problem, typically dust accumulation. You can remove its cover and gently clean the contact points.

You can also call an HVAC technician to recalibrate your thermostat. They will test and adjust its components to ensure it accurately records your room’s temperature and effectively communicates with the furnace. Finally, get new batteries for your thermostat before winter starts. This will help prevent unexpected control panel shutdowns.

Recommended Settings

When you are away from home in the winter months, don’t turn off your furnace. Your pipes will freeze and most likely burst, ice will build up on your system itself, and your furnace will consume a lot of energy trying to get your room back to comfortable temperatures. Instead, set your temperatures to 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit when no one is home. Your system will quickly warm up to your desired temperature when you return.

2. Check or Replace Your Air Filters

The role of your furnace filters is to catch and trap contaminants present in your indoor air. Effective filters should clog up quickly, within two to three months, unless your home is always spotless, you have no pets, seldom cook, and no outside air mixes with your indoor air.

Regardless, you should replace or clean your filters before winter sets in. Clogged filters can restrict airflow, contribute to poor air quality, and damage your furnace.

To replace furnace filters, find the filter compartment located at the return vents and open it. Slide out the used filter gently and dispose of it outside. Unwrap your new filter and insert it into the filter compartment. Use the printed arrows on the frame as your guide. Ensure the filter snugly fits and has no visible damage or design flaws. Close the filter compartment door, and you’ll be all set.

When buying a new furnace filter to replace, keenly consider size, MERV rating, and material used to make it. The size of your new filter should match the one you are replacing to ensure a perfect fit.

The MERV rating indicates the granularity of the particles your filter can trap and hold. Check your furnace user manual to see the recommended rating. A high MERV filter can restrict airflow, making your furnace work harder than it should. A too-low MERV filter will let a lot of particles pass through your system.

Regarding material, fiberglass filters are the most affordable option available. They provide basic air purification sufficient for an average home. However, if your home is prone to air contamination or your household members have respiratory issues, consider upgrading to pleated filters. They are studier and available in various MERV ratings.

Filters made from charcoal and activated carbon would be a great option if you have issues with house odors and fumes. If you want washable, durable filters, consider those made from plastic (polypropylene).

3. Test Your Furnace Ignition

If you are using the old-version gas furnace, confirm that its pilot light turns on and burns with a strong blue flame. If it does, it means that it is getting a sufficient supply of natural gas needed to heat your indoor air.

If your pilot light is burning in yellow, red, orange, or green color, you have a problem. This often happens when the air intake valve is loose or damaged, there are gas pressure issues, or a gas other than methane is burning. You should turn it off immediately and consult with a professional.

Modern furnaces replaced the pilot light with an electric ignitor. The “click” you hear when your modern furnace kicks on is the ignitor, creating a spark to turn on the gas connected to your heater. If you don’t hear the clicking sound, you have a hot surface ignitor, which resembles and works like the filament wire in a light bulb.

Ignitors can sometimes fail to start the furnace, especially when they are worn out. They have a lifespan of around seven years. If yours is approaching its time, consider calling a professional to replace it for you.

4. Schedule Professional Maintenance

Schedule professional maintenance so that an expert can handle all the other complex tasks needed to keep your furnace working efficiently and effectively. This includes cleaning, sealing, and insulating your ducts, lubricating all the moving parts, testing the furnace’s startup cycle, safety control, and exhaust system, and examining electrical connections for damage or wear and tear. Your technician will also catch potential problems and make necessary repairs or replacements.

5. Consider Making Upgrades for Energy Efficiency

You can install motorized dampers in your ductwork to separate your home into zones. If your guest or storage room isn’t in use, you don’t need to keep it warm. You can save energy and reduce wear and tear on your furnace by using dampers to divert warm air from entering such regions.

Also, consider getting a smart thermostat if you don’t have one already. These devices can send alerts and notifications to your phone, helping you react quickly to furnace problems before they escalate into something big.

Finally, block all air leaks in your home and upgrade your insulation. Proper insulation will contain warmth inside your home, reducing your furnace workload during winter.

Contact White Mechanical, Inc. for More Information

If you reside in Foothill Ranch, CA, call White Mechanical, Inc. today for furnace preventative maintenance and repairs. Our team members are NATE certified and highly experienced in preparing furnace systems for cold months and dealing with all issues they may have. You can also reach out to us for indoor air quality assessments and solutions, as well as other systems’ services such as heat pump installation or AC maintenance.

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