Don’t Let The Furnace Go Down in Your Mason Area Home Winter!
It’s been said that “To everything there is a season.”
In fact, there is “a time for every purpose under heaven.”
As such, furnace season is well underway here in Ohio. And as we continue moving closer to the end of a long (and crazy) year, for most of us things are going well with our furnace systems, which continue to heat our homes without any problems. We would like to use this time to remind residents that there are some easy steps they can take to ensure things continue to go well and their home heating systems don’t break down during the colder months.
As such, our certified HVAC technicians here at Mason Heating & Air put together the following list of six easy steps homeowners can take to avoid the risk of having to make emergency HVAC:
Check Air Filters Frequently & Replace As Needed
We realize that we are making this recommendation a lot. However, we recommend it for good reason: Checking and changing your furnace’s air filter frequently (or cleaning it if you have a reusable filter) is essential. Despite this, far too many residents don’t check and replace their air filters as often as they need to. If your furnace has the basic fiberglass air filter, you need to replace it once a month during the winter.
Open All Vents and Registers
Despite the widespread belief that closing off vents or registers in unused portions of the home will save you money, this is not a cost-effective strategy.The misconception is fairly common, too: Many homeowners believe this saves them money and energy. The reason this is not a good idea is because it makes your HVAC system perform far less efficiently and can lead to other problems that aren’t good for your furnace and AC.
Check & Change Thermostat Batteries
We get calls from homeowners occasionally who are upset because their heat went out. When we get to their residence to make the repair and figure out the problem, we discover the solution is a very simple one: Occasionally, a homeowner’s heat will go out because they overlooked their thermostat’s battery. They could have fixed the problem themselves (or prevented it in the first place) if they’d merely checked their thermostat’s battery. Don’t be that homeowner. Check your thermostat’s batteries. Usually, a thermostat’s battery is good for three or four years on average. If you know your battery is old, or if you forget the last time you replaced it, let this serve as a reminder. Replace your thermostat’s batteries before they go bad.
Understanding Thermostat Settings
Sometimes, we get homeowners who are upset their furnace won’t stop blowing air. Moreover, it’s blowing air that isn’t warm or heated.
In situations like these, we often find there isn’t anything wrong at all per se, other than operator error. This error lies in understanding the thermostat’s different settings. Because of this, it’s important to understand the difference between the settings: “Auto” and “On.”
- With the “On” Setting, the furnace fan will constantly run, even if the furnace is not producing heat. When the fan is “ON” it will continue to blow air through your vents regardless of the furnace.
- With the “Auto” Setting, the furnace fan will only run if the furnace is generating heat. If the furnace stops generating heat, the fan will “Automatically” shut off.
Use Furnace Early In The Fall
With most of our furnaces having been off since the end of last winter, one of the best ways to ensure your home heating system is going to run properly this holiday season and beyond is to begin using it early in the fall, or as soon as possible, before the weather is too cold outside. This can demonstrate its performance early on to ensure everything is good to go. Doing this enables you to identify potential glitches in the system or even worse problems before it’s too late and you can’t risk losing heat. No one wants to have to find a local emergency furnace repair service during the night, but if you happen to, we can help with that as well.
Preventative Maintenance Is A MUST!!!
We emphasize this so often, you might be tired of hearing it. For some, it might go in one ear and out the other. Nevertheless, we will state once again that consistent preventative maintenance is a smart choice that doesn’t cost a great deal and yet pays for itself quickly, and tenfold. If you have not done so already, we recommend you give us a call to set up your annual visit as soon as possible to enable you to reap the rewards of preventative maintenance.
Our friendly, highly-skilled expert technicians are more than happy to come to your home and tune up your furnace, run through a whole list of tasks, and diagnose any minor glitches that could snowball into major problems during the winter. For those homeowners who have newer HVAC systems, many of you understand that the manufacturers of these newer furnaces, heat pumps and AC systems all require you to have this done anyway to keep their warranties active.
When it comes to something as complex as a furnace or any HVAC system, it pays off in dividends, in the end, to be proactive rather than reactive. It’s like getting the oil changed in your car. You should consider how much it would cost to replace this system.
Call Mason Heating & Air at 513-496-2477, or schedule an appointment now by clicking here!
We truly hope to hear from you, and wish you the safest and most comfortable holiday season possible.
Many blessings!
