Taking care of your home's heating system is essential if you want to provide your home with reliable, comfortable heating throughout the winter. This is true whether you use a gas furnace, an electric heat pump or a combustion boiler. As with all HVAC systems, heating equipment maintenance involves a mixture of do-it-yourself steps and professional tasks.
So, how to you know which heating equipment tasks should be left to a professional? Here's a basic explanation:
Do-It-Yourself
Inspect and change air filters when they get dirty. Make sure to check your filter at least once a month. A clean filter allows for a smooth airflow through your system, keeping damaging dust and debris out of sensitive components. As a result, you'll save money on energy and reduce the chance of breakdowns.
Seal leaky ducts. If you find loose connections or actual holes or cracks, seal them with duct mastic and metal-backed tape. Then, insulate ducts that run through unconditioned areas, such as your crawlspace or basement.
Remove obstructions from heating vents and registers. You'll be surprised by how many household objects get shoved atop vents, including rugs, furniture and drapes.
Call a Professional
Check ignition and combustion components for fuel-burning furnaces and boilers. All components should be clean, and moving parts should be lubricated.
With combustion heating systems, your technician should make sure the venting, exhaust and chimney set-up is safe and up to code. Otherwise, you're risking carbon-monoxide poisoning and/or fire.
Electric wiring and terminals should be assessed for proper connections and operation in heat pumps, furnaces and boiler systems.
Heat pump systems should be inspected for correct refrigerant level, while indoor and outdoor coils should be cleaned. Airflow should also be checked and adjusted.
In both furnaces and heat pumps, the condensate drain should be inspected for blockages and cleaned.
For more advice on helpful heating equipment tasks to complete this season, please contact Air Assurance. We serve the Greater Tulsa area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “mushan/Shutterstock”