It doesn’t make sense to wait until there is a problem to have your furnace or heat pump looked at. Not only is it cold outside and the indoor temperature will drop quickly, it is also more expensive to call for an emergency service than an annual maintenance check. Your heater is a machine just like your automobile, and it requires tune-ups, too. Here are five reasons an annual service visit works.
1. Prevention Is the Best Medicine
As with your physical health, your heater needs preventative medicine, as well. It’s wise to have the entire system checked annually to ensure each component is operating at peak efficiency. For example, if your blower needs to be serviced, it will cost you less money to have it maintained than replaced when it breaks down in the dead of winter. Catching issues early helps keep your entire system operating at peak efficiency, which gives your heater a much longer lifespan, and if you think repairing the system is expensive, imagine how much it will cost to replace it.
2. Honors Your Warranty
In most cases, your heater came with a warranty that requires you schedule its annual or bi-annual maintenance. If you fail to do so, you’ll void the warranty and you’ll have to pay for any emergency heating repair directly out of your pocket. Ouch! Prevent this by maintaining the system per the manufacturer’s instructions. Again, this is much like your car or truck. You have a maintenance plan that must be followed or you risk additional and unnecessary expense.
3. Safety First
You might not think about carbon monoxide until you hear a tragic story on the news. You need to think about carbon monoxide every fall. If your heating system burns fuel of any kind, it releases carbon monoxide. If the gas enters your home and your alarms fail, you won’t know it. Carbon monoxide does not have a color or an odor, which is why so many people suffer from CO poisoning. Don’t risk your family’s health. Part of fall heating maintenance is to ensure the unit is not pushing CO into your interior space.
4. Save Your Own Suffering
Be honest. If your kids get too cold, they’ll get sick. If they aren’t comfortable, they will fuss. You can save yourself a lot of suffering by making certain the inside of your home is warm and comfortable all winter long. If you live in an area where it snows and the kids love to head outdoors for some fun in the winter sun, you want them to come back into plenty of warmth so they don’t catch the flu. Cold, wet clothing may come off, but fingers, toes, and noses remain frozen for a little while. Keep your family healthy by keeping the house warm when it’s cold outside.
5. Save on Your Utility Bills
Finally, if your heating system is not running at peak efficiency, you are wasting gas and/or electricity and that waste will show up on your monthly utility bills. Fall maintenance makes certain there are no issues with your furnace or heating pump, your ventilation, and your thermostat. You might be wasting energy without realizing it because your thermostat is not reading at the right temperature. Go a little green inside with a heating system tune-up to make certain there is no wasted energy.
Waste not, want not, and that includes your indoor climate control In the spring, manufacturers and HVAC professionals recommend you have your air conditioner tuned up; in the fall, the heater needs some tender loving care. You cannot expect it to operate efficiently, much less safely, if it isn’t maintained like all of your other machinery. Be certain you have a nice warm winter free of emergency heating service calls.
