Furnace maintenance is a crucial service that helps to provide you with reliable, safe, and efficient heating through the harsh winters of Wheat Ridge, CO. You rely heavily on your furnace to keep your home comfortable and warm, but such a large appliance needs routine care to keep it running. HVAC experts agree that you need regular maintenance once a year for your hard-working furnace, preferably before the temperatures start to dive. This yearly maintenance helps find troubles caused by the heavy workload of last winter and stop them from causing issues this coming cold season.
How Is Maintenance Performed?
During your annual furnace maintenance, a professional technician looks over your heating system to ensure that it is operating as it should. The technician will make adjustments as needed, tune the furnace, and make sure it is ready to get you through the winter chill without interruption.
Performing a Visual Inspection
The first step of annual maintenance is visual inspection. Your technician will inspect your heating system and check that all parts and components are damage-free. The technician will identify any missing or extremely worn parts that could cause malfunctions in the future. If any parts are excessively worn, damaged, or missing, repairs will be needed before your system is ready for use. In some cases, we can make repairs on the spot thanks to our ample supply of tools and parts.
Lubricating the Moving Parts
Some moving parts inside your furnace require lubrication to protect them from damage when your machine operates. Friction during operation can take a toll on these parts. The technician will lubricate these moving parts to lower the stress and wear and tear on them throughout the coming year.
Cleaning the Inside of the Unit
Dirt and dust settle inside your unit with normal use. Your technician will wipe away this debris and ensure the inside of your unit is clean. A cleaner unit will be more efficient and provide better indoor air quality.
Checking for Unusual Sounds
Your furnace should be quiet during operation. Loud banging or booming noises may indicate a problem. Your technician will power on the furnace and listen for any strange sounds that require a diagnosis.
Determining the Cause of Abnormal Smells
You should never be able to smell any odor coming from your furnace when it’s running. Aside from the first time you fire on the system for the year, when you may smell a slight burnt smell as the dust gets hot, your furnace should be odorless. Any foul or strange smells require an explanation. Bad smells could result from a malfunction in your system or from dirty ductwork, which may indicate a need for professional duct cleaning.
Testing Safety Controls
Many heating systems have safety controls that monitor for malfunctions and prevent the machine from operating when something goes wrong. Your technician will test these safety controls to ensure they prohibit operation when a problem exists. If the safety controls fail, you’ll need repairs before you run your furnace.
Calibrating Your Thermostat
Your technician will test your thermostat to make sure the temperature displayed matches the temperature of the surrounding room. If not, the technician will adjust the thermostat so that it does match. The technician may also look for appliances and devices near the thermostat that could result in a temperature reading that is too high. For example, a heat-producing appliance near the thermostat may cause it to register an inaccurate higher temperature. This makes it harder to heat your home without cranking the heat. Thermostat calibration helps provide the right amount of heating throughout your house.
Checking for Proper Airflow
Your technician will fire up your furnace and make sure you are getting proper airflow from your vents. If no air comes from the vents or you’re getting low airflow, it may signal a problem with the furnace or in the ductwork that requires further investigation. If you get cold air from the vents while the furnace is running, there may be a problem with the heating element. Your technician will diagnose the airflow problems and make repairs as required.
What Are the Major Benefits of Annual Furnace Maintenance?
Annual furnace maintenance has many perks that help save you money and keep you comfortable through the frigid Colorado winters. The cost of this preventive service is greatly outweighed by all the benefits it provides.
Decreased Risk of Unexpected Failures
Scheduling routine maintenance helps lower the risk of an unexpected breakdown in the middle of the frozen winter by pinpointing failing and damaged parts ahead of time. Your technician can spot warning signs of impending doom and make repairs before you need your furnace to fight the cold temperatures. This gives you added peace of mind as you snuggle up in the cold months.
Greater Energy Efficiency
A well-tuned and maintained machine requires less energy to give you the heating you need. Clean, well-maintained parts prevent overworking, which requires more energy.
Better Indoor Air Quality
Keeping dust and debris out of your furnace is crucial for better indoor air quality. When dust and dirt accumulate inside your system, they blow out through the vents and linger, producing hard-to-breathe indoor air.
Longer Life for Your Furnace
An energy-efficient system only works as hard as it needs to combat the cold temperatures outdoors. Keeping your furnace tuned and maintained can make for a less stressful workload and may add years to your system’s life. Replacing a furnace is a costly task, so getting more seasons out of yours can translate into a load of savings.
Keep Money in Your Pocket
All the benefits of annual maintenance translate into money savings for you. Lowering the risk of breakdowns also lowers the risk of needing emergency repair service. Greater energy efficiency throughout the winter can lead to a decrease in your heating bills. Getting more years of service from your furnace can save you a huge amount of cash over a lifetime by lowering the number of times you buy a new heating unit. Even better, indoor air quality can save you money if you don’t need extra air quality services and systems.
At Mighty Pine Heating & Air, we take pride in providing excellence and quality in every job we perform. Our technicians understand the importance of staying warm in the Colorado winters. In addition to in-depth and comprehensive furnace maintenance, we provide skilled repair and installation services for your heating and cooling system. We also specialize in indoor air quality services to help you breathe more easily. Our professional electricians can help with electrical panel upgrades, EV charging stations, whole-home surge protection, and outdoor lighting. Our company also installs, repairs, and maintains water heaters, making us a one-stop shop for most of your heating, cooling, and electrical needs.
Get detailed professional furnace maintenance in Wheat Ridge by calling the top technicians in town, our team at Mighty Pine Heating & Air.