Preparing Your Home for Cold Weather

Winter is just around the corner and that means it is time to prepare the heating unit in your home. Heating units come in many different forms; be it a gas or oil furnace, packaged unit, or heat pump solution.

There are three major precautionary measures to take in order for your home to be heated at top efficiency. We have the how-to, just for you!

Examine the Unit

The summertime is a time where plenty of little critters and creatures like to come out. It is common to find traces of them near parts of your home. They like to create their homes in and around our homes, which is inconvenient to us. Because of this, you will want to check your heating unit closely. Bugs and animals often find a way to build their homes around heating units. If you do not check your unit, you may be in for a little surprise once you go to use it. Look for animal nests at flue pipes, inside the blower section of your furnace or indoor unit, and in or around the outdoor unit.

Make note that you should also examine the area around flue and combustion air pipes and outdoor units to see that no bushes or debris is blocking the unit in. The unit needs to be exposed and open in order for there to be enough air flow for proper combustion and heat transfer.

Clean the Air Filters

It is vital to the operation of your system to replace your air filters regularly (every one to two months) or as needed. Before you go to turn your unit on, you will want to replace the filters. By changing the air filters, it will reduce the amount of air pollutants and allergens circulating through your home. It will also help your unit to work at its full capacity.

Check the Gas Lines

Who would have thought it necessary to check the gas line and burner tubes of your furnace for insects?  Make sure you have the gas lines cleared of any spiders or bugs. Spiders LOVE gas lines and burner tubes, and if they decide they want to spend the winter in your furnace, you will experience intermittent issues and perhaps no heat at all.  We recommend you schedule an appointment to have the lines checked and cleaned by a professional technician.

The winter season will be here before we know it! It’s always better to be prepared for that first chilly night. Request a service and schedule a maintenance call for your heating unit today!