As winter approaches, it’s important to get your furnace and home ready to tackle the cold weather. Your system will be running full-time, making it very susceptible to unexpected breakdowns that result from the wear and tear it will experience. The best you can do is to prepare it for whatever challenges it might it endure. Here’s what you can do.
1. Clean or Change the Air Filters
In order to change your home’s indoor temperature to what you deem comfortable, your furnace sucks in air from your room and pulls it over the hot evaporator coils to warm it. Then it blows it back through ducts and supply vents. The air filters are located where the furnace pulls air into its system, with the primary function of trapping particles.
Over time, these particles become too much and begin blocking air from going inside the system for conditioning. Your furnace will react by working harder and consuming more energy to pull as much air as possible. Even then, the air sucked in will still not be enough, and so the evaporator coils will start to burn out due to poor heat dissipation. Eventually, the furnace will completely shut down.
That said, if you have electrostatic or reusable pleated filters, take them out of the service panel and clean them. Start by vacuuming across the filters to remove dirt. You can use a vacuum with a soft brush attachment to get rid of stuck-on dirt, fur, and hair.
Follow that with a thorough wash. Use warm water with an equal amount of vinegar in a bucket and submerge the filter completely, letting it soak for at least an hour. Do not scrub; it damages the filter surface.
Rinse the furnace filter in a bucket of warm, clean water until it is completely clear. You can also use a watering hose to spray away any remaining debris. Finally, let the filter air dry and reinsert it back in its panel.
When replacing the furnace filters, keep in mind the size and thickness, the types, and the MERV (minimum efficiency reporting values) rating. Check the furnace manual to find the appropriate sizing requirements. It is crucial for a filter to fit snugly into its panel to prevent air from slipping in around the edges. Dirty air can destroy the internal components of your furnace.
Change the filter type if you are aiming for advanced air purification or if you are dealing with different kinds of pollutants. Pleated air filters are superior to fiberglass filters when it comes to trapping particles. Activated carbon filters are perfect for removing odors. UV filters kill microbes, bacteria, and viruses circulating your home. HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters are the best, but you must ensure that your furnace is cut out to function with them.
The MERV rating is a metric used to measure the effectiveness of air filters. Filters with ratings from 1 to 4 are the low-cost basic types, typically sufficient for dust and carpet fibers. MERV 5 to 8 filters are the ones common in residential homes, capable of trapping mold spores, pet dander, some VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and pollen. MERV 9 to 12 can trap most microorganisms, emissions, and lung-damaging dust. A rating of over 13 is commonly used in hospitals and advanced commercial furnace systems.
2. Service and Reprogram the Thermostat
You should change your thermostat batteries at the beginning of every season. Fresh batteries will give you peace of mind knowing that your furnace won’t abruptly shut down or refuse to start in the middle of winter.
Next, reprogram your thermostat to fit your schedule during the cold weather. For instance, you can set your thermostat to run your furnace at lower temperatures when you are not home and then heat up 20 minutes before you arrive.
If you have an old thermostat that is nonprogrammable, consider investing in a new one. Smart thermostats can learn your schedule and make the needed adjustments for ultimate convenience. They can also send alerts and notifications to your phone, such as maintenance needs, temperature trends, energy usage, power outages, and more. More importantly, they are compatible with most modern devices. This means you can conveniently set temperatures with your phone or Amazon Echo.
On a side note, avoid completely shutting down your furnace at night or when you are not home for two reasons. First, your system will consume as much energy as you would have saved to reheat your space. Second, certain components of your furnace may freeze, and your plumbing system pipes could also burst when the water trapped inside expands. The optimal temperature to set your thermostat when the house is empty is 68 degrees F (20 degrees C).
3. Improve Indoor Airflow
Make it easier for your furnace to do its job by improving your indoor airflow. Start by removing obstacles blocking the vents. Furniture, drapes, and shelves should be 6 to 12 inches away from air inlets and outlets. Also, if possible, evenly distribute items around your room to prevent the development of air pockets, which are known to create hot and cold spots.
You can also consider investing in a ceiling fan to aid the furnace. Contrary to popular belief, ceiling fans are not capable of actually changing the temperature of a room; rather, they move the air around enough until it feels pleasantly warm or cool.
During the cold months, you can flip the motor switch so the fans can spin in a clockwise direction. This motion pushes the risen hot air downwards, making you feel warmer in your living areas. You will be able to comfortably lower your thermostat heat setting a couple of degrees to save energy.
4. Schedule a Professional Tune-Up
It is crucial that you have a professional do a final examination of your furnace before the winter season starts. Certified and experienced technicians can identify and fix issues that you may have missed or those that could potentially lead to costly repairs in the middle of winter. Also, they are trained to deal with complex furnace parts that pose health and safety risks.
Typically, a technician starts the tune-up process by going over all the other activities you may have done yourself, such as changing air filters and replacing thermostat batteries, to make sure all is well. They will then clean and seal your ducts to improve airflow and minimize heat loss.
Their other complex activities include lubricating all the moving parts, checking if the pilot light is working as it should, and testing the system’s safety control and startup cycle. They also ensure that all electrical connections on the furnace are tight, etc. These activities take around two hours, sometimes more, depending on the amount of work at hand.
5. Revisit Your Home’s Insulation
Finally, go over your home’s insulation just to check if it is still effective. Proper insulation prevents heat loss, which means your furnace won’t have to work as hard to warm your space.
Call Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating + Air Today for a Tune-Up
If you live in Twin Falls County, ID, call Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating + Air today to schedule furnace services before winter sets in. We are experienced in all types of furnaces and are aware of the common problems that Idaho residents face. We also offer plumbing services, indoor air quality solutions, and electrical repairs.
