Winters can seem to last forever when you do not have a means of providing warmth in your home. Even spring and fall seasons can get very cold. Even if you will have to endure the cold when you step out of your house, you will need a warm home to come back to. A furnace is, therefore, a must-have equipment for many. Furnaces go for about $3000 or more, plus installation, and should last you up to 15 years. How long your furnace lasts will, however, depend on many factors, the top factor being how often you service it.
Furnace maintenance
Regular furnace service and repair is crucial if you want your furnace to last a long time. If you only get a service technician into your home when it breaks down, you may as well be looking at about half the life expectancy. To keep your system efficient and clean, you should schedule furnace maintenance at least once a year before the cold season.
To maintain the optimal air quality in your home, you’ll also need to do some self-maintenance a little more frequent. For example, filters need to be replaced or cleaned every 1 to 3 months. Additionally, if you have family members who have weak immune systems or those who suffer from respiratory diseases, you should maintain your furnace more frequently.
What to expect during furnace maintenance?
During service maintenance, your service provider will check all the important components of your furnace and adjust, clean, test, and/or lubricate, and repair them as required. The service provider will:
- Inspect the air intake system and get rid of any blockages.
- Clean and replace the air filter if required.
- Inspect the heat exchanger to check for corrosion or any other kind of damage.
- Inspect and remove debris from the blower.
- Ensure that the electrical connections are tight, replace and repair any damaged ones.
- Inspect the flame sensor and burner to ensure that they are working as required.
- Check the thermostat and calibrate it if needed.
- Lubricate all the moving parts.
- Check the belts for cracks or damage.
- Ensure that the system’s start-up cycle and safety controls are working as required.
- Checking that there are no leaks in fuel lines in case of an oil furnace.
- Testing the burner and gas pressure in case of a gas furnace.
These are just some of the services you can expect from a furnace maintenance session. Your service provider will perform all necessary checks to ensure that he or she leaves your furnace in a perfect working condition.
The benefits of furnace maintenance
- Savings
When your furnace is running well, you will save lots of money which you would have incurred from energy losses caused by the inefficient running of the furnace system. Moreover, when you carry out routine checkups, it is unlikely that your system will unexpectedly break down, which spares you of unplanned repair costs.
- To protect your warranty
Many warranties require you to perform regular maintenance of your furnace. In that case, you need to perform routine tune-ups to remain under warranty coverage.
Furnace maintenance is affordable and depends on your type of furnace. You can get a better deal if you sign up for a maintenance plan.
