Make Sure Your Furnace is Prepared for Winter Usage

Now that winter is approaching on the Coastal Bend, our short heating season will be here before you know it. If you haven’t done so already, now’s the time to schedule a maintenance tune-up on your heating system, whether you use a furnace, heat pump or some other set-up.

Once winter arrives, HVAC businesses tend to get busy, both with maintenance visits and tending to systems that malfunction after a long summer off. A professional maintenance visit will accomplish the following:

• Improve efficiency, so your equipment is using as little energy as possible to provide heat.
• Improve safety, minimizing the risk of fire or gas or carbon monoxide leaks in combustion systems or electrical or refrigerant issues in heat pumps.
• Detect small problems that left alone may eventually get worse and become big problems.
• Optimize comfort so heat is being distributed evenly and comprehensively throughout your home.

What to Expect During a Heating System Maintenance Visit

The technician should inspect your whole heating system to make sure every component is working properly on its own and in concert with other parts. This includes lubricating moving parts, checking electrical connections, and performing diagnostic tests appropriate for your type of system. With a combustion furnace, the technician should make sure the ignition system is working properly, that gas burners are free of obstructions, and check for proper exhaust of combustion gases, among other things.

In a heat pump, they should check the refrigerant level, make sure heating-exchange coils are clean, and inspect the condensate pan and lines to ensure that moisture is draining properly.

With any forced-air heating system, the technician should make sure you have a fresh air filter, check ductwork to make sure ducts aren’t leaking or otherwise blocked, and ensure that vents and registers are clear. If you, the homeowner, have any questions about how to save energy this winter or otherwise operate your HVAC system, now’s the time to ask for advice.

To schedule a fall maintenance tune-up on your furnace or heat pump, please call us at CCAC, Inc., providing quality service to the Corpus Christi area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Corpus Christi, Texas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 361-678-2495.

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