With Thanksgiving right around the corner, many of us will soon be reflecting on the people and aspects of our lives we’re thankful for. If living in a warm home is on your list, show your heating system some gratitude by having a professional inspect it.
Heat pumps and furnaces require routine maintenance to perform efficiently, effectively and to last well into the future.
“All heating systems should be serviced at least once a year to ensure they’re in peak form. If folks haven’t had their system inspected this fall, they should schedule an appointment soon,” said DuWayne Dunham, Clark Public Utilities Energy Services Supervisor. “No one wants to go into winter with a malfunctioning furnace or heat pump.”
If your home heating system doesn’t seem to be working right, then it’s not working right. Don’t expect the problems to resolve themselves, and, as it goes with basic maintenance, don’t try to diagnose and make repairs if you don’t know what you’re doing.
But for your own knowledge and to be better prepared for when a technician visits, try to get a sense of your system’s overall health. Pay close attention to your furnace or heat pump while it’s operating and listen for any unusual noises or if it seems labored. Throughout the day feel the air it’s producing; if the output feels weak or the temperature is inconsistent from one cycle to the next, or if the air has an odor, it’s likely that something is wrong.
Different heating systems — heat pumps, gas or electric furnaces, older versus modern high-efficiency models — all have different features that require their own type of service and maintenance.
In terms of maintenance, the average person can replace the air filter on a furnace with ease. The same is true for cleaning the particulate filters and replacing the HEPA filters on the indoor unit of a ductless heat pump.
Those tasks will go a long way toward improving your home’s indoor air quality and ensuring that your system is running efficiently. Simply put: if a filter is clogged the unit won’t get the proper quantity of air it needs. When that happens its performance suffers and you could end up paying for energy that’s not converted to the heat you’d expect. It will cost more to maintain the same level of comfort.
Refer to your manual when selecting a filter. There are countless alternatives for sale, but you don’t want to purchase one that’s too restrictive for your unit.
Beyond filter replacement, it’s best to call a professional.
For example, a well-meaning but ill-informed do-it-yourselfer can severely damage a heat pump’s fragile coils when attempting to clean them. Even if there’s success, the coils could be plugged internally.
“Most companies offer annual service agreements at a reduced rate,” said Brian Wrigley, co-owner of Home Energy Group Heating and Cooling. “It ends up being a good value and a professional will catch issues before they become major problems.”
“We usually come out twice a year, once in the fall for heating and once in the spring for air conditioning,” he added.
Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.
