Heating Systems and You

Maintain your equipment to prevent future problems and unwanted costs. Now is the time to perform routine maintenance on your home's heating system to ensure that it is running efficiently this winter

A handy-dandy maintenance checklist offered by EngeryStar.gov:

A typical maintenance check-up should include the following.

• Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away.
• Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components.
• Lubricate all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use.
• Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels.
• Check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation. Check the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly.

Heating Specific

• Check all gas (or oil) connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and heat exchanger. Improperly operating gas (or oil) connections are a fire hazard and can contribute to health problems. A dirty burner or cracked heat exchanger causes improper burner operation. Either can cause the equipment to operate less safely and efficiently.
  

Actions To Do Yourself

• Inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump. Your contractor can show you how to do this. A dirty filter can increase energy costs and damage your equipment, leading to early failure.

Sealing Your Drafty Home (and Save Money!)

Now is the time to think about your winter energy dollars. You can save on your heating bill by reducing air leaks in your home. One of the quickest dollar-saving tasks you can do is caulk, seal, and weatherstrip all seams, cracks, and openings to the outside. For a small initial cost, you may be able to save hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. Homes typically have two different kinds of issues: drafts and under-insulated. Hire a good home inspector to investigate your house and inform you of the problem areas. Check out nachi.org or ashi.org to find a certified home inspector in your area.

Heating a house pressurizes the inside air & drives it through ceiling penetrations into the attic, which draws in cold replacement air through every crack that it can. The first fix is plugging the air leaks into the attic area. This is the most effective way to eliminate the drafting through other areas. With the attic area addressed & the walls soon to follow, you will be on your way to an improved heating & air conditioning bill. Most homes have numerous places to suck in cold replacement air: bath fans, electrical outlets and switches, fireplaces, windows, plus any break in the exterior envelope. Sealing these leak areas will give you a much more efficient home!