It’s August and you know what that means, Fall is quickly approaching! It’s the time of year when you want to get out of the house, head to the beach, jump in the water and enjoy the outdoors and beautiful sunshine. The summer months are a time when we are relying heavily on our central air conditioning system, and not so much on our furnace that heats the home when it gets cold. The summer months are a great time, though, to do some necessary heating maintenance. As Florida homeowners, we don’t always think about the maintenance behind heating up our homes. In the winter months, when it gets too cold inside the home, our immediate reaction is to turn up the heat. The summer months are the best time to prepare for the coming cold months. Is your home temperature not regulated because of your air conditioning or is the insulation to blame?
Furnace Filter Flip
Now that the winter months are over you are going to be in a good position to do some of the easy maintenance tasks for the furnace. One of the easiest of them all is changing the furnace filter. This is a very good time to do this that way once it starts to get cold again, you can rely on that furnace being ready to go. Take the filter out that has been in there all winter long and get a replacement for it. Make sure you read the old filter so that you end up with one that is of the same size and such.
Another great thing to do here is to vacuum out the area where the filter is placed. You would be amazed at the amount of dust and such that can build up in this area in no time at all. The blower fan is another spot that can be worthwhile to throw the vacuum on, just to get any dust that has built up out of there.
Insulation Impact
The insulation factor is not the first thing that we usually think about as homeowners when we are working on the temperature regulation of our home, but it should be. So many homes that were built 20, 30 even 40 years ago simply have insulation that is just not adequate any longer. Technology has changed. Think about what residential air conditioning systems looked like 30 years ago. Would you install that same system today or would you go with a more current model?
Too often we are stuck relying on the insulation that we have without doing anything about it. When we work proactively to make a determination if that insulation is adequate, it is then that we can come to some realization about what we should do.
Furnace Tune-Up!
The summer months are also ideal to have a tune-up done on your furnace. Our professionals can get this scheduled so that we can come out and give the furnace a great look-over. We will be checking all of the main components, cleaning away, and just making sure that everything looks good. The furnace is going to be relied on again when it is cold, so you mine as well put in the work now to have our professionals get it ready.
Energy Audit
A home energy audit is a service that we provide at J&W Heating and Air + Plumbing, and it can be a powerful exercise to go through. When we conduct a home energy audit at your residence, we are going to be looking at all of the ways that you can be losing out on the heating and cooling that your systems are generating. What are some of the ways that air is allowed to just slip in and out of the home? We not only look at the windows, the roof, as well as the doors, but also the insulation.
When we take a look at the adequacy of your insulation we are going to be working to try to make a determination for you around how powerful it is. Do you have enough insulation there so that your central air conditioning system can do what it needs to do, without having to work extra?
Furnace Repairs
Taking care of any minor repairs that you know are going to be needed is also a good idea for the summer. If the tune-up identifies areas that may need to be replaced, we can work with you on that to get those scheduled, to regain things in order. Repairs done by our professionals will be much easier to get on the calendar in the summer than they will when it is cold out, and everyone’s furnaces start to break. The reason you are doing the maintenance now is to be proactive, so take advantage!
Cut Down on Energy Costs
Adequate insulation is going to help you ensure that you can save on energy costs month-to-month. Research has found that the return on investment from having insulation replaced in your attic is the highest of any home improvement activity. This is not because it ups the value of your home as much, but it is instead because of the energy savings that it is going to bring to the table. When you have proper insulation, your residential air conditioning system is going to be able to take a bit of a break, and not have to work as hard, to generate the same cold air that it is generating now.
Furnace Fuel
The kind of fuel that you have for the furnace is also going to affect the maintenance. If you have a gas or a propane furnace, the chances are that you have a pilot light. You want to be switching the pilot light off during the warmer months of the year. This is also going to help your central air conditioning system in the efficiency space. Turning Off the oil valve or fuel line is also a quality step to consider taking at this point.
Guarantee that you’re prepared for the winter months that are to come by maintaining and tending to both your furnace and insulation. Nothing is worse than freezing in Florida. Be a smart home owner and get one of our professionals out to check out your heating system, furnace and insulation are a big deal to us, so is your home. We’re always ready to chat with you about creating a maintenance plan for your HVAC system.
