Preparing Your Heating System for Cold Weather

As winter approaches and temperatures begin to fall, it’s a good idea to prepare your heating system for cold weather. Following these simple steps will help to maintain comfortable temperatures throughout your home, increase the efficiency of your heating system and reduce your utility bills:

• Replace furnace filters. Clean filters to help to improve airflow and efficiency while lowering utility bills. ENERGY STAR®,  recommends checking your filter every month, especially during heavy-use months, and if it looks dirty, change it. At a minimum, change the filter every three months.

• Schedule an inspection. A heating professional should inspect and service your heating equipment before you begin to use it for the winter months. Heat pumps and oil-fired furnaces need annual tune-ups; gasfired equipment can be serviced every other year. During a regular maintenance inspection, the technician will check for leaks and unhealthy gases and verify that everything is fully operational and running efficiently. He or she will also clean the furnace or heat pump. For an additional fee, you can arrange for the technician to clean the ducts in your house.

• Buy an energy-efficient furnace or heat pump. Annual fuel utilization efficiency, or AFUE, measures the efficiency of a furnace – the percentage of energy consumed by the furnace that actually heats your house. The higher the AFUE, the more efficient the furnace and the greater the amount of heat delivered for your money. When shopping for a high-efficiency furnace, choose one with an AFUE of 90 percent or higher. A heat pump’s heating efficiency is expressed as the heating seasonal performance factor, or HSPF. As with AFUE, the higher the HSPF, the more efficiently the heat pump will operate. Consider buying a heat pump with an HSPF of 8 or higher.

• Make sure your thermostat is working properly. A thermostat that is not working properly can negatively impact the efficiency of your heating system. To check it, begin by switching it from cooling to heating. Then, turn the thermostat on and monitor how well it responds. If you have a thermostat that is controlled manually, consider replacing it with a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat is designed to adjust the temperature according to a series of programmed settings that take effect at different times of the day, rather than maintaining a constant temperature 24/7. This allows you to set back the temperature at night or during those times of the day when no one is home, conserving energy and saving you money.

• Check heating vents to be sure they are completely open. Your heating system depends on vents to move hot air from the furnace or heat pump into a room. So, it’s important to keep these vents clean, open and free of any obstructions, like furniture or drapes. In addition to moving obstructions, wipe the surfaces clean and look inside for any small objects that might block the flow of air.

• Remove items on the furnace. It’s easy to put things on or near the furnace during the summer months, particularly if you’re cleaning the furnace room or moving things around. That’s why it’s important to check the area as winter approaches, remove items on or in close proximity to the furnace and then keep the area free of debris and clutter.

• Inspect the outside exhaust flue. Take this important step to ensure the flue is free of obstructions, like animal nests, leaves and branches.

• Check your carbon monoxide detectors. If you use a gas furnace to heat your home, it is important to check your carbon monoxide detectors to be sure they are working. In order to operate properly, alarms need fresh batteries at least once a year. Comfort Heat & AC urges consumers to make a habit of replacing carbon monoxide and smoke alarm batteries when the time changes.