Is Your Poorly Maintained Furnace Costing You A Fortune?

Everyone knows that their furnace is in need of repair when the heat stops or loud, terrifying noises begin, but your furnace may have hidden issues that you are totally unaware of. Your furnace and the rest of your heating system is filled with parts that degrade over time and require maintenance to perform at peak efficiency. Without this routine maintenance, your furnace will begin to slowly fail and develop issues that will inevitably lead to some very costly repairs.

It can be easy to ignore these issues as winter comes to a close, but now is the perfect time to look back on the state of your furnace and consider whether it is time to catch up on deferred maintenance.

Why Is Furnace Maintenance So Important?

Aside from the importance of having a functional and safe home heating system, maintaining your furnace is vital if you want to avoid unreasonably high utility bills as well. As parts of the heating system begin to wear, your furnace will become less efficient at heating your home. Efficiency is by far one of the most important aspects of any home heating system both in terms of long-term maintenance and the cost of operation. An inefficient system will run more often and for longer than it should, placing greater strain on parts of your furnace and driving your utility bills through the roof.

While all furnaces tend to become less efficient as they age, in many cases inefficiencies in a home heating system are the result of neglected maintenance. By keeping on top of some basic maintenance items, you can extend the life of your system and keep its running costs to a minimum.

Staying on Top of Basic Maintenance

You can (and should!) perform some basic maintenance on your furnace on your own. These simple tune-ups that you can perform yourself will keep your heating system running at peak efficiency and help you to make fewer calls for minor repairs. Although it is possible to do extensive maintenance yourself, a good start is this simple checklist:

• Check your filter at least once a month and replace it no less than once every three months
• If they are easy to access, clean out the blower blades using a stiff brush
• Check ducting for leaks, especially in the area around the furnace

Additionally, you should consider having a pro come out at least once a year for a quick inspection. This inspection will include a more detailed analysis of your furnace's heat exchanger, drainage system, burners, belt, and wiring, along with a general evaluation of how well your heating system is operating. This inspection can help to spot problems early and give you an actionable list of items that you can tackle at your own pace.

An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure

While maintenance will save you money on bills over the lifetime of your furnace, it is also an important way to avoid drastically more expensive repairs in the future. Even something as simple as a dirty filter can cause your furnace to short cycle as it overheats. If this continues, it can eventually lead to costly damage to the heat exchanger. Replacing a furnace's heat exchanger can cost as much as $1000, and this repair can potentially be avoided with a $3 filter change. It can sometimes feel like a hassle to keep up with simple preventative maintenance, but your wallet will thank you for the effort.

Get in touch with a furnace repair contractor to learn more.