A Dose of Preventative Heating Service Can Save a Diagnosis of Higher Energy Bills

For some, winter is a miserable time. They feel constricted by weather that keeps them trapped inside and that can especially be uncomfortable when the bill for keeping the house warm comes. Homeowners can turn the thermostat down, but after they notice their children are adding coats after they come inside from the outdoors, perhaps there might be better ways to decrease the cost of keeping a house warm.

One thing to consider is to get your heating system serviced. An annual service call from your Birmingham AL heating installation company can ensure that everything is working correctly can save money in the long run. This sort of preventative maintenance might spot a problem that if fixed in the fall might be cheaper than in the winter; plus, if a part fails in the winter, everyone suffers in cold until the furnace is up and running again. People get grumpy when the furnace isn’t running for a couple of days in December, January, or February.

Check out the insulation situation in the attic. The general rule is that 11 inches of fiberglass or rock wool insulation is enough to improve the temperature in a home or eight inches of cellulose insulation in the attic and the floor will do the same. If there isn’t enough insulation, add some and it is likely to find an immediate and positive impact in the cost to keep a home warm, as well as the comfort level of the house.

Finally, for those who haven’t done so yet, for optimal efficiency, set the thermostat at 68 degrees during the day and 60 degrees over-night. By setting the thermostat at this optimal temperature, most homeowners could expect to save around $100 a year.

Often marketers push their duct cleaning services and how that can save money. Ductwork doesn’t get clogged very often, but it can possibly become moldy or dusty and affect air quality. As a part of preventative maintenance, have your furnace repair company check out the ductwork in your home. It probably won’t save you any money, but it might save you from breathing problems.

Death, taxes, and bills are all things that we know we’re going to have to deal with eventually. One of the things we can do is try to keep our bills as low as possible through preventative maintenance. By doing this we can keep our bills relatively low, and we can keep our homes comfortable. And that goes for heating and plumbing repair as well.

The Importance of Preventive Maintenance During the Spring and Fall

If you don’t know, preventative maintenance is proactive servicing and care of equipment to ensure it functions correctly and without major defects. During the spring and fall it is always a good idea to prep your HVAC units for the winter and summer.  Preventative maintenance will help keep your HVAC system working properly, and save you money! You might be wondering why preventative maintenance is so important, and we will explain it to you here!

Preventative maintenance for your HVAC equipment includes various tasks. These tasks include inspecting the safety functions and safety controls. All of the electrical components should be inspected and their connections replaced or repaired as necessary. Airflow and the air filters will be checked to see if they need to be replaced. The pumps, lubricants, and flow rates should also be checked when appropriate. The motor should be checked in case it needs to be cleaned and/or lubricated. The belts may need to be adjusted and aligned and the balanced blowers checked in case they need to be cleaned and inspected further. As you can see, your HVAC system has a lot of moving parts. If they're not properly maintained, small problems can quickly turn into big problems!

We all do it; we neglect things in our homes hoping that if we don’t mess with them they will run forever. Unfortunately, this isn’t true! Think about your car. Every several months, you get the oil changed and the air filter replaced. We rotate and balance the tires regularly and check the tire pressure. If you’ve got a good mechanic, they’ll give you recommendations for small maintenance to keep your car running smoothly. Your HVAC system isn’t quite as expensive as your car, necessarily, but it’s still a major purchase for your home. Replacing one can be costly. Your HVAC system will become run down without proper maintenance and care. Plus, maintaining the system will save you money in the long run!

“According to the Consortium of Energy Efficiency (CEE) up to 50% more energy can be saved with proper installation, sizing, and maintenance of commercial central air conditioning and heat pumps. ‘Although the CEE study did not measure residential systems, a compelling case can be made that proper maintenance can save homeowners up to 50% as well,’ according to Larry Taylor, President of Air Rite A/C Company, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas” (https://www.acca.org/archives/consumer-info-2/articles-for-homeowners/2180).

Transitional seasons are the ideal time for having preventative maintenance done. In between the summer and winter seasons, the weather is mild. People aren’t generally using their systems that much, so you can take a few hours to have a service call come check your system without any discomfort. In addition, as you head into the hot season, your system is going to be used a lot more. More use of your system means more stress. When this happens, you’re going to want your system to be running at peak performance. The last thing you want on a 90+ degree day with humidity is for your AC to go out! Since it’s peak season, HVAC companies are going to be swamped with phone calls from people who didn’t get preventative maintenance during the spring, and they’re systems are failing. You don’t want to be waiting hours or potentially even days for someone to repair your system. Take advantage of the slow time in the spring and fall to have a technician visit your home and give your system a little preventative maintenance love and you’ll save yourself some future stress. An ounce of prevention…

Got any questions? Give Guin a call at (205)-595-4846. We’re happy to answer your questions, or you can always sign up for a preventative maintenance agreement with Guin so you can relax knowing that your HVAC system will run great throughout every season.

Resources:

http://www.trane.com/residential/for-owners/maintenance-tips

HVACReducation.net’s Tech Tips: http://hvacreducationtechtips.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-pre-season-air-conditioning.html

Carrier Home Comfort: http://www.carrier.com/homecomfort/en/us/for-owners

http://www.guinservice.com

https://www.acca.org/archives/consumer-info-2/articles-for-homeowners/2180