You may not think of your furnace often because it is usually out of sight. Yet, furnaces should be checked each year. Here are three reasons why annual furnace maintenance is important for your home.
1. Furnace Maintenance Promotes Efficiency
Your furnace is the central part of your heating system. If it’s not working properly, it struggles to provide heat to your household. Since heating your home can make up to 50% of your energy bill, an annual visit makes sense to keep costs down and your furnace efficient. A maintenance visit ensures that your furnace is efficient by inspecting three of its main components.
The burner is the first of these components. This part heats the air that circulates into your home. The burner is located at the bottom of your furnace, where fuel and air are mixed and burned to make heat. Without this part, you cannot generate the heat that travels through ducts in your residence.
The primary heat exchanger is the second. This component is made up of metal plates and a layer of insulation that surrounds the burner. Flue gas travels through the heat exchanger and hot air is passed into your home. High-efficiency furnaces come with a secondary heat exchanger that makes them 90% or more efficient. Keeping both heat exchangers maintained is vital to heating efficiency.
The blower motor is the third component that is essential to efficiency. This is the part that makes your furnace run. Direct drive motors are the most common type and connect directly to the blower wheel that circulates air into your house. Belt drive motors rely on a belt that connects to the fan pulley to operate, but these are not used as much in households.
Checking your burner, heat exchangers, and blower motor is central to an efficient heating system. Without these components and others, your system would cease to function.
2. Furnace Maintenance Prevents Costly Repairs
Furnace maintenance can prevent your furnace from breaking down and negate the need for costly repairs. During a maintenance check, the technician will inspect gas lines and electrical connections to make sure they are working correctly. If you use a gas system, furnace maintenance makes sure your household is safe from carbon monoxide or gas leaks. The technician will also look for water leaks and check for proper airflow.
Water leaks are an indication that your furnace has a problem. Holes or cracks in the drain line or condensate pump lead to a leak. If you have a humidifier attached to your furnace, it could also develop a leak. A technician will identify these issues and resolve them before they can cause larger problems with your heating system.
Furnace maintenance also determines if your airflow is restricted. Clogged air filters are a primary reason for reduced airflow. By blocking the air from circulating, they prevent your heating system from running properly, causing it to work overtime to keep the temperature at your desired level. When your furnace exerts more energy, it drives up the utility bill and could lead to the equipment breaking down.
These maintenance elements help reduce wear and tear on your furnace, prevent more expensive repairs, and allow your unit to last longer.
3. Maintenance Prolongs the Life of Your Furnace
During maintenance visits, a technician will inspect the components of your furnace and make sure they are working correctly. This can help prolong the life of your furnace. Furnaces need to be maintained about once per year. Before colder weather comes is a great time to schedule a visit.
Service professionals not only locate and fix problems, but they can also clean a furnace and heating system. With proper maintenance, furnaces last between 15 and 30 years. A yearly checkup can help your furnace reach that upper limit.
Without maintenance, problems with the motor or heat exchangers can make the system work too hard. Dirty filters can also stop your furnace from operating efficiently. If your heating system runs for long stretches, that is an indication it is having difficulty keeping up, which overburdens the equipment and shortens its life span.
Heading off repairs and improving efficiency leads to a long furnace life and a better return on the investment you’ve made in your heating system.
Trusted Heating and Cooling Services
Please contact us at Ahoy! Cooling & Heating for more information about furnace maintenance. We provide heating, air conditioning, and indoor air quality services to Temple Terrace and the Greater Tampa, FL area. We’re a trustworthy, comprehensive HVAC business for all your installation, repair, and maintenance needs, so call us today!
