As soon as the temperatures begin to drop we all instinctively reach for our thermostats to turn on the heat. Unless you use an alternative source of heat, your furnace will keep your home cozy and warm, making the impending winter months bearable.
However, there are a few common mistakes that we tend to make or not think about when heating our homes. These overlooked mistakes may not be seen in the cost to heat your home but could be drastically decreasing the longevity of your home’s heating system. Here’s a look at a few common heating mistakes that we all might have the habit of overlooking.
Routine Furnace Maintenance
It’s common to overlook the systems in our home that are often hidden away in a closet or storage room. However, by ignoring your furnace and not doing routine maintenance, you are drastically decreasing its lifespan – meaning an expensive replacement sooner than what would commonly be expected!
A routine maintenance check that you can easily do is making sure to clean and change the system’s filter. This is something that should be done on a monthly basis. Beyond cleaning and changing the filter, you’ll want to have a full system check completed. We recommend hiring an HVAC company to come to your home to do a routine system check at least one time a year. Most often this is completed in the Fall and/or before the heat hits in the Summer. It will cost you money to hire an HVAC company, however, the minimal cost for a maintenance check is insignificant compared to the unexpected cost of repairs or replacements!
Blocking Vents
It is very common in homes that we see vents and registers being blocked. Often times this is done without even recognizing what this may be costing you. By blocking vents and registers, you are preventing the heat from flowing freely into the room, thus the room may not warm up as quickly, if at all.
It’s true! By blocking vents and registers – whether, with furniture, piles of clothes, unused items, or other miscellaneous items we keep, the heat is not flowing into your room and doing its job efficiently. There are a couple of reasons why this is bad.
Not only is this keeping your home colder than expected, but it is also causing your furnace to work overtime. This leads to higher electric bills and also impacts the expectancy of your furnace! Thus, it’s important to consider the placement of vents and registers and be cognitive of not blocking these. If items are placed in front of vents or registered, it is suggested to keep items at least 3 inches away so that there is enough of a gap for air to flow.
Not Weather Proofing Your Home
There is nothing worse than being inside your home and feeling a cold, wintery draft coming from outside. Thus, it is important that before temperatures begin to drop check that all windows and exterior doors are properly sealed. If you notice any cracks or gaps inside your home, it’s important to fill those gaps. We recommend using a proper, weatherproof seal such as caulk. Although, you should be able to head to your local hardware store and ask a sales representative for assistance finding the right sealant to help protect your home from outside elements.
By not ensuring your home is properly sealed from the outside elements, you are allowing cold air in and also allowing the warm air helping to heat your home out. This may lead to a multitude of problems, such as high electric bill, causing your furnace to work harder and run longer, and there’s the potential for other drastic accidents, such as water leaks.
All in all, keeping our homes warm throughout the chilly months is important to all of us! Regardless of how you choose to heat your home, the health of that system is important. Use these general tips as a guide and start avoiding these common mistakes. For more helpful tips, reach out to Furner Realty Group. Furthermore, if you are in need of a recommendation for an HVAC company, we are happy to connect you with our VIP HVAC Company.
For more Winter Maintenance tips…
check out our Pinterest Board dedicated to Home Winter Maintenance!
