Now that winter has hit Staunton, VA, it’s especially important to keep furnaces functioning as well as possible for as long as possible. Doing what’s necessary to avoid sudden breakdowns will also contribute to keeping your system working well for years to come. Here are three useful tips for extending your furnace’s lifespan.
1. Never Neglect Maintenance
Some people might feel tempted to save a little bit of money by skimping on maintenance when nothing appears to be overtly wrong with their furnace. We cannot emphasize enough how unwise such a decision is.
Furnaces degrade ever so slightly over the course of their lifetimes as the strain of use wears them down. The purpose of maintenance is to beat back the ravages of time to the greatest extent possible and slow this degradation. Since maintenance can detect incipient problems in their early stages, arranging for it is an excellent way to avoid catastrophic furnace issues.
Most HVAC professionals recommend calling for maintenance on your furnace at least once a year. If you really want to maximize your furnace’s life, you may want to do it twice per year.
2. Replace Your Filters
Proper airflow is crucial to all aspects of a furnace’s functioning. If you keep dirty air filters around longer than necessary, you will diminish your furnace’s efficiency and increase the rate at which filth accumulates, thus raising the likelihood of a breakdown. We recommend replacing your filters at least once every three months.
3. Use a Programmable Thermostat
Programmable thermostats have special settings by which they can maximize your furnace’s efficiency. Not only will this raise your unit’s efficiency and drop your heating bills, but it will also decrease the pressure that the unit must endure on a day-to-day basis. This, in turn, will extend the unit’s service life.
In general, it’s pretty easy to extend your furnace’s lifespan. With a few simple actions, you can stay warm in Staunton, VA for many more winters. Call our team at Valley Air Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, and ask for our heating repair services to get help with this all-important endeavor.
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