If your furnace has been running overtime to keep you and your family warm and comfortable for years, it might be high time to get it looked at. Although typical furnaces have a lifespan of fifteen years, they often break down sooner due to poor maintenance. However, due diligence and regular maintenance can help your furnaces last more than their actual lifespan.
Here are a few tips to extend the life of your furnace and maintain it properly:
1. Upgrade Your Thermostat
If your house has an old thermostat installed, you should immediately upgrade it to a modern thermostat. That’s because outdated thermostats don’t come with control options. They put a strain on your furnace by forcing them to maintain the required temperature. Therefore, upgrade your thermostat to a programmable one.
2. Change Your Air Filters
Something that often goes overlooked by homeowners is their air filters. Most people do not swap out the old air filters with new ones quite often. As a result, the dirty air filters in your HVAC system pump out poor and polluted air in your house. Moreover, when you do not swap out dirty air filters, they force your furnace to work more than it has to in order to maintain a stable airflow. This shortens the lifespan of your furnace.
So make sure to change your air filters regularly. It is very inexpensive and easy to do and will save your repairs costs in the longer run. According to our HVAC experts, you should change your air filters every two to three months, but this actually depends on your indoor air condition and whether you own pets.
3. Get Regular HVAC Inspections
One of the best preventative measures you can take to extend the life of your furnace is to get annual HVAC inspections by an expert. Routine inspections will reveal any underlying issues and save you thousands of dollars in repairs and replacements.
4. Make Sure Your House Is Insulated
If your house has any openings where the heat or cool air can escape from, you will need to get those openings sealed immediately. The loss of heat and cool air would dramatically drive up your utility bills and force your furnace to work harder in order to get the desired temperature.
Make sure no heat or cool air can escape through the openings in your ducts, doors, windows, and any other parts of the house. Keep your house insulated and get all the cracks and leaks sealed immediately.
5. Schedule an Air Duct Cleaning
Just like any other mechanism, your air ducts also need regular cleaning and maintenance. Since air ducts are responsible for regulating the air in your indoors, they easily get contaminated with dirt, pollutants, and other contaminants that damage the air quality of your indoors. Moreover, dirty air ducts also cause your furnace to work harder since they are not functioning properly.
Therefore, make sure you schedule an air duct cleaning by an HVAC expert to improve the air quality in your house. You should get it cleaned more often if your family has allergies, pets, or if they smoke.
Call Fresh Air Duct Cleaning for HVAC Services
Make sure to follow the aforementioned tips to extend the life of your furnace. Fresh Air Duct Cleaning can help you maintain and clean your HVAC systems. We are a licensed, experienced, and certified service operating in Texas. Give us a call at (214) 272-9715 to schedule an inspection, repair, or replacement. Our team comprises industry veterans with decades of experience in the HVAC industry. We use the most advanced tools and equipment to treat your HVAC systems.