Smart Ways to Extend the Life of Your Furnace

Sharing is caring!

You want your furnaces and your heaters to last as long as possible, because you certainly don’t want the furnace to break down right as the winter months roll around! While it does seem like everything in today’s world is designed to break down so you can get a new one, your furnace isn’t one of those things.

Instead, you can provide proper maintenance to extend the life of your heater, and your furnace will work for much longer than you might think!

Here are some of the things you need to know about to make your furnace last for many years.

Clean Your Filters


For most furnaces, HVAC systems, and dryers, the best way to perform maintenance is to focus on the filters. For a furnace, filters catch dirt, debris, and other foreign agents that can go inside the system and those will cause some serious damage to the unit. Additionally, if your filters are clogged up it can cause lots of problems for the health of the unit.

Plus, make sure that you are using the right filters for your system, because the filters that come with your furnace might not be the best for you. The higher rated filters might be more effective than other filters at trapping allergies, but they might also restrict airflow to the furnace as well.

So make sure to talk to a furnace and HVAC professional in order to make sure you are using the best filter for your system, and then work on keeping them clean!

Use A Programmable Thermostat with Your Furnace


Clogged and dirty filters are only one of the things that will cause your filter to work harder than it should, and other factors can also add to the load your furnace takes on. For example, if your heater is running far longer than it should and going on full throttle for hours on end, you are not only paying too much in energy bills, but you are also putting too much wear and tear on your machine.

On a very cold day, it can be very hard to remember to adjust the thermostat so it isn’t running full blast while you are gone all day, and while you might not remember to change the temperature, a programmable thermostat can do that for you.

Plenty of programmable thermostats can be connected to your furnace, and then you can control the temperature of your house from your phone. By lowering the temperature by only a few degrees whenever you aren’t home, you can also lower your energy bills!

Plus, by allowing your furnace to run on one setting for an extended period of time, you won’t have as much wear and tear on your machine.

Hire Maintenance and Don’t Wait to Fix Problems


One of the best ways to maximize the lifespan of your furnace is with proper heating maintenance, so it can be very tempting to only call upon maintenance whenever your furnace breaks down or has a massive problem… That’s not the only reason to call.

You need to call to give your furnace checkups every year or so, as well as a tune up appointment every autumn because you are about to start using your furnace all winter. With yearly maintenance, a technician will look over your furnace and the heating system for any issues that need to be repaired, and they will also give the unit a deep clean and tighten any connections.

Additionally, technicians might also warn you about potential issues with your furnace, with many of them that are easily fixable if you move fast. If these minor problems are left alone, then they can become major problems that will cost a lot of money and time to fix.

If you notice that you are having problems getting the furnace to turn on, the furnace turning off before it completes a full cycle, or a yellow pilot light rather than a blue one, then these can be minor problems that will take a very long time to fix.

So don’t be afraid to get some help with your furnace if you notice these problems are coming, because they will only get worse, and you don’t want your furnace to break down right before the winter months come.

Prepare Your Home for Winter


Sometimes you can have the best furnace that is running at 100% efficiency, but your home is the one causing you problems and raising your energy bills. If you have windows and doors that are nothing but air leaks, then those drafts can be forcing your furnace to work harder and also run more frequently in order to maintain the temperature you have set.

So make sure that the weatherstripping has been repaired and fully sealed, and replace any old single pane windows with the double pane versions, because those will provide much better insulation.

Speaking of insulation, you need to make sure that your home has adequate insulation, because that will also keep your house warm and will reduce the wear and tear on your furnace.

If your attic is not properly insulated, then the heat will rise out of the house. So, make sure that you check your attic and walls so you can keep the heat inside and not flowing out!

Take Action and You Will Keep Warm


Some of these methods to extend the life of your heater are easy, while others can be very hard and require some extra work. However, by taking action and working to extend the life of your heater, you won’t only be kept extra warm during winter, but also will pay a lot less on your energy bills and won’t need to pay as much for massive repairs to the unit.

So if you want your wallet full and your body warm, do what you can to ensure that your heater can last as long as it can before winter rolls around!

Sharing is caring!

Speak Your Mind

*