When the colder weather finally hits your region, your first thought will be to turn on the heat. But if your furnace has been hibernating since last winter, it’s a very good idea to take a few preliminary safety measures first. These six steps will keep your home safe and make your furnace run more efficiently – which saves you money.
- Clean out your vents.
You’d be surprised how many things can fall into the vents during the year. And if you have children, they may have pushed toys or other things into vents as well. Be sure to check for anything, from trash or toys to the corner of the rug and more.
- Change out the furnace filter.
A clean filter ensures that your furnace is running as efficiently as possible since the initial furnace install, which means a much lower energy bill for you. It’ll take less energy to get your house warmer if the filter is clean. It also makes your furnace safer and keeps your air quality cleaner.
- Test all the safety detectors.
One of the big problems with turning on the furnace is the risk of carbon monoxide build-up. Be sure that you test your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and change out any batteries as needed.
- Change your thermostat to “heat”.
It sounds silly, but you’d be surprised how many people forget that your heating system isn’t automatic if they’ve been used to the air kicking on all summer. Be sure you switch it over to heat to activate the furnace.
- Test your furnace.
Make sure that the first time you turn on your furnace, you are there to observe how it works. You’ll want to make sure it’s putting off heat, that it’s not making any funny noises, and that it turns off once your desired temperature has been met.
- Schedule furnace maintenance
Finally, one great way to keep your home and family safe in the winter is to start the cold season off with furnace maintenance. Our furnace install services or pre-season tune-ups are great for this, and we’ll also take care of several of the steps listed above. We change out your filter, test the furnace, and check your thermostat, so you don’t forget to change it over to heat.
Once you’ve gone through all of these steps, you’ll be ready for a cozy winter season.
