“Once upon a time in a kingdom far, far away, there was a home heating system that dreamed of never letting anyone down. It huffed and puffed out heat every day until, one day, it had nothing left to offer. Poor, poor heating system.”
The End.
See that? Not even in fairy tales are there any such thing as a “forever” heating system. They’re simply not made that way. But your heating system can outlast its average life expectancy with proper care and maintenance. This isn’t exactly a tale of magic. Then again, no magic is required to achieve the desired result:
- Attic insulation. To prevent heat from escaping through your roof, cover your entire attic floor with at least six inches of high-quality insulation.
- Doors and windows. If you can feel cold air while running your hand around doors and windows, warm air is escaping. That forces your heating system to work longer and harder to make up the difference.
- Change your ceiling fan setting to counter-clockwise to push warm air down, thus requiring less heat from your furnace to keep you comfortable. In effect, you’re recovering otherwise wasted heat and that’s good news for your furnace and your budget.
- Programmable thermostats. Replace older thermostats with programmable models. That way, you’ll save money by using less heat in unoccupied rooms. With a Wi-Fi programmable thermostat, you can change the settings remotely as your schedule or the weather changes.
- Window treatments. Open shades and drapes on sun-facing windows to let the sun heat up those rooms. At night, close the window treatments to retain as much of that natural heat as possible.
And now for one more great way to save money on home heating while extending the life of your furnace: annual preventive maintenance by Air Professionals. We’ll clean or replace the filter, tighten electrical connections, check for possible gas or carbon monoxide leaks, and much more…and all for your family’s added comfort, safety, and reduced heating costs.
If it’s been a year or longer since your furnace was last treated to preventive maintenance, contact Air Professionals.