How Often Should I Have My Furnace Serviced

How Often Should a Gas Furnace be Serviced: Expert Fall Furnace Communication

Posted by bellbros

web log Heating HVAC Maintenance

At that place'due south nothing more beautiful to me than Sacramento in the fall—apart from my wife, of course. I love this time of year. The summer heat has finally broken and we're able to enjoy the outdoors again without sweating buckets.

My favorite affair each fall season is to take long walks downwards the tree-lined streets and watch the leaves change color. I could walk for hours, merely I'grand careful not to lose my caput in the trees for too long because in that location's lots of work to do—especially when it comes to my neighbors' furnaces.

While I wish this season would final forever, fall will eventually turn to wintertime, Sacramento volition become chilly, and we'll all take to turn on our furnaces. Inevitably, I always get a cuckoo corporeality of calls for gas furnace repairs effectually this time, unremarkably from people who haven't had contempo furnace maintenance.

People are often surprised when I tell them how often a gas furnace should be serviced. As a rule of thumb, I always recommend furnace maintenance in the autumn to brand sure information technology'southward running equally safely and efficiently as possible—and to aid prevent many of the common problems that can arise with gas furnaces. After all, we all first looking for ways to stay overnice and toasty warm when the cool, damp wintertime months make it here in Sacramento and flipping on a furnace you can trust is number one on about homeowners' lists.

Common Bug When a Gas Furnace Isn't Serviced Often

Many, if not nigh, of the problems I see when I go called out to homes for gas furnace repair could have been prevented with a regular annual furnace service. In fact, HVAC experts (myself among them) say that a whopping 75% of no heat calls are a direct result of neglecting furnace maintenance. And you tin bet that in almost all of these cases, paying for preventative maintenance would take been a lot cheaper than paying for major repairs.

In fact, HVAC experts (myself among them) say that a whopping 75% of no estrus calls are a direct result of neglecting furnace maintenance.

The problem is, a lot of people call back that considering they only use their gas furnace for a minor part of the yr hither in Sacramento , it doesn't need to be serviced very often. Just, simply like an old convertible that sits in the garage all winter long, a furnace needs to exist tuned upwardly before you lot get-go it up after months of decay.

Here are some of the most common—and preventable—gas furnace problems resulting in improper home heating that I run across every twelvemonth when the cold sets in, without neglect:

Muddy, dusty filters: If your filter is clogged upwardly with gunk, your furnace volition have to work a lot harder than it should to warm your home, making it inefficient and eventually causing it to breakdown. I always change upwards the filter when I do maintenance, only you should really be doing it every 2-3 months. This unproblematic job in itself tin can preclude a whole host of bug. Your local HVAC pro can sign you upward for a worry-free maintenance programme that includes regular filter changes.
A faulty pilot light: Sometimes this is due to a clog in the pilot opening; other times, the airplane pilot low-cal button isn't fully pressed and the gas valve isn't all the manner open up. When I make furnace house calls, I always make sure to embrace my bases and make clean the pilot low-cal, prepare the flame a piddling higher, inspect the airplane pilot push, and open up up the gas valve to become the pilot working again—all tasks y'all should exit to a pro.
A cracked heat exchanger: This is 1 of the about dangerous problems I see as a event of non servicing your gas furnace regularly. When the heat exchanger cracks , your furnace could leak dangerous toxins like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and soot into your domicile. In large quantities, these substances can be very dangerous to your family'south health. Often this problem is caused by a dirty, clogged filter that restricts airflow, but it can be caused by a number of other problems as well. In any instance, I always make certain I inspect the oestrus exchanger when I do maintenance to make sure that your family is safety.

How Often Should Your Gas Furnace Should Be Serviced to Prevent Bug

So, how often should a gas furnace be serviced and then that these bug don't occur? A gas furnace should be serviced at least once a year, preferably, though, in both the spring and the fall. Annual maintenance, including a thorough examination and cleaning of the parts that commonly malfunction, similar the air filter, the fan, the pilot light, and the heat exchanger, can usually prevent these issues.

A gas furnace should be serviced at least once a year, preferably, though, in both the leap and the fall.

But, afterward nigh 30 years in the concern, I don't stop in that location. Subsequently checking all of the key parts, I exercise a furnace tune-up, which is basically a complete prophylactic bank check of the whole system. Once this is complete, your furnace will be raring to go all winter long.

The Benefits of Annual Gas Furnace Servicing and Maintenance

And then, experts recommend having your gas furnace serviced and maintenanced at least in one case a year, if not every bound and fall. Of class, having your furnace serviced annually has more benefits than just avoiding a no oestrus situation in the chilly winter months. There are many other important reasons to invest in regular gas furnace maintenance, such as:

Preventative maintenance against plush (and avoidable) expenses: Whenever I do maintenance, I normally notice one or two little problems that aren't causing any immediate problems, but that could lead to bigger problems over time. By existence proactive nigh these problems and having them fixed during a regular maintenance visit, you'll avoid the development of major problems and save yourself big bucks in the long run. Extensive repairs during busy winter months are pricey. Little fixes in the fall aren't.
Increased energy efficiency and reduced power bills: Permit's confront it, we use a lot of heat during our Sacramento winters and the energy bills can get pretty pricey. During maintenance, your service pro will make sure your furnace is running at acme efficiency and so that it isn't draining your wallet all winter.
Extend the life of your gas furnace—and entire HVAC organisation : A healthy furnace free of leaks, cracks, and blockages tin run with ease for many years without major problems, then keeping it maintained tin relieve y'all from prematurely forking over the cash for a new furnace or an unabridged HVAC organisation.

If you're at present feeling inspired to tune upward your furnace this fall earlier the cold sets in, I strongly recommend turning the chore over to a professional. While yous may exist tempted to service it yourself, irresolute your ain filter is as far as you should go on your own. Gas furnaces have the potential to be dangerous to deal with if you don't know what y'all're doing, so it's best to let the pros handle the servicing for you. And, while they do, you tin become out and relish a nice fall walk nether the colorful Sacramento trees.

At Bell Brothers, we believe in the whole home approach to health and efficiency. Our trained HVAC professionals would non simply be happy to requite your gas furnace a fiddling TLC, we'd love to make sure your windows and insulation are also working efficiently to keep your business firm warm this fall and wintertime. Contact united states of america today to schedule your fall furnace servicing.

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