
How to Extend the Lifespan of Your Furnace
Your furnace works tirelessly to keep your home nice and warm all winter long. Still, just like with other mechanical systems, it benefits from consistent upkeep to ensure it runs smoothly and to hopefully prevent any inconvenient breakdowns. Maintaining your furnace makes it more likely to last years longer, especially compared to one left alone. It also means reduced heating costs!
1. Tidy Up Around the Furnace
Keeping the space around your furnace clear promotes airflow and safe operation. Make sure the area is kept dust-free and not near any hazardous materials. This avoids fire and similar safety risks, ensuring your furnace circulates more efficiently.
2. Schedule Yearly HVAC Tune-Ups
Annual maintenance from a certified HVAC professional ensures your furnace’s long-term performance. During the appointment, your technician inspects, services and otherwise tunes up the system for best performance. This regular preventive maintenance spots small issues before they become something more serious, preventing costly breakdowns. Regular maintenance also improves efficiency, saving you more money on energy bills.
3. Make Your Home More Energy Efficient
Another way to reduce your furnace’s total workload is to take what steps you can to boost your home’s energy efficiency. Proper insulation and other sealing accessories around windows and doors will reduce heat loss, making it easier for your furnace to maintain a comfortable temperature. As long as your furnace operates more easily, it suffers less wear and tear, increasing its lifespan.
4. Don’t Put Off Furnace Repairs
If you start noticing odd humming, uneven heating or higher energy bills, don’t postpone looking into these concerns. Even small malfunctions can rapidly become more severe breakdowns. If left ignored, it could affect the total lifespan of your furnace. Prompt furnace repairs help avoid further damage and keep your system better protected.
5. Avoid Overworking Your Furnace
Setting your thermostat above normal forces your furnace to work overtime, putting extra wear on the entire system. This increased workload causes reduced efficiency. To avoid cutting your furnace’s lifespan short, set your thermostat to a reasonable temperature—ideally between 68 and 72 degrees F. You can additionally adjust the temperature by a few degrees while you’re out of the house. These simple changes save energy and lessen any strain on your furnace.
6. Replace the Filter Regularly
The filter captures dust, pet hair and other airborne airborne contaminants to stop them from reaching the system’s more delicate components. Over time, the filter becomes blocked with debris, limiting air circulation and causing your furnace to work harder. This extra wear and tear could result in more problems and sometimes irreparable damage.
To keep things running smoothly, check and swap out the filter as needed, depending on how often you use the system and the type of filter installed.
7. Upgrade to an Energy-Efficient Model
When your furnace is outdated and needs more frequent repairs, it may be time to replace it. Modern furnaces provide higher performance than ever while reducing energy consumption. Although the upfront cost may be higher than a repair, the smaller utility bills and increased efficiency make it worthwhile.
8. Consider Trying a Smart Thermostat
A smart thermostat lets you set precise temperatures in your home, through features such as scheduling automatic setbacks when you’re out or sleeping. This limits operating time, saving energy and helping preserve the system.
9. Ensure Balanced Airflow
Your furnace will only operate at its best when the circulation between supply and return vents is balanced. Sealing off more than 80% of your supply registers can lead to overheating or force your furnace to exert more effort than it should. To help maintain good performance, make sure that all air vents are open and free from being blocked by any furniture. This allows your furnace to move air properly.
Choose McLoughlin Plumbing Heating & Cooling to Keep Your Furnace Running
Maintaining your furnace avoids any premature, costly failures, maximizes efficiency and can even extend its total potential lifespan. McLoughlin Plumbing Heating & Cooling is committed to helping you keep a warm and comfortable home. Our experienced technicians deliver fast, reliable service.
If it’s been a while since your last maintenance visit or if you’re interested in more personalized advice to optimize your furnace, please contact us today!