Furnace Services

Your furnace may need professional help if it's making some strange noises—banging, rattling, or perhaps even squealing. Those are signs something's gone wrong and, more often than not, they mean a repairman's visit is in your near future. Unfortunately, resolving the situation could cost a fair amount of cash, especially if your unit's older than you are. And, too, if your system is cycling a lot (or not at all), then it's time to call in an expert. Finally, if you can't seem to smell anything but the dust that's accumulated in your system, then you should also have your unit checked.

The regular maintenance of your furnace is necessary for its peak performance and life span. If your furnace could see a doctor, it would be advised to make an appointment at least yearly and to do so before the onset of cold weather. The visit would include a thorough checkup to find any potentially troublesome issues, crucial for avoiding a surprise breakdown on one of the coldest days of the year. The furnace would then be "tuned" to run as efficiently as possible, not just for the sake of your wallet (because a well-tuned furnace uses less energy), but also for the sake of your furnace, because the more efficiently it runs, the longer it lasts.

A normal lifespan for a home furnace is from 15 to 20 years, but many factors affect that range. What predominantly serves to impact the effective lifespan is how often, and with what intensity, the furnace sees use; what kind of installation it had from the get-go; and, of course, how well it has been maintained. If you're near the top of that range and seeing your system has had a pretty hard life, you might want to start thinking about a replacement.

There are many ways to increase the efficiency of a furnace so that it uses less energy and costs less to operate. One of the simplest strategies involves routinely replacing the furnace's air filter; a clean filter is necessary for proper airflow and for the furnace to work efficiently. Several parts of the heating system should be checked and cleaned, if necessary—from the blower motor to the exhaust flue, which carries combustion products and any unburned fuel safely outside. Sealing leaks (and there usually are quite a number of them) in the ductwork will also help ensure that all the warmed air gets to where it's supposed to go.

There are many benefits to having a furnace installed by a professional as opposed to by oneself or an amateur. For one thing, certified technicians have the know-how to size and select a furnace that will work well in a given home. This is something that an ordinary person—without years of training and experience—would probably struggle to do.Once the right furnace has been procured, the job of installing it still requires a level of expertise and a mastery of certain skills that the average DIY-er probably just doesn't have. For example, was it mentioned that it's really, really important to connect the furnace to electrical and gas supplies in a manner that won't result in a fire or explosion? And then there's warranty coverage, which is almost a given with professionally done installations.

Furnaces come in different types, each with distinct features that make them a good fit for various homes. The most prevalent is the gas furnace, which delivers dependable, cost-effective performance in homes served by natural gas. Electric furnaces are straightforward to install and demand little maintenance, but they can be pricier to run depending on your local electricity rates. Oil furnaces have largely been replaced by gas and electric models but hold on in some markets, while an increasing number of homes are served by furnaces that qualify as high-efficiency, with tech features that boost their performance and better control heating costs.

When your furnace suddenly stops working, the first thing to check is the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and that the temperature setting is above your current indoor temperature. Next, check to see if the circuit breaker has tripped and that the furnace power switch is actually in the ON position. After confirming all these things, take a moment to look at the furnace's air filter. If it looks dirty or too old, go ahead and replace it. If none of these basic service steps work, call a professional to investigate the problem.

Costs for furnace repairs can differ greatly, based on the individual problem and how complex the repair might be. If we look at the possibility of some straightforward fixes, say, for instance, a bad igniter or flame sensor, we could expect those types of problems to fall within the range of anywhere from $100 to $300. But what if the problem lying within the furnace isn't so obvious? We could be looking at a repair that goes much deeper, and that could mean a cost of anywhere from $500 to $1,000 or more.

There are several warning signs to look for that can signal a dangerous carbon monoxide leak. The most clear-cut means of detection is also the least common in most residences: a CO alarm. Alarms detect the presence of carbon monoxide in the same way that our bodies do, by reacting with a chemical that emits light when it comes into contact with CO. If the lights on your CO alarm are flashing more than usual or if the alarm is actually sounding, you've got a much higher chance of having a CO problem in your home.

Although some fundamental maintenance chores can be done