Heating Maintenance Paradise

The usual procedure for maintaining a heating system incorporates a number of necessary tasks. Each task plays a vital role in ensuring not just the proper functioning of the heating system but also, and perhaps more importantly, the safe operation of the system over the term of the system's expected life. The sequence of these tasks can vary somewhat and still be effective, but typically, an experienced technician will perform the following during routine maintenance: inspect the furnace and its components; clean the furnace and its components; lubricate wherever necessary; and check that the furnace system is operating safely and correctly.

To make sure your heating system works well, uses energy efficiently, and is safe to operate, it should be serviced—not just inspected, but actually serviced—at least once a year. The optimal time to do this is just before the winter months when your system will be called upon to function at its peak.

Paradise, California has a diverse array of heating systems, each demanding different levels of service and maintenance to function at optimal efficiency. The golden rule of heating system maintenance is that it ought to be performed regularly and at reasonable intervals—at least once a year, if not twice (before the heating season and the cooling season, in the case of HVAC systems). If you observe just this one rule, you can keep most heating systems running for decades and running very well without many (or any) expensive repairs.

To keep your heating and air conditioning unit in Paradise working well, you need to perform routine maintenance as well as some semi-annual or annual tasks.First, clean or replace the air filters every one to three months so that they're not clogged. If they were ever clogged, that means that your unit was working harder than it needed to. (This is true of any part of this unit that gets dirty and isn't cleaned.) Second, make sure to have the unit inspected annually. Because there's no good time to be without heat in the winter, we recommend that you have it done before you absolutely need the heat. An inspector will check a lot of things: the thermostat, safety controls, all electrical connections, and all gas connections and pressure. They will make sure that your unit is in safe working order.

Absolutely, it is possible to undertake the cleaning of your furnace without the help of a professional. Make it the first priority to completely shut off any power and gas to the furnace—if your model uses gas. Then, check your air filters; if they are not already clean, replace them. If the filters are clean, vacuum around the furnace and use a shop vac on the blower assembly. Then, check the belts. If they are in good condition and not overdue for replacement, lubricate the moving parts if the manufacturer's instructions say to. If you have any doubts, do not hesitate to call a pro; the safety of you and your furnace is the priority.

The main purpose of a heating tune-up is to make sure that the system is working well and is safe. The components of a tune-up all lead to this main goal. The first is an inspection of the furnace or heat pump. This is to ensure that the system is working at its kind of baseline for what a heating system should do. If something is kind of not quite right, that's what you want to find before it becomes a big problem. The main thing you want to find is something that would make the system not safe. So, checks are done on a variety of things, including ventilation. Should you have a heating system, it's worthwhile to get regular tune-ups. And if you have any questions about what a furnace or heat pump tune-up is, feel free to ask.

A furnace should ideally be cleaned and maintained at least once a year. This annual upkeep, usually done before the heating elements are actually needed, helps ensure that that the furnace operates efficiently, that no unexpected breakdowns occur, and that its overall lifespan is extended.

Not cleaning a furnace can cause many problems. Dust and dirt can collect inside, forcing the system to work harder and be less efficient. The furnace might then use more energy and produce higher bills. Even if the furnace pulls in the same amount of air as before, part of that air will now necessarily go to the dust instead of the space that needed heating. Clean filters result in gas furnaces running 10–20% more efficiently, according to Energy Star, a government-backed program that helps consumers identify efficient products. Clean components are also much less likely to set fire to the main part of the furnace, which is designed to be hot.

If you see the following signs, it may be time to clean your furnace: airflow that's not what it should be, a furnace that sounds more like a sick cow than a heating appliance, a flame that's the wrong color, a furnace that seems to be behaving erratically, or a heating system that just seems to be heated up in parts and isn't serving its whole-house purpose. If it's been over a year since your furnace has been cleaned, make that call.

In Paradise, furnace upkeep generally takes from 1 to 2 hours. The length of time can depend on how well the furnace is doing and the number and nature of the maintenance tasks it requires.