When the weather is cold, you automatically think of turning to your furnace for warmth. However, there are various common homeowner mistakes you can run into if you’re not aware. For this reason, let’s take a look at seven of these, so you can remain furnace-safe throughout the year.
- Blocking air registers
Often, people place furniture or other items in front of or on top of supply and return registers. This is not good as it can lead on to airflow issues, thus not allowing your room to be heated correctly. For this reason, it’s imperative that you ensure your air registers are always clear of obstructions.
- Forgetting to change your air filter
Through simply remembering to change your air filter, you can avoid a myriad of problems. An unclean filter causes all manner of efficiency and performance issues for your system, so is something that needs to be a regular area of focus.
- Skipping annual maintenance
To keep your furnace working as efficiently as it should be, you need to schedule annual maintenance tune-ups. If you don’t do this, it’s more likely your furnace will fall into disrepair, and if it stops working during the winter months, when you most need it, this can be a huge issue and can even result in a furnace fire.
It’s good practice to schedule maintenance every fall, so your furnace is ready to go for the winter season.
- Setting the thermostat too high
When it’s extremely cold outside, you will no doubt feel tempted to set your thermostat high. However, this leads on to high energy bills, and can also overwork your furnace, leading on to performance issues in the future. For this reason, it’s a good idea to set it to a temperature that is both comfortable and as energy efficient as possible.
- Ignoring signs of a problem
It’s easy to tell if your furnace is experiencing issues. Perhaps you will hear it make strange noises, strange smells may emanate from it, or it could use up more energy than usual. If you’re at all concerned about your furnace, don’t just wait in the hopes that it’ll remedy itself, get it inspected as soon as possible.
- Buying a furnace system based solely on price
When the time comes to purchase a new furnace, it’s often tempting to buy one based on its price. Before you grab what you think is a great bargain, you need to consider the total amount you will spend on energy throughout the lifetime of the furnace. High efficiency systems are initially more expensive however you can make considerable energy bill savings in the long term
- Waiting too long to replace your furnace
Although purchasing a new furnace is a considerable expense, so too is paying out money on an inefficient, and antiquated system. Keep this in mind and buy a new furnace system when you know you need one.
With the above in mind, you should be able to make positive choices when it comes to your household furnace operation, saving you both money, potential upheaval, and furnace fires. Speak to us here at BOLT Insurance Agency about being protected against damage as a result of a furnace fire.
