Fall Furnace Tune Up Tips

Fall Home Furnace Tune-up Tips

Having the ability to keep your home warm during the long and cold winter months is a luxury that the vast majority of us are able to take for granted. However, sometimes systems fail to produce up to their capacity and they need repairs and/or replacement. If your systems fails, it’s below freezing outside, snowing, and your house is getting colder by the minute what can you do? This certainly qualifies as an emergency, a dangerous one at that, and a service provider should be called ASAP. These situations unfortunately happen every year, and while we understand you can’t plan for emergencies to happen, you can take the time to give your unit some preventative maintenance this fall. Preventative maintenance is simply some things that you can do to help prolong the life of your furnace, while maintaining peak efficiency and keeping costs as low as possible, while ensuring your unit will be running at peak performance during the winter months when it’s greatly needed.

• MAKE SURE THE UNIT IS CLEAN.

When air is circulated through a home it picks up pet dander, hair, dust, dirt, and any number of other things that are present in the home. No matter how often you clean your home it’s going to have these particles in it, so don’t feel bad about your unit collecting them. However, over time these particles can accumulate in the HVAC system and can decrease efficiency, or even cause the furnace to stop running altogether. About 90 percent of furnace failures could’ve be prevented with regular maintenance and cleaning. Clean your home, clean your furnace, and increase the lifespan and efficiency of your unit. Easy fix there!

• MAKE SURE THE FILTER IS CLEAN

The filter is what cleans the air moving through the system. The longer a filter iskept in an HVAC system, the more dust, dirt, hair, etc. accumulates on the filter, causing it to restrict the airflow. As these particles accumulate, air can’t pass, or worse, the system overheats. The motor then has to work harder. By replacing the air filter regularly, the furnace will have consistent air flow and the filters will help catch most everything going through the system trying to clog it up.

• CLEAN THE FLAME SENSOR

The ignition assembly in your furnace is what gives the furnace the heat for the home. When the thermostat calls for heat in the home the ignitor lights the burners. When the burners ignite then the flame sensor will sense the flame and tell the gas valve to remain open. If it does not sense the flame then the gas valves will close prematurely and the system will get rid of any excess gases before it will attempt to reignite. If the flame sensing rod is dirty, or has been corroded then it won’t work properly. This may cause your unit to not turn on, or to shut off prematurely.

• ECK THE CAPACITOR

The capacitor is what runs your blower motor in your furnace. Without a working capacitor the blower motor won’t work, and that can lead to a costly part or repairs. Typically we recommend to replace the capacitor every 3-5 years to make sure it keeps a consistent charge for the blower motor. If the motor won’t turn on it could be a bad capacitor. Try replacing it, and if that does not work feel free to give us a call at (866) 215-3831. We have technical support available.

• REMOVE THE DUST OFF OF THE CIRCUIT BOARD

The circuit board is the brain of the furnace. It uses a lot of energy, and it can get hot if not treated well. Dust and dirt can accumulate on the board, and that can cause it to overheat. When it overheats the relays and circuits can become damaged, and that will cause the board to become bad. Using a can of compressed air, lightly clear off the dirt and dust from the board so the relays can breathe. This will give the board a longer life. When cleaning the board, be sure not to touch it without discharging any static electricity first. For more details check out our blog post on static electricity.

• IF YOU SMELL GAS OR SUSPECT THERE MAY BE A LEAK CALL A SERVICE PROFESSIONAL

We cannot emphasize this enough: If you suspect there is a gas leak, or cracks in your heat exchanger, PLEASE CALL A SERVICE PROFESSIONAL. They are very knowledgeable and can diagnose a cracked heat exchanger or a gas leak quickly upon arrival. These issues are serious enough that they could potentially cause your family to get sick, or at a bare minimum they will send costs rising.

Fall is upon us, and soon it will be time to fire up those furnaces. We want yours to run efficiently all winter, so hopefully these tips help you. If you have any issues or require more information feel free to give our office a call at (866) 215-3831. Or you can visit our website at www.hvacpartsshop.com. We’re happy to help out! Thanks for reading!