How to Winterize your HVAC/Central Air System
In this article When the months turn cooler and frost begins to appear, you need to fortify your home to withstand the potentially bad weather
With falling temperatures comes more work for your home’s heating system. To ensure that it works as it should and keeps your home a welcoming and toasty sanctuary through the winter, it’s important to get maintenance done on your unit in the fall — before you’ll need your heat!
Here are four important HVAC tips to help you prepare your system for the winter.
There are things you can do to better insulate your home and keep the warm air in. When you do them, it will put less strain on your heating unit. Easy do-it-yourself projects like adding caulking around your windows or installing weather strips on your doors can help to keep the cold drafts from coming into your home.
If you don’t plan on using your home’s fireplace in the winter, then closing the damper can help to keep cold outdoor air out. If you don’t close the damper, you’ll easily notice higher energy bills as the chimney becomes a great place for your home’s warm air to escape — all day and night. But keep in mind that you should not use your fireplace when the damper is open or when you may have lit embers in your fireplace.
Getting your home ready for winter is vital to keeping your house warm without breaking the bank
You want to program your thermostat for a comfortable temperature that will not require your heating unit to run all day to maintain it. For example, setting your winter temperature to 70 degrees will require your unit to do less work overall than setting the temperature at 80 degrees. Also, try not to continually adjust your thermostat; instead settle on one consistent temperature and leave it. If you find that there are pockets of your house that are harder to keep warm, consider using a portable heater in those areas, as opposed to increasing your home’s main thermostat.
As with any air-conducting part of your home, making sure ducts, vents, and filters are clean is a great way to ensure that your unit will be able to work properly. It’s a good idea to change the furnace filter in the fall and have regular maintenance performed on your unit around this time as well.
Keep in mind that a heating unit will only operate as well as the maintenance that is invested in it. The more you can help prepare your home for the winter, the less wear and tear you’ll put on your home’s heating system.
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