Here’s a little quiz I came up with to test your furnace knowledge. (Don’t worry, I’m not actually going to grade this! Even if you get it wrong, you’ll learn something important.)
What is the most common trouble furnaces have during the winter?
- Children tampering with the thermostat
- Cats tampering with the thermostat
- Accidentally setting the thermostat to Celsius rather than Fahrenheit
- Lack of maintenance
Ready with your answer?
The correct answer is “D.” (Although I’ve heard of “A” and “C” happening, and I’m pretty sure “B” would happen if cats had thumbs.)
Is lack of maintenance really that big a deal for a furnace?
Absolutely! People often think of maintenance as a luxury, like a bonus for the furnace when they remember to have it done. But furnace maintenance is essential: it needs to be taken care of each year in order for the furnace to work the way it should, for as long as it should. In fact, you might void the warranty on your furnace if you let it skip out on maintenance.
Here are just of few of the furnace problems you might run into without maintenance:
- An emergency breakdown: A furnace is at a much higher chance of suffering a major system breakdown if it doesn’t have maintenance. One of the major jobs furnace experts do during maintenance is to check for potential trouble that could cause the furnace to stop working. That gives you time to have the problem repaired.
- Wasteful operation: You don’t want to spend more to run your furnace during the winter than you have to. If a furnace is allowed to wear down without occasional tune-ups and cleaning, it will drain extra power to do its job—and this means you’ll pay extra to run the furnace.
- A shorter system life: Replacing a furnace is expensive, and it isn’t something you want to do until the furnace has given you a long, productive life. Letting a furnace miss maintenance will start taking years off its life.
Most important of all: safety!
I’m putting this as its own section because it’s that vital. If you have a gas furnace—and the majority of homes do—it can become potentially dangerous if it’s left without maintenance. Technicians make safety a #1 priority when doing an inspection and tune-up for a furnace. Maintenance is the best way to give yourself peace of mind that your furnace is operating safely.
Isn’t it too late to schedule maintenance? It’s already January.
Later is always better than never when it comes to maintaining a furnace annually. (Although sooner is still the best option.) Missing a year is enough to start cutting into energy efficiency, and it raises the chance of repair problems later on.
If you’ve delayed on your heating maintenance, get in touch with us today and sign up for our maintenance program, The Comfort Club. Once you’re part of the Comfort Club, we’ll make sure you don’t miss heating (or air conditioning) maintenance again. And if you need to have heating repair in Knoxville, TN, we’re always glad to help.
Stay warm,
Olive