Furnace Tune-Up in Denver, Colorado
Just like your automobile needs regular oil changes, your furnace needs a regular tune up. Furnace parts wear out faster without regular service, get dirtier, lose performance, and may result in a sudden and painful breakdown. Whether your furnace makes strange noises or runs fine, a tune-up will help keep you and your family safe and warm throughout the winter.
What does a furnace tune up cover?
Regardless of whether a family utilizes the furnace for temperate convenience or depends on the heat from it during freezing cold temperatures, abrupt breakdowns are a genuine agony. In the tune up of a furnace, a professional technician will conduct an inspection of its parts and repair damaged areas to help the furnace last for a longer period of time. By regularly having your unit inspected, you can keep it from breaking down, experiencing problems, or needing to be replaced. In addition, they will be able to ensure your unit runs more efficiently and will save you money during the cold winter months.
During a tune-up, a professional will:
- check for system leaks and tears or gaps in the ductwork
- clean the major components of the furnace
- lubricate the mechanical parts
- recalibrate the thermostat
- test the heating elements
- pilot system and/or electrical components
- test the safety and limit switches
Why is a tune-up necessary?
When all the parts inside the furnace are thoroughly cleaned this does more than help it to look good. A clean furnace runs far more efficiently than one that is dirty. Simply having the air flow filter replaced and the coils cleaned periodically will improve your furnace’s operating efficiency which in turn can reduce your energy bills.
When it comes to a furnace tune-up, it’s important to test the pilot system. When the fuel doesn’t burn completely, it can lead to dangerous carbon monoxide levels in your home, which can negatively affect your health. A certified technician will let you know upon inspection if your furnace is at high risk of leaking such dangerous gas to your home.
Regular tune-ups of your furnace will save you money on your energy and repair bills. When you don’t properly maintain your unit, you’ll need to repair it more often. Your unit will have to work harder, and thus wear out faster, if parts are allowed to become dirty or become ineffective. In the long run, a few parts might be too costly to even consider repairing and the entire unit may require replacing.
You cannot ignore your furnace problems once winter hits, and taking the steps to prevent furnace issues before winter begins is a necessity. A properly maintained furnace has an average life expectancy of 15 to 20 years. Some furnaces can last between 30 and 40 years with frequent tune-ups depending on the level of use and other environmental factors.
Furnaces that are under warranty may need to be serviced on a specific schedule to keep the warranty valid. This is because there are some companies that will only honor their product’s warranty when it has been regularly maintained. Even a furnace that seems to be operating properly can benefit from a tuneup that could end up saving the homeowner the expense of a major repair at some point.
How should homeowners maintain their furnaces between tune-ups?
Furnaces do not need a lot of maintenance work in between repairs. There are things the homeowner can do, however, to help the furnace last as long as possible.
One way to maintain an efficient furnace is by constantly changing its air filter. Unfortunately, if your filter has dirt, this can be problematic. It can cause very slow air flow, putting strain on the parts. This forces the unit to work much harder than it actually needs to in order to achieve the same results. Changing an air filter at least every three months is recommended, especially when animals are at home. Filters not only improve the function of your furnace as they also help filter out allergens, toxins, and particles, providing clean air throughout your home all year.
Even if closed air vents control the airflow and the temperature, they can put a lot of stress to the heating system and cause it to break down eventually. In addition to that, vents that are closed can also cause mold to grow in the ducts. Heating devices can break down faster if all the vents are closed, so closing the vents doesn’t pay off.
If the vents in your furnace are outside of the home you need to make sure that there are no blockages in it. The best time to inspect for obstructions that can limit air flow from your furnace is before the heating season begins. If there seems to be a problem while the furnace is running already then you can also check first for blockages in its vents before making a call to the experts.
