When the winter months settle in, Yarmouth can get quite cold. Having a reliable home heating system is a must to stay warm and keep your home safe throughout the bouts of freezing weather. To ensure your system is ready to go, there are some things you’ll want to do in the fall to prepare.
Schedule Maintenance
One of the best things you can do to prepare your heater for the upcoming winter season is to schedule professional maintenance service. This service includes many different things, like lubricating moving parts, checking for toxic fume emission, testing electrical connections, and calibrating your thermostat.
Professional maintenance is an absolute necessity to maintain the warranty coverage on your HVAC equipment and ensure that it’s operating as safely and efficiently as possible. This can go a long way in reducing your risk of experiencing an unfortunate wintertime breakdown and can give you peace of mind. Our Wolfpack Membership includes tune-ups and gives you discounts on repairs and other perks, too!
Change Air Filters
It’s a good idea to replace the air filter for your HVAC system in the fall. A clean filter ensures optimal operating efficiency and protects the internal components of your heating system. We recommend checking your HVAC filter every month and replacing it whenever necessary. It’s always a good idea to have a spare filter on hand so you can perform a replacement as soon as it’s needed instead of waiting.
Program Your Thermostat
One of the best ways to lower your wintertime heating bills is by using a programmable or smart thermostat. This allows you to program in specific temperature settings depending on the time of the day and the day of the week. You can optimize your settings based on your routine schedule. For example, you can turn the temperature down at times you know you’ll be at work and no one is home to conserve energy usage.
If you really want to take things a step further, you can invest in a smart thermostat that has advanced features like learning technology and geofencing technology. The latter will adjust your home’s temperature setting based on the location of your smartphone. This makes it more convenient to be more efficient with your energy usage.
Check Detectors and Fire Extinguishers
Safety is paramount when it comes to running any heating system that burns fuel like natural gas, propane, or even heating oil. While a routine inspection will help detect any safety issues with your system so you can repair them, it’s also best to have safety devices in your home to alert you of any potential hazards throughout the winter season.
You should have carbon monoxide and smoke detectors on every level of your home and in the vicinity of each bedroom. Fall is the perfect time of year to go ahead and replace the batteries in all those detectors to ensure they’re ready to go for the upcoming winter. Additionally, check the expiration date on your fire extinguisher to ensure that it’s still active and replace it if necessary.
Setup Fuel Delivery
If your heating system runs on propane or heating oil, then you have an on-site storage tank for your fuel. Fall is a great time to schedule your automatic fuel delivery service to ensure that you never run out of fuel during the wintertime. Many fuel companies will even offer you a discount when you sign up for automatic deliveries as opposed to calling in for every delivery.
Schedule a Chimney Cleaning
Heating systems that burn fuel have toxic byproducts that must be properly vented to the outside of your home. Unfortunately, if there is any blockage in your chimney or vent pipe, it could allow those toxic fumes to back up inside your home and be hazardous to your family. Routine chimney cleaning in the fall is a great way to remove any potential blockages in your vent pipe or chimney to prevent any hazardous conditions in your home.
Check Air Vents
If you rely on a ducted heating system, it’s advantageous to check all your air vents before the winter season sets in. You want to ensure that every vent is in its fully open position and that there are no obstructions blocking the flow of air in or out of them.
Contrary to popular belief, you should never be closing air vents, even in rooms that you don’t use. Closing air vents can mess with the pressure inside your ducting and decrease your heating system’s operating efficiency.
Consider Duct Cleaning
Your air ducts are constantly circulating air and any debris like dust or pollen that’s in them. Over time, this can allow these unwanted items to build up inside your ductwork and create restrictions in the airflow. In addition, it will constantly reduce your home’s air quality level.
It’s good practice to invest in professional duct cleaning service every four to five years. If you have asthma, allergies, or another respiratory condition, you may want to consider more frequent cleanings to reduce your allergy flare-ups while at home.
A Note on Late Summer System Replacements
If your existing heating system is increasing in age and may need to be replaced soon, it’s best to schedule this replacement during the late summer season before winter starts. This time of the year is typically slower for most HVAC companies, offering more flexible scheduling than the busy summer and winter months. It’s also the perfect time of year to take advantage of special discounts and promotions on heating products.
Other House Preparation Tasks
Apart from things you’ll need to directly do with your heating system to prep for the winter, there are some other things you’ll want to prep throughout your home to better enhance the performance of your heating system and boost your comfort.
You’ll want to switch all your ceiling fans to spin in a clockwise direction during the winter months. This will force the hot air stuck at the top of your room outward and back down the side of your walls to recirculate that hot air. By recirculating hot air, you can reduce the strain on your heater while still increasing your household comfort. One of the best hacks for reducing wintertime heating bills is having a workable ceiling fan in all the major rooms of your home.
Another must-do is sealing up any air leaks on your exterior walls. You can find these by running your hand around window and door frames as well as your outlet and light switches. If you notice a difference in temperature, there’s an air leak that you need to seal. You can use different materials like foam insert pads, expanding spray foam, caulking, and weather stripping.
One other thing to keep in mind is that you want to check your attic vents to ensure they’re in the open position. Your vents should never be completely closed, as this can allow excess moisture to accumulate in your attic. This can lead to issues like mold and mildew. Mold can prematurely deteriorate your home’s roofing structure and be unhealthy for your family’s respiratory health.
Reliable HVAC Maintenance Service
DeWolfe Plumbing, Heating & Cooling offers reliable AC and heating maintenance service for the Yarmouth, MA area. We can also help with all your heating and cooling installation, replacement, and repair needs. Just call our team at DeWolfe Plumbing, Heating & Cooling in Yarmouth today to schedule an appointment with one of our helpful technicians.
