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Maintenance Tips for Switching from Air Conditioning to Heating
As chilly weather threatens to sweep into Colorado in the coming weeks, your furnace will either be cowering in the corner or jumping at the bit. It all depends on whether you have done your homework and taken care of the pre-season maintenance. Switching over from air conditioning in the summer to heating in the winter isn’t quite as simple as flipping a switch on your thermostat. Instead, you’ll need to pay attention to maintenance in a few areas.
Change Air Filters:
Hopefully you have been swapping your filters monthly, but if you haven’t, now is a good time to do it. In addition to the main filter, change the filter on your humidifier if you have one. Starting with a fresh filter helps cut down your chance of respiratory irritation during the cold and flu season.
Clean the Blower:
Just like dust gets trapped in a room fan, it can get trapped in your heatingsystem’s blower as well. Clean off the blades so you aren’t spreading dust through your home all winter. You may be able to remove it and do this yourself, but if not, call a professional for help.
Set Your Humidifier:
As the temperature drops, so does the humidity. If you have a whole house humidifier, set it now to ensure your home remains comfortable through the winter. Maintaining a humidity level of about 40% helps prevent dry skin, sinus irritation, and static shocks caused by low levels of humidity.
Test the System:
Don’t wait until the first legitimately cold night to switch on your heating system. Instead, test it out as soon as the temperatures start dropping and make sure it’s operating well. That way, you can find and solve problems before you have to shiver through freezing temperatures.
Get a Professional Check-up:
If it’s been a few years since you last had a professional come out to look at your system, schedule a maintenance check this fall. You could discover areas where your system is operating inefficiently, and adjusting these before spending another winter heating your home will cut your energy use and help keep you more comfortable.
