Heater Maintenance for your home or business, especially in the cold winter months, is a big issue. If you are worried about Heater Maintenance but are not sure if the problem is something that you can handle on your own, or if you are unsure whether you need to replace your unit entirely, you should know some of the warning signs to look for.
Here are the top 5 warning signs that your furnace needs repair or replacement:
- Increase in heating bills: Have you noticed a sudden increase in your heating bills this month? Give it a few months and see if it is consistent, but if it continues, you may have a problem with your furnace. You might be able to reign back some of your Heating Unit’s function if you start professional Heater Maintenance Services now. Quite often, a furnace seems to be working properly, and you do not indicate a problem until you notice your power bills are skyrocketing. If bills are increasing over a few months, despite your usage generally remaining the same, you might consider talking to a Comfort Solutions HVAC expert about the health of your furnace.
- Inconsistent heat: Sketchy heating throughout your entire home? You may need to get on professional heater maintenance, but if it’s too late for that, it may be time to go duct hunting. Problems with your ductwork can keep your home from heating consistently throughout. Although this problem might be fixed by switching to a zone-control heating system, this may not be a feasible solution for you. This might be more costly than you can afford right now, and duct repair might do the trick. Check with your Comfort Solutions HVAC expert to see if it is possible that the ductwork in your home was poorly designed to fit your home, or poorly installed. Either way can give you inconsistent heating.
- Weird noises: Is that an elk dying? A whale mating? Maybe. But it’s probably just your rickety old Furnace deciding whether it’s going to keep your family warm today or not. Pay attention to the noises that your furnace is making. Be aware of any banging, popping, rattling, or squealing noises from your Furnace. It is normal for furnaces to make a little rattling noise when you turn it on for the first time of the season. But any other time this continues, you should be aware of any irregular noises, and report them to your Comfort Solutions Heater Maintenance technician as soon as you notice them.
- Age of furnace: If you keep regularly scheduled Heater Maintenance services, your furnace should last between 16 and 20 years. If you have not maintained it properly over the years, then it could last about half of that time. If your unit is getting older, then you might be experiencing problems with it that cannot be explained by any other situation than age. The problem might not be any specific component, but rather with a furnace that is too old to function efficiently. Talk to a Comfort Solutions Furnace expert for some recommendations on upgraded equipment.