During the winter season, your furnace works overtime to keep you and your family warm and comfortable. But, without proper maintenance, it can struggle to perform at its best. Sometimes, it can even break down, leading to costly repairs that could make a significant dent in your budget.
How can you prevent this from happening? Just like you need to create a building checklist to maintain your property, you should prepare a furnace maintenance checklist and follow it to a tee. Otherwise, you cannot guarantee that your heating system will stay running in peak condition all winter.
DIY furnace maintenance will increase its energy efficiency, lengthen its lifespan, and allow you to keep more money in your pocket. Here’s the list of all benefits it offers:
Improved Efficiency
When a furnace is running, it consumes fuel and electricity. If it’s not running at maximum efficiency, it will burn through more resources, and you will spend more money on your utility bills.
Unfortunately, furnaces can become less efficient over time as dirt, dust, and other debris build-up on their various parts. It causes them to work harder to heat your home, wasting energy and raising utility bills.
A thorough cleaning can help resolve this problem. Just make sure you disconnect the power before starting so you don’t accidentally electrocute yourself. Then, use a soft brush or cloth to remove any dirt from the blower wheel, burners, and other accessible areas.
Regular maintenance of your heating system will help you monitor its efficiency rate. More importantly, it will allow you to detect problems before they start to make a dent in your budget. It could potentially save you hundreds of dollars per year.
Reduced Repairs
Every year, homeowners spend thousands of dollars on furnace repairs. A lot of the time, they could have prevented these repairs if they had just taken care of their heating systems themselves.
Annual furnace maintenance can help you avoid costly repairs that could cripple your budget. By taking care of your furnace and addressing minor problems before they turn into big ones, you can keep it running smoothly for many years to come.
Increased Safety
Furnaces can pose a serious safety hazard if they’re not properly maintained. For example, a cracked heat exchanger can release carbon monoxide into your home, which can be deadly if it goes undetected.
That’s why it’s so important to have your furnace inspected and serviced by a qualified professional every year. They can identify and fix any potential safety hazards before they cause any harm.
Alternatively, if you can safely do some maintenance work, you can do that yourself.
Either way, furnace maintenance is a must because it helps you identify potential problems before they have the chance to turn into disasters. If you notice any issues with your system, take care of them as soon as possible and keep your family safe.
Extended Lifespan
The lifespan of your furnace is determined by many factors, including the type of equipment and the model you have installed. Most manufacturers recommend the period of time after which you should replace the system.
While a furnace may last for decades, it is still prone to wear and tear. If you don’t perform regularly scheduled maintenance, it will burn out earlier than expected.
Generally speaking, adequately maintained furnaces last an average of 15 to 20 years. However, if you neglect your furnace, it may only last for ten years or less.
Regularly servicing your furnace will keep it running efficiently and at peak performance, increasing its lifespan. By taking good care of your furnace, you can enjoy many years of reliable heating without having to worry about replacing it anytime soon.
Lower Utility Bills
The single biggest reason to perform DIY furnace maintenance is lower utility bills. If your heating system works more efficiently, it will consume less energy and save you a noticeable amount of money on your electricity and gas bill.
As you probably know, the price of energy is constantly changing. And it’s hard to predict when the temperature will rise or fall and require you to use more power. But this won’t affect your wallet if you do regular maintenance.
Regular maintenance will ensure that your furnace works at its maximum capacity, saving energy and lowering your monthly. So, if you’re looking for ways to save money on your energy costs, furnace maintenance is a great place to start.
Final Thoughts
In this article, you’ve read about all the reasons why your furnace needs to be serviced. Even if you have a newer unit installed, it still requires professional maintenance because its parts can become outdated and affect its performance over time.
You should always ensure that you stick to the manufacturer’s instructions before doing furnace maintenance yourself. Otherwise, you could end up causing more damage to your system rather than fixing it.
Most importantly, you should schedule your furnace services on a regular basis to prevent any unexpected breakdowns. If you fail to do so, then it may not be able to heat your home effectively or efficiently, which will be frustrating during the winter season.