Furnace Care and Maintenance

    You wouldn't drive your car 100,000 miles without changing the oil and doing other maintenance service. The same logic holds true for your home comfort system. Regular HVAC preventive maintenance is the best way to ensure trouble-free and peak performance operation. It is vital to the life of your furnace to have a pre-season tune up to help you avoid breakdown in the middle of the coldest month, and coldest day of winter. Preventive maintenance can also keep your energy bill from getting out of control. The Department Of Energy estimates you can save up to $140.00 a year on your annual utility bill by have a a preventive maintenance tune up twice a year.

     The old adage is true: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So the best advice I can give you, and the same advice I give all my clients here in the Boise Idaho valley, is to call your HVAC dealer and schedule an appointment for a technician to come out and go through your system with a preventive maintenance checklist. You need to have this service done BEFORE the heating season. September and October are generally good months to have this done. Here is what a professional will do for you.

      INDOOR UNITS (FURNACE)
      Inspect and clean blower assembly, housing, and wheel and motor
      On older models, lubricate motor and inspect and replace fan belt if needed
      Check combustion blower housing for lint and debris and clean
      Inspect evaporator coil, drain pan, and condensate drain lines, and clean
      Inspect for gas leaks in gas furnaces
      Inspect burner assembly, clean and adjust
      Inspect ignition system and safety controls - clean and adjust
      Inspect heat exchanger or heating elements (SO IMPORTANT)
      Inspect flue system-check for proper attachment to furnace, look for corrosion
      Inspect control box associated with controls, wiring and connections
      Change filters or clean permanent filters
      Inspect and adjust Thermostat operation

     As you can see, this is really a job for a professional to do. It is worth the extra, well spent money to have this done. In the summer have them back to do perform an additional maintenance on your air conditioning unit. Read more of my blogs at www.hvaccomfortguyjerry.blogspot.com. I will be posting more blogs at this site for winter home tips. Visit our website at www.greensheating.com.