Winters get cold in the Twin Cities, and you can end up spending a fortune on heating if you’re not careful. Furnace efficiency is important, because it can save you a lot of money. Try these simple tips to keep your furnace running at its very best this winter:
- Change your filter. Your furnace filter catches particulate matter and keeps it from getting into your system. But at a certain point it can become so blocked, air can no longer pass through. This makes your furnace work harder than it has to and can lead to overheating and frequent shutdowns — a condition known as short-cycling. Your filter should be replaced — or cleaned, if that’s the kind you have — every three months or at the start of each season. If you don’t know how often you should change your filter, ask your service technician.
- Use your heating vents wisely. If you don’t use some parts of your home, you can close a few vents to direct heat to the rooms you use the most. Be careful, though. Use this strategy sparingly, because your furnace can overheat if you close more than 60 percent of your vents. Also, make sure you don’t have any furniture blocking your vents.
- Make sure your house is well insulated, especially the attic. Most of the heat in your home is lost through the roof, but you can minimize the loss by insulating your attic. The better your home retains the heat, the less you have to use your furnace.
- Have a technician tune up your furnace at the beginning of the heating season. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say, and making sure that your furnace is well tuned and running smoothly will ensure that you’re not wasting money on an inefficient furnace.
For more information on furnace efficiency and for all of your heating and cooling needs in the Twin Cities, contact Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about furnace efficiency and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Marsh Heating and Air Conditioning services Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!