Aside from changing an occasional furnace filter, many homeowners believe that skipping professional routine maintenance can save them money. While this may seem true, you may actually lose money in the long run. Let’s look at the benefits of investing in furnace maintenance and how it can save you money.
Preventing Furnace Problems
When one of our technicians comes to your home to perform routine maintenance on your furnace, a thorough inspection of your furnace unit and all its related parts will take place. This inspection process often spots minor issues that can be quickly addressed. If they are never spotted, they have the potential to turn into catastrophic problems that could shut down your furnace completely. Consider what it costs for routine maintenance compared to a complete equipment replacement or replacing a large component of your furnace. Neglecting routine maintenance can sometimes cause permanent damage that we can’t fix.
Some of the most common issues that we see during a routine maintenance appointment include frayed wires, loose electrical connections, leaks, a malfunctioning blower motor, and a cracked heat exchanger.
Considering Efficiency
While your Tigard furnace may be running, it may not be running efficiently. HVAC equipment that doesn’t receive ongoing maintenance will eventually become overworked and strained because of wear and tear. This can lead to your furnace working harder to bring your home to a specific temperature. This drop in efficiency consumes more overall power, leading to higher energy bills.
Avoid Do-It-Yourself Repairs and Maintenance
Another way that homeowners try to save money is by servicing their furnaces themselves. While a simple task like replacing your furnace filter may be easy enough, there are other processes that require professional knowledge and experience. You may think you’re avoiding fees associated with having an HVAC professional come to your home. However, there is a lot of damage you can cause by not having professional experience. What starts as the replacement of an affordable part can quickly turn into your entire furnace failing and needing to be replaced.
Something to keep in mind is that professional technicians like we have at Specialty Heating & Cooling LLC use specialized tools and equipment. Most homeowners don’t have these items, meaning your DIY maintenance may not be as effective as it needs to be.
Safety is also something to consider. Multiple components of your furnace can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. This includes electrical connections, gas burners, and moving parts. Not only can you injure yourself, but you could put your home and family at risk with DIY furnace maintenance and repairs. Also, it’s important that a professional checks your heat exchanger very carefully. If there is any damage to this part, it can cause deadly carbon monoxide gas to leak into your home. It’s important that you have carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home to spot a leak, but preventing problems is imperative.
Professional Troubleshooting
While your furnace may typically run efficiently, there are a variety of issues you should keep a look out for. For example, you may hear odd sounds coming from your system, notice strange smells near your vents, or see your thermostat malfunctioning. We look at key components when inspecting your system to determine if there is an issue that requires repair.
How Often Should You Schedule Maintenance?
We recommend that you schedule maintenance for your Tigard furnace at least once per year. The ideal time frame is sometime during late summer to early fall before you will rely on your furnace for ongoing heat. Many people choose to schedule another appointment for the other parts of their HVAC system prior to summer so that we can check their air conditioning equipment before it’s put to work during the summer heat.
The Cost of Routine Maintenance
The cost of routine furnace maintenance will vary depending on several factors. This includes the type of system that you have and whether any additional work needs to be performed. The longer you go without maintenance, the higher any repair costs will likely be. If the price of a repair is more than half the price of having a new system installed altogether, it may be worth the swap. That being said, investing in early maintenance can prevent you from getting to that point until the system reaches the end of its service life.
The Benefits of a Maintenance Agreement
If the cost of routine maintenance concerns you, think about investing in a professional maintenance agreement. For one price, you can secure a series of routine maintenance appointments with an experienced professional. These appointments allow us to perform minor repairs as needed. Maintenance agreements often provide you with additional benefits, such as priority for emergency repairs and a discount on service.
Considering Your Filter
The filter in your furnace is designed to trap particulate matter before it can accumulate on the interior components of your heating and cooling equipment. If this filter becomes clogged or you’re not using the right filter type, this can cause inefficiencies with your furnace. Not to mention, more frequent repairs may be needed. Your filter will also trap contaminants that would otherwise circulate in your indoor air. The more particulate matter that’s in your indoor air, the more allergies, asthma, and respiratory symptoms you may experience.
We can assess your filter selection to see if it’s the best option that’s available to you. Filters are generally rated using the minimum efficiency reporting value scale or MERV. Most residential homes can benefit from filters up to MERV 12 or so. Anything more than that can cause your furnace to become overworked. If you’re concerned about the quality of your indoor air, there may be things we can recommend to help you make improvements. This includes different filters, a whole-house air purification unit, or enhanced ventilation. In addition to your routine furnace maintenance, we can perform an indoor air quality assessment to see what kind of contaminants you’re dealing with.
One DIY task that you can perform yourself is changing your filter every 30 to 90 days. This time frame will depend on the type of filter you’re utilizing. A simple pleated filter usually lasts for about 30 days. An upgraded filter, such as an activated carbon filter, may last closer to 90 days. Generally, if you can’t see through it, it’s time for a replacement.
There are also washable filters that you can use in your furnace. Rather than replacing the filter entirely, you simply pull the filter out and wash it. Just make sure that you let it completely dry before you put it back into the furnace housing. Otherwise, moisture may allow mold to grow.
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of routine maintenance for your furnace, reach out to our team here at Specialty Heating & Cooling LLC. In addition to routine maintenance and minor repairs, we also install new heating and cooling equipment, service water heaters, address indoor air quality concerns, help you control the relative humidity in your home, and much more.
Reach out to Specialty Heating & Cooling LLC in Tigard, OR to schedule a routine furnace maintenance appointment today.
