Affordable Heating Preventative Maintenance
If you’re thinking of servicing your heating system, give yourself a pat on the back. Regular preventative maintenance ensures your system will run smoothly and efficiently for longer and with fewer repairs. The maintenance procedures will vary depending on the unit type and location. There are lots of different types of heating systems and each type has different maintenance needs. When you’re not sure what type of heating system for home uses, or the proper steps to take to ensure your unit is running in good order, call your friends at Loving Air. We can help you identify your heating system, and make sure it’s running smoothly, or identify any future problems to start saving for. We even offer Club Membership plans to save you repairs and increase the lifespan of your HVAC system.
Schedule Preventative Maintenance
What Is Preventative Heating Maintenance?
Almost all systems will need the basic heating system maintenance listed below performed, but more system specific systems require different assessments.
- Thermostat – the thermostat is checked for proper operation.
- Amperage – the amp draws of mechanical components are checked. High amp drain will not only increase your utility bills, it will also let you know that part is about to fail.
- Airflow – an overall check is done of the airflow to ensure the system is receiving enough air and providing enough air.
- Delta T – this is a common HVAC shorthand that you may have heard but no one explained. Delta is a mathematical term that denotes difference and T is an abbreviation for Temperature. Delta T simply means the difference in temperature. This difference can be measured in the difference between the temperature of air entering your furnace on the return side and the temperature of the air leaving your system on the supply side. Delta T can also be used to denote the difference in the temperature outside versus the temperature inside. These numbers can help determine how efficiently the system is operating and help identify potential issues.
- Drains – all drains are blown out. It is possible over time for sludge to fill up in the drains leaving your system. If the drain lines are not cleaned regularly, they can trip the overflow safety or worse, if you don’t have a safety can cause a flood resulting in real property damage.
- Filters – all filters are checked to ensure they are properly installed and filtering the air without blocking air flow. Some filters can be to restrictive depending on the duct system so a less restrictive filter may need to be used.
Gas Furnace Maintenance
Whether you have natural gas or propane there are certain items that need to be checked to ensure safe and efficient operation. Make sure to start your furnace a couple of times before the winter comes, so you’re not left needing furnace repairs when you need it most.
- Heat Exchanger – the heat exchanger is a system of metal tubes that allows for the gas to be burned inside of the tubes and have air heated by passing over the tubes with no transfer of the exhaust fumes. The heat exchanger is checked for rust or any cracks that could enable dangerous carbon monoxide to enter your home.
- Burner Assembly – clean and inspect burner assembly.
- Gas Pressure – the gas pressure is adjusted if needed.
- Ignition Assembly – the assembly is cleaned to ensure proper operation.
- Flue – once the burned gas leaves the heat exchanger it exits your home via the flue. Based on the efficiency of your furnace the flue may be a metal pipe or a PVC pipe. Either way, the flue is checked to ensure there is no leaks.
- Safeties – all of the system’s safeties are checked.
Heat Pump Maintenance
Heat pumps differ from gas furnaces and require some additional steps. With our experience and knowledge on heat pumps, we’ll make sure your heat pump gets proper maintenance, no matter the make and model.
- The evaporator coil is checked – the evaporator coil inside of the air handler is checked to ensure it is not leaking and to see if the coil needs to be cleaned. Light soiling of the coil can be treated without the coil having to be removed for thorough cleaning. If however, the system does not have filters, or the filters are not changed on a regular basis it is possible for heavy soiling of the coil necessitating that the coil will need to be removed from the air handler in order to properly clean the coil. This is one of the costly repairs that can occur if filters are not used or changed on a regular basis or regular maintenance is not performed.
- The auxiliary heat element – this is an electrical heating element that provides heat when it is cold outside. The element is checked to ensure it is free of debris and properly operating.