Gas-powered furnaces are not inherently dangerous appliances. This is something we want to clarify right away! We aren’t looking to panic you just because you choose to heat your home with a gas-powered furnace. But like any other powerful appliance in your home that uses gas, hazards can happen if it’s not well cared for.
When a gas-powered system isn’t well cared for, you risk one component failure in particular you never want to have—a cracked heat exchanger. This is most likely to happen with an aging heater (10-15 years old or older). For this reason we recommend looking into a replacement once your furnace has reached about a decade. Routine maintenance will help you avoid this problem, but it’s still a problem you should be aware of.
Fall is officially here and even though our temperatures haven’t quite cooled down enough for consistent heater use, now is the time to think about whether or not you’re well prepared for when temperatures do drop. Fortunately, you have plenty of time to arrange for routine maintenance for your residential heater. This is a job that requires the professional touch of trained and experienced HVAC professionals, which is what we are here for!
Our short answer to this is, “it’s not a bad idea!”
Imagine it’s the coldest day of winter, and you want into your home after a long day out to discover it’s practically no warmer inside than it was outside. Fortunately, you won’t have to deal with chilly temperatures for very much longer at the time of this blog post. But that certainly doesn’t mean you should neglect any signs you need furnace repair.
You may have heard us recommend replacing your HVAC air filter every 1-3 months. This isn’t just something we’re throwing out as a random suggestion—we are offering this advice as a way for you to get the most effective and efficient use out of your heating system as possible. And considering how much we’ve all used our heaters so far this winter, chances are you’d like to avoid problems and spending unnecessary money.
The number one reason we get the question of, “Can I install a furnace in my attic” is because the customers asking want to save space. And we get it! It is possible to do this, however, there are a number of factors to consider.
Here in the Lawrenceville area, we tend to give a lot of attention to our air conditioning systems versus our heaters as far as HVAC issues go. This is understandable—after all, we need our air conditioners to help up combat the high heat and humidity we deal with for so long each year. But this doesn’t mean that the heater in your home is any less important than your cooling system.
We are pretty fortunate in our area that we don’t have to deal with the severely cold temperatures that homeowners contend with throughout other parts of the country. As a result, you don’t have to worry about your heating system too much, right? However, even if our heater usage is relatively brief, don’t you want to do everything possible to save energy, and subsequently, money?
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could create an HVAC system that was completely noiseless? Trust us, if they invented this we’d be first in line to install them! But the fact of the matter is, you’re going to hear your furnace making noises. You’ll hear the ductwork fluctuating as temperatures change, and you’ll hear your furnace cycling on and shutting off, plus the whoosh of air coming through your vents.