If you hope to save money on heating your home this winter, you don’t have to rely on the old standby – turning down the thermostat. That will just make you cold and uncomfortable. Luckily, other strategies are available that will improve furnace efficiency, saving energy and money while keeping you and your family comfortable.
Improve furnace efficiency by:
- Scheduling annual preventative maintenance on your furnace. A skilled HVAC technician will inspect the equipment from top to bottom, cleaning, lubricating and making adjustments to ensure optimum efficiency, performance and safety.
- Homeowner maintenance. The main thing you can do to improve furnace efficiency is to check the air filter once a month and change it when it gets dirty. A furnace with a clogged filter will struggle to circulate conditioned air in your home, wasting energy, stressing parts, and delivering uneven comfort in rooms, especially those at the end of lengthy duct runs.
- Make sure ductwork is clean and tight. Even if your furnace is operating the way it’s intended, efficient heating won’t happen if the ducts are leaking air or are poorly designed or installed. Similarly, heating registers must be clear of any obstacles to air circulation.
- Weatherize your home. When the home’s outer envelope has been properly sealed, and the correct type and amount of insulation has been installed in the right places, less conditioned air and heat energy will escape from the home. This eases the workload on the furnace, allowing it to operate more efficiently. Home weatherization also allows for more efficient cooling in the summer.
- Consider commissioning a professional energy audit. A trained technician will conduct tests on your home, using high-tech diagnostic equipment, to determine where and how energy is being wasted. This process can pinpoint where air is leaking, insulation is lacking, or air circulation is being blocked.
- Upgrade your heating system. If you have an old, inefficient furnace, you can’t expect efficient or effective heating.
If you’d like to discuss how to improve furnace efficiency in your Dayton-Springfield area home, please contact us at Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
