When it’s cold outside, we depend on our furnaces to keep things warm and cozy at home. But what happens when all of a sudden one night our furnace shuts off, or won’t turn on at all? When that happens, you essentially have two choices: You can cuddle up together and try to keep warm until morning, or you can pick up the phone and call an emergency HVAC repair company. Most people would choose the latter options, but here’s the problem: Emergency HVAC services are expensive. Fortunately, there are things you can do to at least reduce the likelihood that you’ll have to make those late-night emergency service calls.
Have you heard the expression, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? That adage applies to furnaces as much as it applies to living a healthy lifestyle. The more you can do to prevent problems in the first place, the less likely it is that you’ll run into a situation where you are left to cure a problem, such as making those expensive late-night calls.
It’s best to have your furnace inspected and maintained regularly – usually once a year. During those appointments, the technician can do a routine check of your HVAC system. Should any issues be found, the technician can make recommendations for a plan of action to either fix or, in some cases replace, the furnace. They will make any necessary adjustments and give the system a thorough cleaning. All of these steps will help to ensure that your furnace continues to work how you need it to, when you need it to.
Incidentally, in addition to ensuring that your furnace works optimally and reliably, having a clean and well-maintained furnace will also ensure that you don’t pay any more than necessary on your energy bills. A clean furnace will work cleanly and use less energy, which equates to lower bills for you.
In addition to regular maintenance appointments, there are things you can do as a homeowner to lessen the chances that your furnace will break down at inconvenient times. Don’t push your furnace too hard. In other words, keep your home a few degrees cooler than normal. You’ll get used to the slightly cooler temperatures in your house but your furnace won’t have to work as hard to heat the house. Less strain on the system will extend its lifespan and increase the chances that it will perform when you need it to.
If you own a home, it’s very important to schedule regular maintenance appointments to have your HVAC system cleaned. If you do that, your furnace will be more efficient, reliable, and money-saving. And you won’t have to end up calling a service company in the middle of the night on a winter day when icicles form on the end of your noise! Instead of shelling out hundreds of dollars (or more) on HVAC repair NYC residents, take a preventative tack instead.
