Winters in Huntingdon Valley, PA often bring below-freezing temperatures, crisp winds, and moderate snow. When the mercury plummets, having a functional furnace is important. Your heating system keeps your pipes from freezing and protects your household from hypothermia, frostnip, and other cold-related illnesses. Fortunately, you can prevent dangerous mid-winter breakdowns with fall furnace maintenance. Read on to find out how.
Optimize Airflow
During an annual furnace maintenance, our HVAC technicians test airflow and take steps to optimize it in the following ways:
- Replacing HVAC air filters
- Finding and opening closed air vents
- Checking for air duct leaks
- Optimizing blower fan speeds
If you have a condensing furnace in your Huntingdon Valley home, your technician will also clean and sanitize its condensate drain. After a long period of dormancy, this drain could be host to algae, bacteria, and slimy biofilms rife with these and other microorganisms. In addition to inhibiting airflow, blocked condensate drains add moisture to the air, reduce furnace performance, and emit foul, musty odors.
By improving airflow, pre-season furnace tune-ups prevent problems like short cycling, overheating, and intermittent shutdowns. With steady airflow, your furnace can provide a constant and even supply of heat.
Detect and Resolve Problems Early On
Pre-season furnace tune-ups allow HVAC technicians to identify loose electrical connections, worn parts, and heavy buildups. By catching and correcting these and other issues early on, HVAC technicians limit the risk of mid-season breakdowns. Early interventions also enable lower heating costs, less expensive repairs, and better indoor air quality (IAQ).
Identify and Address Safety Hazards
If you have a fuel-burning furnace in your Huntingdon Valley home, scheduling pre-season maintenance is the best way to avoid dangerous carbon monoxide and natural gas leaks. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a byproduct of fuel combustion. When furnaces burn gas incompletely, they create CO and other exhaust. During HVAC maintenance, our team will ensure that all exhaust exits your home. They’ll check your furnace exhaust vents for:
- Bird nests and other pest-related obstructions
- Collapsed or crushed sections
- Severe corrosion
- External blockages
- Built-up dust, residues, and other debris
If your furnace has an exhaust vent for CO, it will instantly shut itself off whenever the vent becomes obstructed.
Inspect and Maintain Fuel Lines
Our HVAC technicians carefully inspect natural gas supply lines and gas line connections. For homeowners with oil-fired furnaces, we inspect heating oil tanks, alarms, and delivery systems. For oil-fired furnaces, we can also estimate fuel needs so that homeowners don’t run out of heating oil during times of extreme weather.
Inspect and Test Electrical Connections
Most modern furnaces require electricity to power their starting mechanisms. Thus, even if you have an oil-fired or gas-fired furnace, problems at its electrical connections could keep you from getting heat. Our team members check for and repair worn wiring, loose electrical connections, and faulty circuits.
Furnace Fire Prevention
A furnace fire could result in the loss of your current heating system, significant property damage, and loss of life. Pre-season furnace maintenance eliminates many of the most common causes of furnace fires, including:
- Heavy soot buildups in exhaust systems
- Major airflow obstructions
- Built-up dirt in heat exchangers
- Buildups on furnace burners
Discover the Need for Furnace Replacement
The average lifespan of a furnace is 15 to 20 years. If your furnace has supplied 10 years of service or more, pre-season maintenance is especially important. These visits allow our team to assess your furnace’s remaining lifespan based on its accumulated wear and performance. If you need furnace replacement service, we can schedule it before winter arrives so that your furnace doesn’t fail during the heating season.
Ensure Efficiency
Ensuring efficient furnace performance is about far more than limiting your heating costs and your carbon footprint. When furnaces work efficiently, they can create and maintain optimal heating cycles. They sustain less wear as a result, experience less operational stress, and have a much lower likelihood of short cycling or overheating.
We’ve proudly served Huntingdon Valley and the surrounding communities since 1989. We offer expert furnace maintenance, repair, and replacement services. We also provide a value-rich preventative maintenance plan. This plan covers the cost of annual tune-up service and offers benefits like discounted labor and parts for repairs.
To learn more about our HVAC preventative maintenance plan or to schedule a pre-season furnace tune-up in Huntingdon Valley, contact AAA Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning today.
