Maintaining the heating equipment in your Denver, CO home is a multi-pronged effort. Although there are many tasks that you can complete on your own, there are far more that require the help of a licensed HVAC company. Annual tune-up service is essential for keeping your heater working efficiently. It also ensures safe operation while minimizing ongoing wear. If you haven’t scheduled professional furnace maintenance in a while, the following are several reasons why you should do so now.
Maintain Compliance With Your Furnace Manufacturer’s Warranty
All new heating equipment is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty. HVAC equipment manufacturers offer these warranties as guarantees against defective parts, improper assembly, or all-around poor workmanship. If your heater breaks down prematurely, this agreement will cover the cost of replacement or essential repairs if the problem is ultimately manufacturing-related.
All manufacturer warranties are mutually binding agreements. When you activate a manufacturer warranty, you agree to adhere to its terms and conditions. Just as warranty issuers consent to pay for covered problems, you agree to do your part in preventing them. This includes having your equipment installed and repaired by a licensed HVAC company. It also includes scheduling annual heater maintenance. Failing to do so could result in the loss of these important protections. It can also leave you paying out-of-pocket to resolve problems that would otherwise be covered.
Your Furnace Warranty Could Last Far Longer Than You Think
Warranties for heaters are surprisingly long-lasting. While some companies offer five- to 10-year limited parts warranties, many also offer 10- to 20-year heat exchanger warranties. Thus, even if you’ve had your furnace for a while, there’s still good reason to honor the terms of its warranty agreement.
Limit the Risk of Carbon Monoxide Exposure
If you have a fuel-combusting heater in your home, scheduling annual maintenance is even more important. Fuel-combusting appliances produce carbon monoxide (CO) gas due to incomplete combustion. This gas is routed out of your home via an attached venting system. Unfortunately, the integrity and functionality of exhaust vents can be compromised by pests, heavy snow or ice loads, general wear, and other factors. If any portions of your furnace’s venting system are collapsed, crushed, or loose, you run the risk of CO exposure and poisoning.
During annual furnace maintenance, we thoroughly inspect furnace venting systems. We check for nests and other evidence of pest problems when assessing the integrity of all vents, grates, and flue pipes. Moreover, we test the built-in failsafe measures that all fuel-combusting appliances have. This way, if a CO or natural gas leak ever occurs, your heater will instantly shut itself down.
Annual Checkups Increase the Efficiency of Heating Systems
Annual tune-up service gives HVAC technicians the chance to identify issues like airflow obstructions, bent or broken fan blades, poorly positioned thermostats, and duct leaks. These things can impact both the performance and efficiency of heaters. We remove all built-up debris from the interior and exterior of heating systems, replace missing or broken components, lubricate all moving parts, and more. Many of these efforts restore heaters to a like-new condition even as they limit stress. Although all heaters lose efficiency as they age, regular tune-ups can slow the rate at which these losses occur.
Catch Minor Problems Early On
When we identify problems during HVAC tune-up service, we take care of them right away. This includes everything from dirty thermocouples to blocked intake valves. Taking care of problems while they’re still in their developmental stages limits both their cost and their impact. When you skip yearly furnace service, relatively minor issues can go on to affect other functions and components.
Avoid Dangerous Heating Emergencies
One of the biggest reasons for scheduling tune-up service before winter starts is to avoid a heating emergency. When outside temperatures plummet, you’ll need a functional, whole-house heating solution to keep everyone safe and warm. Without one, you and everyone else in your household could be at risk of hypothermia or frostnip. You’ll also face the prospect of having your pipes freeze. Although heater breakdowns are always inconvenient, breakdowns during times of excessively cold weather are downright dangerous.
Enjoy a Fresh-Smelling Home and Quiet Furnace Operation
Without sufficient lubrication, moving parts in your furnace’s blower could fill your home with screeching, squealing, metal-on-metal sounds. If there are airflow obstructions in your air ducts, you may hear banging, clanging, or rattling sounds. As your furnace ages, the likelihood of enjoying whisper-quiet operation declines. However, with routine maintenance, you can ensure that your furnace isn’t jolting you awake at night or interrupting your conversations.
Well-maintained furnaces smell better too. When people turn their furnaces on for the first time of the season, their homes are often filled with dry, dusty, burnt odors that permeate every room. This is the smell of built-up dust, dander, and other particulates as they burn off. Although running your furnace for an extended period will eventually cause these odors to fade, it isn’t guaranteed to eliminate them entirely. Worse still, tacky residues from burnt debris can go on to coat your heater’s sensitive, interior components and cause problems later on.
Problems with furnace odors are especially bad in homes that have untreated pest infestations in their HVAC ducting. Rodents and other vermin leave behind feces, old food, carcasses, and more. Without the benefit of annual furnace service, you can never be too sure about what you’re breathing in. Although HVAC technicians don’t clean ducting during these visits, they do inspect it for integrity and safety.
Extend the Lifespan of Your Heating Equipment
Heaters that receive annual maintenance last longer. Routine maintenance limits wear and tear, but it also reduces system-wide stress. By eliminating airflow obstructions, these services minimize the amount of work that heaters must do to create comfortable indoor conditions and maintain them. While most residential heaters last between 15 and 20 years, some can last 25 to 30 years if well cared for. This gives homeowners more time to plan and budget for replacement and more money to invest in other home improvements.
You’ll Spend Less to Heat Your Home With Annual Furnace Maintenance
You might be putting professional heating system maintenance off due to its cost. However, for a relatively small, upfront fee, you can save cash all winter long. Lacking airflow issues and worn parts, your heater can do all that you need it to while using less fuel in the process. This remains true whether your heating equipment is powered by natural gas, heating oil, or electricity. Best of all, you may even find that annual furnace service is a covered benefit of your home insurance plan or home warranty.
Annual Tune-ups Make It Easy to Prepare for Heater Replacement
If you’re diligent about scheduling annual furnace maintenance, you can avoid the unpleasant surprise of having your heater suddenly fail. Our technicians will keep you abreast of your heater’s age and accumulated wear. You can even work with our team to explore your options in new heating equipment and begin preparing your budget.
We’ve been a trusted provider of heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical services since 1998. Residents of Denver, CO can also turn to us for cutting-edge air-quality improvements. To schedule a heating system tune-up or find out about our preventative maintenance plan, get in touch with Summit Heating & A/C today.
