With the cold temperatures upon us, it’s normal for heating systems to be on high all day and night. However, it’s during these times that many homeowners discover that their furnace or boiler just can’t meet demand, and that’s a big problem.
Here are some tips to help you keep your heating system in top shape while we get through this cold winter!
- Don’t test the boundaries of your furnace or boiler. Customers will tell us they turned their thermostat higher but their furnace or boiler is still not keeping up. It’s not how it works. If the heater is struggling to maintain a certain temperature, turning it higher won’t help.
- If you normally set you thermostat back to conserve energy, don’t do that during really cold weather. Your heating system is probably working hard enough to keep up demand to begin with and it doesn’t have enough bandwidth to warm up after being set back. Wait until it is a little warmer out before setting it back.
- Monitor your humidity. Here’s an old tip – when it’s chilly in your home, put a large pot of water on the stove to simmer to add some additional humidity to the air. It doesn’t make the air warmer, but you will feel more comfortable with more humidity. This also helps reduce dry skin. Also, never use your oven to heat your home.
- Watch your windows. When temps get really cold, windows can get condensation or frost on the inside, which causes damage. If you see this happening in your home turn down your humidifier and avoid adding more humidity to the air.
- Stop air leaks. Get in front of energy-wasting drafts by closing drapes or putting a rolled towel at the base of a leaky door and special tape or weather-stripping around window edges. These can be found at any hardware store.
- Use safe space heaters. They can help pick up the slack for a heating system that can’t quite keep up. Use a newer brand (you know if what you’re looking at is too old to use as anything other than scrap metal!) and keep it away from any objects and out of the reach of kids and pets.
- Keep your heating system maintained. To get the most out of your furnace or boiler, you need to keep it in its best shape year ‘round so you’re not having to make emergency calls to us in the middle of a cold, frosty January.
If you do find yourself in need of any heating services, give us a call any time. The last thing we want is for you to be cold or uncomfortable in your home… we’ll do everything we can to get you and your home warm and toasty in no time. “Your Comfort Is Our First Priority!”