The cooler temperatures of fall are just around the corner. Before fall fully arrives, and temperatures drop, you should ensure that your furnace is ready to work hard to keep you warm through the winter.

Fall furnace tuneups are essential to ensure that you and your loved ones will be cozy and comfortable during the cool days ahead. And skipping seasonal preventive maintenance could leave you in the cold, literally, when you’re least expecting it, as well result in a costly furnace repair bill.

You should consider contacting your HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) contractor to conduct a furnace tuneup. During your furnace tuneup, your contractor should:

• Test your thermostat settings to determine whether the furnace and thermostats are working together properly. Additionally, this is a great time to ask your technician any questions you may have about programming your thermostat to maximize your energy conservation and minimize your energy bills during the cold weather.
• Check all electrical connections to ensure that your furnace will have power when it comes time to use it.  A bad electrical connections can make operating your system dangerous, as well as decrease the life of your system’s components. Additionally, your technician should measure the voltage and current on your furnace’s motor.
• Lubricate moving parts, so your furnace operates smoothly. Parts lacking lubrication cause friction, which increases the wear and tear on components, and can increase the electricity that your furnace requires to reach your desired temperature.
• Check your furnace’s controls to make sure that they are operating correctly. Additionally, your technician should check the furnace’s starting cycle to guarantee that it starts, operates, and shuts off properly.
• Inspect gas or oil connections. A faulty gas or oil connection creates a fire hazard, and could enable toxic vapors to leak into your home.
• Inspect the gas pressure, burner combustion and heat exchanger. Dirty burners or a cracked heat exchanger can cause the elements to malfunction and operate less safely and efficiently. A cracked heat exchanger can cause your furnace to be red-tagged by your utility company, which can shut down power to your furnace until it’s fixed or replaced.

When its not cold, its easy to forget about your furnace. However, now’s the time to consider scheduling a fall furnace tuneup. For more information, contact the experts at Powers Heating & Air. Ask about signing up for a planned service agreement, which will help keep your equipment functioning optimally all year. We’re here to serve our Peachtree City neighbors 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Peachtree, GA and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about furnace tuneups and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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