When it comes to home maintenance, many of us rely heavily on advice from friends, neighbors, and even family members. Unfortunately, not everyone is an expert, and it’s not always easy to tell fact from fiction. Rather than listen to your neighbor, your cubicle mate, or your great aunt Sally, take some tips from the professional experts at Fire 'n' Ice Heating & Cooling, Inc. to avoid some of these common myths about energy efficiency when running your furnace over the cold Illinois winters. With more than 40 years of experience with furnaces, we know a thing or two that we’d like to share with our valued customers.
Restoring and Repairing Your Old Furnace Is Cheaper
You’ve probably heard it before: Making repairs to your current furnace is a lot cheaper than installing one of those new fancy, energy-efficient models. While this may be true in the sense of upfront costs, over time, you could end up plugging much more money into your old furnace than spending on a new one.
As your furnace gets older, the components start to wear out. Your unit has to work harder to heat your home and it gradually becomes more difficult and more expensive to complete repairs. Eventually, you will be replacing parts such as the blower, belt, heat plate, and more. As time goes on, you may even replace some of these parts more than once. Finally, it will make more sense to upgrade to a new furnace altogether.
Buying an energy-efficient unit will help offset the initial upfront cost over time, and you’ll see the savings pay off. Once you’ve made the upgrade, your budget will thank you.
Bigger Is Always Better
Bigger is always better, no matter what you’re buying, right? Wrong! When choosing a new furnace to install in your home, you need to pick one that fits your space. You might think that the biggest model is the best as it will heat your home more quickly and protect you better from the harsh and bitter temperatures in Downers Grove. That isn’t exactly true. If you choose a furnace that is meant for a space much bigger than your house, the unit will overcycle, leading to a huge increase in your energy bill. Talk with a trusted HVAC professional and discuss the size and needs of your home to find the furnace that best fits your space.
No Need for Maintenance Unless It’s Broken
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s a common misconception people apply to many scenarios in life, but with your furnace, it just isn’t true. Your furnace is a workhorse, running hard through the cold winter months to keep your home heated to a comfortable level. For the mighty unit to continue to run properly, it needs routine maintenance and tune-ups. This includes having a professional HVAC technician inspect the unit and run it to check for irregular sounds and odors, mechanical failures within the system, and proper electrical connections. Other parts of the annual maintenance include changing the air filter, inspecting the belt, and calibrating the thermostat. In addition, some warranty and insurance policies mandate regular maintenance to keep your coverage.
Keep Your Thermostat at a Constant Temperature
If you keep your thermostat at a constant temperature day and night, people believe energy costs will be lower. However, the furnace uses the most power during the starting and stopping of the heating cycle. Lowering the temperature when you are away from home and while sleeping means the furnace kicks on less, thus saving you energy. When the thermostat is at a constant temperature, the unit will run regularly throughout the day and night.
For home comfort and reliable heating, trust reliable experts with decades of experience to guide you to energy savings and heating that is better for your budget. At Fire 'n' Ice Heating & Cooling, Inc., our family-owned business has been providing quality HVAC services to the residents in and around Downers Grove since 1977. We’re committed to our mission of total customer satisfaction. Let our technicians maintain, repair, or replace your furnace and guide you to make smart decisions regarding your HVAC system.
For the best in the business, call Fire 'n' Ice Heating & Cooling, Inc. today for all your home heating and cooling needs.
