When you desperately need the furnace during the winter months, you might wonder whether it’s okay to keep it running constantly.
If you have a properly maintained appliance of the right size and spend most of your time indoors, you can keep your appliance running constantly, but if you go out to work in the morning and are back late at night, it’s wise to turn it down.
According to furnace service professionals, there is no direct answer to whether you can keep your appliance running constantly or not. It all depends on your preferences and lifestyle.
To decide whether to keep your appliance running, you need to weigh the pros and cons.
Benefits of keeping your appliance on all the time
You have better air circulation
When your furnace is on all the time, it also means that the fan is working. This means that you have fresh air circulating your house, which comes in handy, especially if you have a multi-story or large house.
When you have your furnace on in a multi-story house, the upper level gets warmer while the lower levels remain cold. When the fan is on and constantly running, it works at keeping the temperature even throughout the house.
For even better results, set the thermostat to fan mode. This way, the fan pulls the air back down to the ground level while pushing some of the cooler air to the upper floors through the ductwork. Consequently, you have a comfortable house with evenly distributed temperatures.
Improved air quality
With the furnace and furnace fan running constantly, you have excellent air quality in the house, ensuring that you are comfortable throughout your stay.
If you suffer from allergies or asthma, having the furnace fan running all the time is beneficial as the constantly circulating air gets rid of harmful allergens that can trigger a reaction.
Warm toasty house
As you can guess, when you keep your furnace running the entire time, you have a warm, toasty house. The warm house, coupled with the improved air quality, you have a warm house that you wouldn’t want to step out of.
Cons of the furnace running constantly
Like the two sides to a coin, having the furnace running all the time comes with its fair share of drawbacks that include:
Higher electricity bills
As you can guess, when you have your furnace running all the time, your energy bill goes up as the appliance is consuming more electricity.
Keep your appliance in top shape by tuning it up regularly to prevent your ever-running appliance from consuming too much energy. Even if your unit isn’t having any issues, ask a furnace contractor to look at it and fix any issue it might be having.
You might need to service your appliance more frequently
The same way you need to service a busy car more frequently is the same way you should service a constantly running furnace more frequently. This means that if you used to service your appliance once every six months, you will need to service the furnace once a month to keep it in top shape.
When hiring the service professional, don’t just hire any that says that they can do it—hire an experienced one that knows what they are doing.
The last thing you want is a contractor that causes more harm to your unit.
Does a constantly running furnace die early?
Some homeowners believe that having their appliances running all the time drives them to an early grave.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the case—unless you don’t take good care of your appliance.
As long as you are constantly tuning up your appliance and fixing even the most minor issue as soon as it comes about, you can keep your appliance in top working condition for as long as possible (usually for 0-15 years).
The key to a properly functioning appliance is to work closely with an experienced heating service repair Long Island professional. The professional will not only fix your unit when it develops a problem, but also advise you on the things you can and can’t do to your unit to keep it in top working shape.