Every winter, everyone anticipates exceptionally cold temperatures. Still, when the high temperature falls into the single digits or below zero, it can be much more difficult to keep the houses warm.
When the weather is this harsh, people put a lot of strain (and expectation) on their heating systems. Keeping the home warm when the outside temperature is considerably below zero requires your furnace or boiler to work hard all day. Even so, it may be unable to keep up with the demands.
Just like everyone else, you want your heating system to continue giving you warm air despite the low temperatures, right? Well, there are a number of things you can do to make the work of your furnace easier and prevent it from struggling too much. These things, as given by furnace repair service providers, include:
Avoid setting back your programmable thermostat
To save energy, it’s usually a good idea to lower the temperature setting on your thermostat when you’re not at home. However, when it is extremely cold outdoors, this can create more trouble than it is worth. Your furnace will have a harder time bringing your home back up to your desired at-home temperature.
The best way to go about it is to set your thermostat to a permanent HOLD of roughly 70 degrees during the frigid winter temperatures until the weather warms back up to regular levels for the season.
Your furnace may not be able to keep up when temperatures fall below freezing or even below zero for prolonged periods. Try reducing the temperature in your house by a few degrees if it isn’t reaching the desired level.
You should note that increasing the thermostat does not raise the temperature of the air leaving your vents. In the same way, turning up the heat won’t make it heat up more quickly.
Even if the temperature is lower than what you typically desire, it’s still best to pick one that your HVAC system can actually reach.
Wear warm clothes indoors.
Everyone expects their furnace to maintain a pleasant indoor temperature. Technically speaking, the furnace needs to keep the temperature difference between the internal and outside spaces constant.
Unfortunately, certain heating systems may not be able to fully return the house to the appropriate temperature during exceptionally cold external conditions.
The age of the furnace, the quantity of insulation in your house, and whether or not your windows draft could be additional factors for the failure. The furnace just lacks the capacity to catch up; thus, turning up the thermostat might not have any effect.
Wearing warmer clothing, minimizing door openings, using a space heater that is safe and UL-approved, adding weather-stripping, and/or covering windows with shrink-wrap plastic kits are your best options.
By doing this, you won’t need to have the temperatures high inside the house, which will be a relief for your furnace.
Keep the ceiling fans working.
Remember not to turn off those ceiling fans to maintain energy-efficient heating. The majority of fans are capable of reversing their direction. Reversing the direction will circulate the heated air that gathers toward the ceiling, but you won’t experience a breeze.
By doing this, the warm air will be dispersed throughout the room’s lower areas, contributing to its warming. The heating system will need to run less as the room warms up and registers on the thermostat.
Replace the air filter regularly.
Your furnace needs all the assistance it can get to keep your house warm during extremely cold weather. In order to keep your furnace from working harder than necessary during severely cold weather, it is crucial to make sure that you have a clean air filter fitted.
Reduced efficiency and restricted airflow can result from a blocked air filter. A dirty filter can cause wear and tear over time, which can result in an early unit failure. And you don’t want this, do you?
To have a great time when replacing the filters, ensure that you go for high-quality ones that will not only last for a longer time but also do a good job filtering the air.
Your options for air filters include Fiberglass/Synthetic filters, polyester filters, electrostatic filters, pleated filters, and HEPA filters.
Before acquiring a replacement filter, determine the size and kind of your existing filter. A poorly fitting replacement filter could harm your system and reduce airflow.
Ensure there are no blocked air vents.
Vents that lead outside of your property are frequently found near ground level. This makes them susceptible to becoming clogged with ice and snow. When it’s extremely cold outside, make sure those vents are clear so your system doesn’t develop performance or safety issues like carbon monoxide poisoning.
Clean the flame sensor.
A flame sensor is a tiny metallic rod that sits in front of the flame stream inside the furnace. It helps to prevent the harmful accumulation of unburned gas. This is how it works.
Upon ignition, the sensor detects the flame. It sends an electrical signal to the furnace’s control board, signaling that it is operational. If it doesn’t detect a flame, it doesn’t notify the control board, and the furnace shuts off immediately after the gas valve opens.
A flame sensor can grow dirty over time as carbon deposits accumulate.
Your experienced heating service repair Huntington will clean the sensor by gently rubbing the metal rod with light grit sandpaper. They will next use a clean paper towel to wipe away any leftover dust.
Inspect the blower belt.
Your furnace must first heat the air that will circulate throughout your house when it turns on. The blower motor and blower fan work together to warm the air, which is then forced through your ducts and into every room of your house. This operation can be interrupted by problems with the blower belt, which joins these two parts.
The technician will turn off your HVAC system’s power at the main circuit breaker before checking the blower belt. After that, they will take off the air handler’s steel cover to check for any blower belt cracks that might require repair.
Parting shot
These are some of the things you can do to help your furnace function better during the cold season. If you have to hire a professional to help you maintain the unit, ensure that you hire one who knows what they are doing. Not one who causes more problems than were originally there.