Preparing Your Home for Winter, Part 2: Tips for Winterizing Your HVAC

Fall is the perfect time to start thinking about preparing your home for winter. As temperatures drop, your home becomes more susceptible to the elements and more likely to need repairs. By prepping your home ahead of time, you can avoid costly repairs and the hassle of mid-winter emergency fixes.

To help you prepare this year, we’re offering a two-part series on how to winterize your home. In part one of the series, we offered some very useful tips to help homeowners prepare their plumbing for winter. This time, we’re going to go over a few steps to help you winterize your HVAC. Let’s get started:

• Test drive your heat: Before turning on the heat becomes a necessity, give your HVAC a test run. Turn on the heat and turn it up to make sure that it’s working properly. Listen for unusual noises, check for leaking water and take note of whether the internal temperature of your home reaches the temperature you set on your thermostat. If there are any major issues, it will be easier to fix them now rather than in the middle of the winter.
• Get an annual inspection: Your HVAC system should receive an annual checkup, and fall is the perfect time to do that. Call your local furnace repair service in Colorado Springs, CO to inspect your furnace and clean the ducts. Getting an annual inspection will help protect you from having to spend more money on expensive repairs later on.
• Stock up on air filters: Before you start running your HVAC system for the winter, be sure to change your air filters. Changing your air filters will help your system run more efficiently and help keep the air in your home clean and safe. During the winter, you should be changing your filter about once a month, so be sure to have plenty of air filters on hand.
• Check your vents: Checking your vents is different than having a professional furnace repair service in Colorado Springs, CO check your ducts. Your vents are the actual grates where the heat enters your home. Check your interior vents to make sure that they are not obstructed by furniture or other objects. Outside, check to make sure that there is no debris, such as leaves, blocking your vents. If you have any plants growing by your vents, make sure they are trimmed back to allow for free airflow.
• Consider updating your thermostat: Many older thermostats use mercury, which can be inaccurate and cost you more money. Consider switching to a digital thermostat. A digital thermostat is more accurate and can be pre-programmed to turn up and down whenever you would like, which can help reduce your heating costs.

Checking your HVAC in the fall and following a few maintenance tips will not only help you avoid costly mid-winter repairs, but it will also help you reduce your heating costs. For a safe, worry-free winter this year, start your home winter preparations now by contacting BullsEye Plumbing Heating & Air.