On a cold winter night, all you want to do is turn up the heat, snuggle under a blanket and appreciate the warmth of the inside compared to the blustering weather outside. So when you hear a clunking or squealing coming from your heating system — or worse, you suddenly stop feeling warm air pumping out — your cozy winter evening could turn into a frigid one.
Few homeowners give much thought to how well their furnace is running while it’s functioning. However, you’re far less likely to have to endure a night in your winter coat and fear freezing pipes if you not only know about your own heating system, but have some understanding of the best practices to keep it running smoothly.
HomeAdvisor reports furnace repair typically ranges between $131 and $454 in the U.S., but the service can cost as much as $900. When particular parts need replacement, you’re looking at an even bigger bill — up to $1,200 to replace the heat exchanger, which heats the air before it’s blown through the house. For a full furnace replacement, HomeAdvisor reports it’ll likely cost you between $2,500 to $5,900, depending on the type of system and brand.
“Most people don’t think about their heating system — they don’t even know what kind they have, what brand they have, even the efficiency of it,” says Kyle Murray, director of marketing at Bosch Thermotechnology.
[Read: How to Guard Against 9 Winter Home Hazards.]
Whether you’ve got a forced air system that blows heat through ducts from your furnace, electric baseboards, old-school radiators or even radiant heat under wood floors, chances are you’re shocked each winter when your utility bill goes through the roof. Tack on a broken heating system in the middle of winter, and you’ll be spending thousands more to keep your home warm.
What can you do? Note the ways you may be making your furnace work too hard, and help make your system function more efficiently when you need it. Here are seven common things you’re doing that are overworking your heating system — and likely costing you money.
Not turning your thermostat down when you leave. The best way to cut down on energy costs from your heating system in winter is to make it run less while you’re asleep or out of the house. Programmable thermostats make it easy to set a schedule for the temperature to be turned down while you’re out during the workday or on vacation — say, to the mid-60s — and rise to your preferred temperature just before you come home.
Letting cold air in the house. If you’ve got a drafty house, your heating system is going to be overworking itself to keep the inside warm while cold air keeps coming in. Adding insulation to the walls can help keep the warm air trapped inside, but you should also consider closing gaps in doors and windows with weatherstripping.
And it’s not just the temperature of the air that you’ll find changed — the air inside will likely maintain its humidity better as well, explains Stewart Unsdorfer, owner of Central Heating & Air Conditioning Co. in Cleveland. “What causes the air to be dry inside the house is infiltration of 20-degree outside air coming in,” he says.
Cranking the thermostat when you’re cold. When you get home from a cold walk outside, it probably feels natural to turn up the thermostat a few extra degrees to pump out the hot air a little quicker. But the pros say doing so won’t help at all: “Most people tend to think that if they put the thermostat up high, it’s going to get warmer faster,” Murray says. “If the ideal temperature you want is 70, setting it to 75 is not going to get it to 70 any faster.”
You may have to fight every instinct to keep your hands off the thermostat when you want to hurry the furnace along, but by doing so you’ll avoid the furnace heating your home to a warmer temperature than you’d really like — and higher number than you’d like to see on your utility bill.
[Read: 8 Ways to Winterize You Home.]
Blocking vents with furniture. Sometimes a vent just happens to be in the exact location you want to put your new sofa. But you’ll sacrifice the quality of heating and cooling in the room if you place it there, Murray says.
You’re more likely to achieve an even distribution of warm air by keeping vents free of obstruction. But if you like your furniture where it is, you may benefit from exploring different heating options. Hydronic heating, which heats rooms with hot water pipes under the floor boards, may be a better fit to keep your design aesthetic from being dictated by vents. Some vents can be closed individually, but depending on your duct system, closing vents may make your furnace less efficient. Murray recommends consulting an HVAC professional to determine what’s best for your home.
Not changing your filter. Most boilers and furnaces in the U.S. are kept in the basement, attic or a similarly out-of-the-way area, so it’s all too easy to forget about regular maintenance on the system. The air filters on an HVAC system need to be replaced periodically, or you’ll likely see it reflected in your energy bills because the furnace is forced to work harder.
How often you need to change your air filter varies based on the type of air filter you purchase, and most will specify the recommended frequency on the package. High-quality HVAC air filters can last up to a year and typically cost around $30. Other filters will need to be changed more often and can go for less than $5.
Skipping annual maintenance. Naturally, we find ourselves returning to the “out of sight, out of mind” issue. All too many homeowners don’t think about their heating system until it backfires — and you’ll only notice a nonfunctioning heating system when you need it most. It’s imperative that you have annual maintenance done on your heating and cooling system to ensure maximum efficiency and get ahead of any issues before they become a major problem. Having your heating system serviced prior to the coldest months of the year will likely make it easier to schedule an appointment and lower the probability that you’ll have a problem once the heat is already on.
[Read: How to Prepare for a Winter Storm.]
Opting for the cheapest replacement. Of course, at some point you will need to replace your heating system, and if you have regular maintenance done on your heating system, you’ll likely be aware of how long it’ll last. When maintained regularly, a heating system can last as many as 30 years before needing to be replaced.
You’re far more likely to find a better replacement product when you’ve had the time to research systems before it fails on you, so learn about other brands and new types of heating that may be better suited to your home, lifestyle and the level of efficiency you’d like to achieve. “People should look at their heating and cooling system as an investment,” Murray says.
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7 Ways You’re Making Your Furnace Work Too Hard This Winter originally appeared on usnews.com
