As fall settles in and temperatures in Dover, DE begin to drop, your HVAC system faces a new set of challenges compared to the warmer months. Looking ahead, the arrival of winter will only amplify these demands. To keep your system running smoothly, here’s some practical advice to help you prepare for the seasonal transition.
Schedule a Tune-Up
With outdoor temperatures gradually falling, you can expect to use your heating system much more intensively in the coming months. Since you haven’t been using it recently, you can also expect it to have gathered some dust and to find that some of its parts are in less-than-optimal shape.
To deal with such problems and determine their severity, you’ll need to schedule comprehensive maintenance for your HVAC system. Let a team of trained technicians carefully examine your system and determine where it may be in trouble.
It’s always wise and prudent to do this, but it becomes especially critical on the cusps of seasonal changes. After all, many HVAC issues tend to lurk beneath the surface for a long time. If you fail to address them, they may finally emerge at a moment when the weather turns frigid, thus greatly increasing the hassle and difficulty involved in bringing things back to normal.
During maintenance, technicians may examine and clean your heating system’s valves, check how well its gas delivery system functions, examine its carbon monoxide sensor, check for cracks or leaks, clean the burner and blower and lubricate various other parts. They may also remove debris from your ductwork, check for duct leaks and test every part to see that it works properly. If they detect any significant problems, including any with your AC, they will make recommendations about how to fix them.
More generally, maintenance work will increase your system’s overall efficiency, extend its lifespan and decrease the likelihood that a catastrophic breakdown will occur. This means that, in the short run, your utility bills will be lower, and in the long run, your overall repair and replacement costs will also drop. We strongly recommend scheduling maintenance at least once per year, and twice would be even better.
Clean or Replace Your Filters
Your HVAC system critically relies on the continued existence of smooth airflow in your home. Your system’s fans and blower will be able to push air around, but obstructions may conspire to prevent that air from getting to where it needs to be. The most common source of such obstructions is a set of old or dirty air filters.
Always remember to clean away the debris that accumulates on your HVAC system’s filters. How often you’ll need to do this will depend on the kind of system you have. In a traditional HVAC system, it will be enough to clean the filters once every three months, but in a ductless mini-split system, you may need to do it every two weeks.
You may also want to think about upgrading your filters. Filters with higher MERV ratings will be able to remove an ever-greater proportion of ever-smaller pollutants from the air around you. If you decide to do this, however, we recommend not using filters with MERV ratings above 13 because they can actually restrict airflow.
Check Your Thermostat
Lastly, check how well your thermostat is functioning. A poor and glitchy thermostat might saddle you with higher-than-necessary utility bills and waste a great deal of energy, which, in the long run, may even put enough stress on your HVAC system to cut short its service life.
Check whether your thermostat has charged batteries in it and is using the proper settings. If you don’t yet have a smart thermostat, now is the perfect time to get one.
Other thermostat-related problems call for expert attention. For instance, only a trained technician has the expertise to assess whether the electrical connections between your thermostat and HVAC system are secure and functioning properly.
We hope the advice above will help you be ready for winter in Dover, DE. For help preparing, call Griffith Energy Services and ask for a pre-season check-up.
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