Ducts, Vents, And Furnace Checks – Are You Ready For Winter?
Heating and cooling your home is only efficient when the air the system is producing doesn't leak out of the windows, doors and ventilation system. Have you done everything to prepare your home for heating it this winter? Here, you'll find a few tips beyond sealing up air leaks around the windows and doors to help you decrease heat loss this year and every year into the future.
Perform a Duct Leakage Test
Aging heating systems are equipped with aging duct work. Over the years, the seals connecting the pieces together can begin to fail. That's why an air duct leakage test must be performed. You see, if there are leaks in the duct work, the heat that the furnace is working so hard to produce will leak out of the ducts and won't reach the rooms that you're trying to heat. This can make it impossible to heat up the areas of the home furthest from the furnace.
To perform a duct leakage test, you'll need to contact a local service that completest these tests – usually an HVAC service or energy awareness group. They'll come to your home, inform you of the process, provide you an estimate and get the test done. After, they'll show you all of the leaks and recommend the best course of action to resolve the issues.
Open the Vents
If you have any vents closed off in your house, open them up now before you forget. Those vents being closed can cause air flow problems within the heating system. You see, the system is designed in a way to pull the stale air from inside the home, pull it to the furnace and reproduce it as heat. If you shut the vents, the system will not maintain the steady flow and could become choked off or overworked.
Service the Furnace
Before you fire the furnace up for the year, have a certified technician perform a service check on it. You don't want it to leak bad gasses into your house, or if it's an electric unit, you need to be sure that all of the heating elements are working. This service check can save you a lot of money this year as the furnace will be operating as efficiently as possible once the service has been performed.
Talk with your local professionals to learn more about preparing the home's heating system for a long winter of use. To learn more, contact a company like All About Energy.
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