Maintaining Your Furnace: A Yearly Service

A furnace isn't too complicated but just like changing the oil in your car, a furnace needs to be maintained to keep it running at its very best. A furnace should be serviced once a year and that's normally best in the fall before the heating season kicks into high gear. Now, there are some things a homeowner can do, but it's essential to have these tasks done by a qualified HVAC technician.

Forced Air Furnaces: Understanding the Basics

A forced air furnace like this takes air from the building through this large duct called the return air, which comes down to the bottom. There's also a fan, also called a blower, that pushes that air up across a heat exchanger. Inside the heat exchanger, there's a gas flame to heat the air. The air then goes by the heat exchanger out through this supply duct right here and out to the registers back to the building. One of the first things an HVAC technician checks is the air filter. This filter is always positioned on the return side and is designed to collect hair, dust, pets, and just about anything else. As a result, you want the air going back to the building to be clean.

The Importance of Replacing Air Filters

If the air filter is dirty, the air works a lot harder to get back to the furnace that drops the efficiency on the furnace and it can lead to service issues. Replacing the filter is something the homeowner can do. You need to get the exact replacement filter; they are labeled so you can see the size you need. It's recommended to change these filters at least once per season, and more if you have pets. Additionally, the filter should be oriented in the right direction; you can see an arrow right here indicating that the air will return this way anytime you have combustion. You need fuel in this case, it's gas, which comes to these burners and oxygen or air.

Air Quality Concerns

In a modern furnace, you might get your air from outside through a PVC pipe, but on this vintage furnace, an older unit, it's going to get its air from inside the building and that'll come in through louvers like this on the front. This means you have to be careful of contaminants if you've got a basement laundry room; you don't want to have lint and dust or a basement workshop where sawdust could come in. You really want to keep this area of combustion clear, which is something an HVAC technician will check as part of their annual service.

Combustion Efficiency Testing

The HVAC technician can do a combustion efficiency test to determine the percentage of the fuel that you paid for gets used. This older unit is burning at about 81.6 percent; modern furnaces can be as high as 97. They'll also check the very important safety devices and sensors built into any furnace. Two things they're worried about are how to make sure this furnace will run through the long and very cold winter and that if any device failed in here, the unit would fail safe and shut the gas off with proper maintenance.

Furnace Lifespan and Prevention

A furnace should last at least 20 years; this is a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. With regular maintenance, you can ensure your furnace runs efficiently and safely throughout the year. By following these tips and having your furnace serviced annually, you'll be able to enjoy a warm and comfortable home during the cold winter months.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ena furnace isn't too complicated but just like changing the oil in your car a furnace needs to be maintained to keep it running at its very best a furnace should be serviced once a year and that's normally best in the fall before the heating season kicks into high gear now there's some things a homeowner can do but it should be done by a qualified hvac technician a forced air furnace like this takes air from the building through this large duct called the return air comes down to the bottom and there's a fan also called a blower and that pushes that air up across a heat exchanger and there's a gas flame inside that heat exchanger to heat the air that air goes by the heat exchanger out through this supply duct right here and out to the registers back to the building one of the first things i check is the air filter now this is always positioned on the return side and this is designed to collect hair dust pet into just about anything as you want the air going back to the building to be clean now if a filter is dirty the air works a lot harder to get back to the furnace that drops the efficiency on the furnace and it can lead to service issues replacing a filter is something the homeowner can do you need to get the exact replacement filter the nice thing is they are labeled so you can see the size you need you want to change these filters at least once per season and more if you've got pets now you also want the filter to be oriented in the right direction you can see an arrow right here indicating that the air will return this way anytime you have combustion you need to have fuel in this case it's gas that comes to these burners and oxygen or air now in a modern furnace you might get your air from outside through a pvc pipe but on this vintage furnace an older unit it's going to get its air from inside the building and that'll come in through louvers like this on the front that means you have to be careful of contaminants if you've got a basement laundry room you don't want to have lint and dust or a basement workshop where sawdust could come in you really want to keep this area of combustion clear and that's something the hvac tech will check as part of the annual service the heac technician can do a combustion efficiency test to determine the percentage of the fuel that you paid for gets used now this older unit is burning at about 81.6 percent modern furnaces can be as high as 97 they'll also check the very important safety devices and sensors built into any furnace two things they're worried about how to make sure this furnace will run through the long and very cold winter and the other is that if any device failed in here that the unit would fail safe and shut the gas off with proper maintenance a furnace should last at least 20 years this is a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of curea furnace isn't too complicated but just like changing the oil in your car a furnace needs to be maintained to keep it running at its very best a furnace should be serviced once a year and that's normally best in the fall before the heating season kicks into high gear now there's some things a homeowner can do but it should be done by a qualified hvac technician a forced air furnace like this takes air from the building through this large duct called the return air comes down to the bottom and there's a fan also called a blower and that pushes that air up across a heat exchanger and there's a gas flame inside that heat exchanger to heat the air that air goes by the heat exchanger out through this supply duct right here and out to the registers back to the building one of the first things i check is the air filter now this is always positioned on the return side and this is designed to collect hair dust pet into just about anything as you want the air going back to the building to be clean now if a filter is dirty the air works a lot harder to get back to the furnace that drops the efficiency on the furnace and it can lead to service issues replacing a filter is something the homeowner can do you need to get the exact replacement filter the nice thing is they are labeled so you can see the size you need you want to change these filters at least once per season and more if you've got pets now you also want the filter to be oriented in the right direction you can see an arrow right here indicating that the air will return this way anytime you have combustion you need to have fuel in this case it's gas that comes to these burners and oxygen or air now in a modern furnace you might get your air from outside through a pvc pipe but on this vintage furnace an older unit it's going to get its air from inside the building and that'll come in through louvers like this on the front that means you have to be careful of contaminants if you've got a basement laundry room you don't want to have lint and dust or a basement workshop where sawdust could come in you really want to keep this area of combustion clear and that's something the hvac tech will check as part of the annual service the heac technician can do a combustion efficiency test to determine the percentage of the fuel that you paid for gets used now this older unit is burning at about 81.6 percent modern furnaces can be as high as 97 they'll also check the very important safety devices and sensors built into any furnace two things they're worried about how to make sure this furnace will run through the long and very cold winter and the other is that if any device failed in here that the unit would fail safe and shut the gas off with proper maintenance a furnace should last at least 20 years this is a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure\n"