We’d venture to guess that as a homeowner in New Jersey, you’d like to whatever you can in order to save money on your energy bills. And there is one appliance in particular that contributes heavily to these bills—your heating system.
Fortunately, there are some pretty simple steps you can take that will ensure your heater is operating as efficiently as possible, and even boost your heater’s efficiency. There’s no reason to sacrifice your comfort just to save a few bucks. You can instead follow the tips below, save even more money, and keep you and your family comfy.
1. Have Your Heater Maintained
You’ll see us recommend that you have this service done in the fall, before you need your heating system the most. This is mostly so you don’t have an interruption in service when you need your heater the most. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter as much when you have it done so long as you have it done once a year.
Your heating maintenance appointment allows our professionals to thoroughly inspect your entire heating system, cleaning all the components within, adjusting parts that need it, and making any recommendations for repairs we see fit—all of which helps your system work more efficiently, and therefore more cost-effectively.
2. Change The Air Filter!
This is such a simple task and one that every homeowner should know how to do. It’s something that should be done every 1-3 months, depending on the type of air filter you have in place and the level of contaminants in your home. Keep in mind, too, that the air filter in your furnace or heat pump system is often shared with your air conditioner, meaning that if it’s too clogged up you’ll suffer from HVAC inefficiency in the summer, too.
If you are unsure where your air filter is located or how often you need to change it, please reach out to our technicians. We’re happy to help!
3. Utilize Your Ceiling Fans
Don’t worry, we’re still talking about heating efficiency, not cooling efficiency. Ceiling fans are not just for summer—there is a switch on them that allows you to reverse the direction of the blade to help your forced-air heater better distribute the conditioned air. This means you can turn your thermostat down a few degrees and therefore save money.
4. Repair Damaged Ductwork
Breached ductwork can enable as much as 30% of the conditioned air flowing through your heater to escape into unoccupied spaces. This means that the air you are paying for isn’t actually reaching you to keep you comfortable. You’ll likely end up turning your thermostat up because you’ll assume that’s the problem when really all you need is to have your ducts professionally sealed or repaired.
If you suspect you may have ductwork issues, be sure to give our experienced team a call. Whether you have pinhole leaks or major damage, you want to have a pro take a look. Oh, and please don’t try to “patch up” your ducts with duct tape. This is actually not an aptly named material and will not hold up to the temperature fluctuations of your ductwork.
Max Sr & Paul Schoenwalder Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, A Corp. has been in business for over a century. You can trust our team for your HVAC services in Union, NJ—contact us today.