During the winter months, you rely on the heating unit in your home to help you and your family stay warm. However, although you may not realize it, your quest for your comfort may be overworking your heater, and if you don’t give your heating unit a break, you may cause serious damage that results in expensive repairs.
Learning about a few ways that your heating unit is being overworked can help make sure that you’re preserving your heater for future winter seasons while reducing your energy bills at the same time. Here are a few of the biggest ways that you may be overworking your heating unit and some advice for keeping the heating unit in your home in tip-top shape.
ALWAYS KEEPING YOUR HEAT ON
One of the most common ways that homeowners overwork their heating unit is leaving their heater on at all hours of the day, even when they’re not home. While it’s understandable that you’d want to return to a toasty house after a day out, leaving your heating unit on when you’re out of the home causes a great deal of unnecessary wear and tear and waste money for heat when no one is there.
When you leave your house, or while sleeping, you should lower your thermostat so that you’re not overworking your heating unit. A possible solution to gain more control of your home heating system and lowering your gas and power bills in the process is to install a programmable and//or WIFI thermostat such as a NEST or ECOBEE thermostat. While the initial purchase price of these “Smart” thermostats are more expensive ($180-$250) than the cheap ones you can find at Home Depot, the smart thermostat can more than make up for their cost by saving you money on your power or gas bills as they better monitor your home and how it reacts to changing outside temperatures and adjusts accordingly.
COLD AIR IN YOUR HOME
While there are a variety of ways that your heating unit may be overworked, one of the most serious is simply having cold air inside your home. If your house isn’t properly sealed, cold air can enter your home via the crevices around your doors and windows. Having a leaky, drafty house will cause your heating unit to work double time to heat your home, adding to the unit’s ware and tear while wasting money and heat loss.
If you want to make sure your heating unit can effectively warm your home without being overworked, you should seal any air leaks in your house to keep cold air outside where it belongs.
BLOCKING AIR VENTS
To work correctly, your heating unit depends on air being able to circulate warm air freely, which is why there are multiple heating vents placed strategically throughout your home.
A major cause of an overworked heating unit is closed vents or vents that are blocked by furniture or other household items. If a heating vent is blocked, it can make your heating unit work harder to evenly distribute warm air in your house.
To reduce strain on your heating system, take a walk around your house and make sure all your vents are unblocked and air can circulate freely.
KEEP YOUR HEATER WORKING WELL
As you can see, there are several ways that you may be overworking your heating unit. Fortunately, with a few simple tweaks, you can reduce long-term wear on your heater so that will run for years to come while saving money from your heating bills. If you need help with heater maintenance, your best resource is working with the team at LEGACY.
Our certified technicians know how to maintain your heating and cooling system, and can give you tips so that you don’t overwork your heating unit. Contact LEGACY today to learn about our residential services.
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