Simple Ways to Ensure Your Heating System is Ready for Winter

No one wants their heating system to suddenly go out in the middle of winter because that quickly becomes a massive issue for everyone involved. Thankfully, there are plenty of steps you can take to ensure that your heating system is ready to handle even the coldest winters that Mother Nature can dish out!

Plus, most of these steps are pretty simple and are going to make sure that you are fully prepared. So why wouldn’t you do them?!

1. Turn your heater on and see if it works, before winter.

Often most people’s first use of their heater since last winter is the winter that is one year later. To make sure that your heating system isn’t running into any problems, turn the heater on in the fall. Make sure that you are focusing on listening and looking at your heater. See what sounds it makes, inspect how it looks, and if you see any problems get it checked out immediately. 

Now, the best thing you can do is get your heating system checked by trained professionals. They will be able to give you some serious piece of mind about how your heater is working. Plus, if problems do arise, they can attempt to fix them before they become major issues.

The simple act of testing your heater can save you money and time before the winter months roll around. Plus, it will be much easier to get someone out to take a look at your problem when the roads aren’t covered in snow!

2. Change your air filters.

One of the best things that you can do to make sure that you can get your heater winter-ready is to make sure that you have your filters changed. Filters are an extremely important part of your HVAC system. They trap all that dirty air and all the particles, dirt, and debris within it.

Then they prevent all of that from getting into your lungs and the lungs of your family and the others in your house. Filters can also prevent the dusty air from aggravating people in your family with allergies or sensitivities as well because that can be very annoying when you are cold!

However, whenever your filters are all clogged up and haven’t been either changed or cleaned depending on the type of heater you have, then they don’t do their job as effectively, and it can lead to wear and tear on your entire HVAC system.

So don’t be afraid to change your filters at least once a month, or more during the winter season. This will also keep your evaporator coils clean. This will help prevent the debris from burning up and your entire house from smelling like smoke.

3. Make sure you look at the thermostat.

This might be more of something that you do during the winter. But you should always be taking a look at the thermostat and the temperature of your home. If your heating system is always running at a certain temperature whenever you are not home, then who is it running for?

Well, for your energy bills that is who! Be sure not to set your temperature too high or to let it run too long. That will only cause your bills to evaporate out of your wallet.

If you can, try to invest in a smart thermostat and make sure that you are setting it to run at a lower temperature during the times when you are out of the house. And then it can be at a higher temperature when you are home and need to be kept warm.

4. Make sure your insulation works.

Finally, you can’t warm a house that is constantly losing heat. You can pump up your thermostat all you like. But having a house that is constantly letting heat escape, you aren’t getting anywhere.

The doors and windows in your home can be prime examples of areas that let’s heat escape because the heat gets out through cracks in your windows and doors.

Thankfully, you can buy window insulation repair kits and make sure your closed windows are perfectly sealed so the heat doesn’t get out. Additionally, when using thick curtains, make sure any gaps or cracks are sealed up.

Putting stoppers under your doors can be an easy way to keep the heat inside. Don’t be afraid to check the insulation in your walls and attic as well. Because those can be other areas where you are letting heat escape.

5. Make sure your heater is maintained.

Also, check your heater and AC system well before winter starts. Do this even if you have never had a problem with your system. You want to make sure that it gets checked and is ready to go before winter. Call on a good AC repair company to make sure that your heater works, and many companies will come out and perform a consultation for free! 

If any massive problems do occur, you need to get them fixed right away. So, make sure you work with a company that is going to have some experience with repairing and maintaining heating systems during the winter.

Finally, use other ways to keep warm.

As great as your heating system is and even if it is in tip-top shape, you should still attempt to use other ways to keep yourself warm rather than simply running your heater all the time.

Drink warm drinks like cocoa and marshmallows. Snuggle with your loved ones under a blanket or pajamas. Or move your body around. Getting sweaty can be a great way to keep your internal temperature high.

Or you could simply embrace being cold sometimes and enjoy the winter weather. Whether you are shoveling snow, building an ice fort or snowman, or pelting your neighbors in a snowball fight, enjoying the varied temperatures of the season is a great way to have fun too!

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