The changing of the seasons brings beautiful trees, pumpkin decorating, and harvest time. Most importantly, the onset of fall means a dramatic change in temperature that will continue for months to come. It’s important to prepare your HVAC systems for winter and continue regular checks throughout the season to keep your family comfortable and safe. After all, what’s worse than waking up in a cold house in the middle of a Calgary December?
We’ll be going over our top tips for winter HVAC preparation which involves a combination of indoor and outdoor preparation tasks. Not only will these HVAC winter preparation tips help you stay comfy during winter, but they’ll also lengthen the lifespan of your equipment.
Indoor
We’ll begin with cleaning out (or changing if it’s disposable) your air filter. This is a very important step as removing dust in the filter will instantly improve the air quality of your home. Additionally, your system will perform better as it won’t need to work as hard as it does when the filter is clogged with dust. Make sure to check up on your filter on a monthly basis and clean/replace it as needed.
The next step is clearing the area near the furnace. This step directly relates to the performance and safety of the furnace. We recommend you not only remove clutter (think boxes, scattered items, etc) from the furnace area but dust the floors as well. Maintaining a clean space will keep excess dust out of the unit and increase energy efficiency. Furthermore, excessive dust and build-up are actually fire hazards – get cleaning!
Our next winter HVAC preparation tip involves a series of easy tests. The first thing you should do is a pilot light test to make sure it’s lit properly. Next, set your thermostat to at least 23. While you wait for the system to kick in, walk around your home and make sure there are no obstructions on heat registers. Make sure to feel the registers to make sure hot air is coming out at the same time. If you feel cold air or no air whatsoever – you have a problem. For your own safety, don’t try to fix this yourself – contact HVAC specialists to take a look at the issue.
Outdoor
The outdoor HVAC preparation work involves your heat pump (or AC condenser). Walk over to your unit and clear away any vegetation around the unit. Clearing away vegetation allows the unit to benefit from increased airflow.
Make sure to inspect the unit. Keep an eye out for issues such as rusting or cracks running along the side. Make sure to address any issues right away as these will likely develop in winter and cause serious problems for your HVAC system.
Next, place a cover over the unit. This step is important because a heat pump that gets covered with snow and ice will experience significant issues and will be prone to malfunctioning or breaking completely.
Calgary’s Trusted HVAC Experts
Contact Vero Mechanical for a thorough winter HVAC preparation service! It’s always best to have an HVAC professional inspect HVAC systems whether or not you’ve identified issues during your own inspection. We’re trained to notice things you don’t see and it may end up saving you thousands of dollars should a total breakdown happen!
Vero Mechanical is Calgary’s trusted source for HVAC services and we’ve got the reputation to prove it. Our expert HVAC solutions are everything you need to prepare for the winter season and we’d be pleased to have you as our next client!