Fall heating maintenance: Here’s what Wagner looks for during a check-up

When the nighttime temperatures drop here in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, you’ll know that it’s time to schedule your fall heating maintenance with our team here at Wagner.

It’s a good idea to be proactive and schedule a checkup for your heating system every fall. Not only will a routine checkup from our experienced HVAC professionals result in lower energy bills, it will also reduce the chances of running into potential problems during the winter that require costly repairs.

If you’re a homeowner here in Albuquerque, have our team take a look at your furnace this fall. Contact our team to set up your fall heating maintenance appointment.

Why schedule a furnace check-up?

Is it really that important to get an annual furnace tune-up? After all, isn’t it enough that your furnace ran perfectly fine last winter? It didn’t have any problems back then—why would it now?

Here’s the thing: furnaces need routine maintenance. A regular furnace checkup is not optional, and comes recommended by all furnace manufacturers. So, even if your heating system ran well last year, you still should have it checked out to ensure you get the same results from your system this year.

Think of your regular furnace tune-up as a preventative measure against larger issues—most of which can end up being very costly. You have your teeth examined at least once a year. You change the oil in your car and tune it up regularly, too.

You need to treat your furnace with the same level of respect and care. As a homeowner, it would be reckless if you didn’t take care of the system that you rely on to keep your home and family warm during the winter.

It’s always better to be safe than sorry, and this applies to checking your heating system regularly, as well. But, let’s go a little deeper and review in detail why you should consider scheduling a furnace tune-up today.

Safety

Since furnaces burn fuel to produce heat, it’s important that the combustion process is efficient and safe. For the most part, gas furnaces operate just like they should. Gas leaks are rare, but not unheard of. The primary culprit is often a cracked heat exchanger or a damaged flue pipe.

Furnace exhaust leaking into your home is extremely bad news. Your gas furnace produces a variety of gases—including carbon monoxide—as a byproduct of the combustion process. In sufficient quantities and without fresh outdoor air to replace them, these gases can build up and potentially even endanger the health and safety of your family.

If you ever smell the odor of rotting eggs in your home, immediately turn off the gas and call in emergency services. A rotten egg odor is the telltale sign of a natural gas leak. Alternately, if you smell something burning in your air ducts, or get a burning odor coming from your furnace, turn the gas off and give us a call.

There are a lot of ways in which your furnace can malfunction. In many cases, residents can’t notice these problems, until they start getting reflected in high energy consumption bills or signs of turbulence in the heating system.

The furnace is a complex piece of equipment that integrates a variety of different components. A malfunction in a single component—such as the ignition system, air filter, or in the gas pressure and electrical circuitry—can result in your furnace behaving erratically.

If you don’t detect these signs in time, your system may be at risk of shutting down completely. Therefore, the most reasonable solution for identifying faults and increasing the lifespan of your furnace is to schedule proper cleaning and a regular tune-up.

Proper Airflow

The ventilation system of your furnace is essential for the efficient distribution of heat throughout your home. Regular maintenance of the furnace allows for the adequate flow of air through the unit.

If there are problems with the airflow, the system will have to work harder to maintain the desired temperature. Poor airflow might be one of the reasons why your furnace could be blowing cold air.

Adding more pressure to the heating system can lead to higher energy usage and even a complete system breakdown. An annual furnace tune-up has the potential to save you the cost of replacing parts or the entire system in the event of a complete furnace failure.

Saving time and money

Having a professional check up on your furnace before winter starts can potentially save you a lot of time and money.

First, we think you’d agree that avoiding emergency repairs is worth it alone: if your furnace works great, there will be no winter nights spent waiting in the cold for the HVAC repairman to come and fix your heater. With regular tune-ups, you can relax knowing that you won’t experience any discomfort at the worst possible time.

Regular tune-ups can help you save money, too. If you make sure that your furnace is working properly, it will last longer. Regular maintenance and changing the filters will ensure that your furnace works effectively and uses less power. This way, you will avoid paying huge bills.

Maintain your manufacturer’s warranty

Another reason to schedule an annual furnace tuneup is to maintain your manufacturer’s warranty. This warranty can help you avoid unexpected expenses in the event something happens to your heater over the years.

Most manufacturers recommend their customers maintain their heater regularly. If you skip your annual service, their warranty becomes void. If you want to meet the manufacturer’s requirements and maintain the warranty for your furnace, you’ll have to schedule regular tune-ups.

Furnace manufacturers are constantly upgrading their products. Today, it’s estimated that if a furnace is well maintained, it can last up to 20 years. When you buy a high-quality furnace, you can get a 15-year warranty option. That means your new furnace is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty for most of its operational life.

It’s unfortunate that furnace tune-ups have a reputation among some homeowners as an unnecessary expense. They keep your system working effectively and efficiently—the right tune-up can save you from costly repairs and system failures while also lowering your monthly heating costs.

We’d call that money well-spent.

How does a gas furnace work?

Watch the video below to learn more about how your gas furnace works—and why it requires seasonal maintenance from the experienced professionals at Wagner.

What are the benefits of a furnace check-up?

Just like your car or truck, your home’s furnace requires regular maintenance and care from a professional. A furnace checkup isn’t just something you should do—it’s something you need to do if you want to keep your furnace running right, save money, and avoid issues down the road.

Here are just a few of the reasons why you should call Wagner to schedule a seasonal furnace checkup.

1. Lower energy bills

This is the main reason why most homeowners call our team to schedule a fall heating checkup. Everyone—and we mean everyone—wants to save money, especially during the winter. There’s fewer surprises more unpleasant than a higher-than-expected heating bill. Many homeowners end up paying hundreds to heat their home every month.

Here’s a secret: having your furnace regularly serviced, tuned up, and checked out by a Wagner pro can help you reduce your winter heating costs. It’s not magic: by ensuring your furnace is operating at its most efficient state possible, we help you save money in the months ahead. After all, better energy-efficiency means lower heating bills.

For most Albuquerque homeowners, the potential savings from lower electric or natural gas bills easily pays for the cost of their seasonal furnace checkup. However, lower energy bills are far from the only benefit of getting your furnace serviced. Let’s continue through the list.

2. Fewer emergency repairs

Another great benefit of regular system service is that you will face fewer repairs. Every winter, HVAC repair teams all over the country receive calls about system breakdowns from residents with heating problems.

Here’s the unfortunate part: the majority of the issues could have been detected and solved if the homeowner had brought in our techs for regular maintenance ahead of winter.

During a checkup, our furnace tune-up professionals thoroughly clean the system, allowing the furnace to work without further problems. We can detect any minor issues with the furnace before those issues turn into major defects.

This way, you can enjoy the warmth of your home throughout the winter season, and do so without having to resort to expensive emergency repairs for your heating system.

An experienced technician will be able to detect and resolve problems that may cause major damage to the system. The regular inspection, lubrication, and cleaning that comes with your annual maintenance will result in smoother operation and, ultimately, fewer repairs over the lifetime of your system.

Seasonal maintenance ensures optimal heating throughout the winter season, without any breakdowns.

3. An improved lifespan

During your professional furnace servicing, our technician will clean the burner assembly, adjust the ignition assembly, examine the heat exchanger, and perform any necessary repairs. This will ensure the system works optimally for a longer period of time.

With regular service, maintenance, and care from our team, your furnace can last for more years, resulting in great cost savings for you in the long run.

4. Improved heating

A regular tune-up of your furnace will also ensure all the rooms of your home receive improved heating. When properly maintained, your system will perform at optimal levels. You’re less likely to face the prospect of cold spots inside the house, as the heater will ensure that heat is optimally distributed throughout all your rooms.

In the end, a regular furnace tune-up comes with lots of benefits. Your system will operate efficiently without breaking down, resulting in reduced energy bills and repair costs. Regular tune-ups, in short, will keep your family warm and cozy throughout the frigid cold winter months.

What does our fall furnace check-up include?

Next, let’s run through the main to-do items on our fall heating maintenance checklist. Here are just a few of the things that we look at when you call us out to your home for a heating check-up.

1. We examine your gas connections

A lot of homes have gas heaters. Improper gas connections represent a great fire and safety hazard. They can also result in gas leakage that will increase your utility bills. That’s why we thoroughly inspect your furnace’s gas connections during our routine fall heating check-up.

2. We check gas pressure

Gas pressure is another important thing to check during a heating check-up. High gas pressure is an incredible hazard that will not just damage the furnace, but may also result in bursting of the natural gas line.

The experienced technicians at Wagner use specialized equipment to check the gas pressure and—if we find it’s too high—take appropriate actions to resolve the issue.

3. Wagner cleans the gas burner

Your gas burners get dirty over time and need to be cleaned. Not cleaning the gas burners will result in inefficient operation. It can also cause serious damage to the heater. That’s why it’s essential to call Wagner for a furnace check-up, so that we can clean the gas burners before the system potentially damages itself.

4. We check the fan belt

The inspection of the fan belt by a trusted professional is an important aspect of fall heating maintenance. The fan belt will be inspected to check for signs of fraying and cracks. Also, we examine the tension of the belt by pushing down on the belt’s center. The belt will be tightened, in case it deflates by about an inch.

5. We inspect the air filter

The air filter also needs to be checked during your fall heating maintenance. The filter prevents dirt and dust from entering the system. It has the potential to become clogged over time and must be cleaned or replaced. This is important to ensure the energy-efficient operation of your heating system.

Work with the professionals at Wagner

Some homeowners try to maintain their furnace by themselves. Since maintaining a heating system requires a wide knowledge base and prior experience, it’s hard to do the job well if you’re not trained for it.

Although winters in Albuquerque are not extremely cold, you wouldn’t want to risk having a broken heating system which is unable to keep you and your family warm. It’s best to leave this job to professionals who can detect any malfunctions at an early stage.

For more than 85 years, Wagner has been meeting the heating needs of homeowners in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Our experienced team specializes in dealing with any kind of heating system. Call us to have our team service your furnace ahead of winter this year.

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