Warmer temperatures tend to last for longer in Bryan-College Station than in the rest of the world, but at some point every year, you will need to turn on your furnace. Because of this, you may not think you have anything new to learn about your furnace. However, you may be missing out on tips to optimize the efficiency and even the longevity of your furnace. You also may have furnace usage habits that you simply don’t think about anymore but that negatively impact your furnace and your home. To warm your home as effectively as possible in the upcoming winter, here are a few furnace usage tips.

Keep Furnace Filters Clean

Before you turn on your furnace for the year, make sure you have clean filters. Your furnace can accumulate dust during the time of year that it’s not in use, and once it’s turned on, dust and dander can be pulled into the filter, blocking the furnace from working efficiently. The harder your furnace has to work, the more easily it will wear down and your heating bills will go up. So even after you’ve turned your furnace on for the year, you’ll want to make sure the furnace filter stays clean.

Give Your Furnace Space

If your furnace is in its own room, make sure you don’t use that room for storage. The furnace will need to use all the heat in the room in order to work efficiently, and this could even be a potential fire hazard. If it’s in a closet, the same rule applies. Make sure, too, that there are no flammable liquids located near the furnace, such as paint or household cleaners.

Use a Programmable Thermostat

Worried about your heating bills spiking during the winter? Some homeowners might think it’s a good idea to turn the furnace off while they’re at work and back on when they get home, but the constant off and on can actually raise your heating bills as the furnace has to work harder to power back on. A programmable thermostat is a smarter solution. With a programmable thermostat can set a program that turns down the heat in your home when no one’s there and brings it back up while you’re on your way home. You can even set a program for vacation if you go anywhere for the holidays, or consider a Wi-Fi thermostat that allows you to turn the temperature at home up or down remotely.

Schedule Preventative Maintenance

Here again, if your furnace has been largely neglected for most of the year, it may have developed some quirks that could be inconvenient during the winter. That’s why autumn is the perfect time to have preventative maintenance done. An HVAC technician can look over your furnace and let you know if there are any problem areas that will need to be repaired before winter. This will help save energy for the winter as well as help your furnace to last longer overall.

Your furnace, like every appliance in your home, should be used with care and regular maintenance to make sure it continues performing smoothly year after year. Contact Air Solutions in Bryan-College Station today to schedule preventative maintenance.