As the weather cools down, you may think about getting your heating system up and running. Before you do that, though, you probably want to get it tuned-up to ensure the safety of your home and your family members! Many HVAC experts (Landmark included) suggest getting an annual heating tune-up by a qualified professional before you turn on the system. Some homeowners wonder why a furnace tune-up is recommended. Not only can a tune-up prevent dangerous conditions, it can also save you money in the long run. Here are five reasons why a furnace tune-up can save you money and protect you and your home.
What Is a Furnace Tune-up?
A furnace tune-up is a checklist that a qualified technician follows to clean, inspect, test, and prep your furnace for winter months. Although the exact checklist differs from company to company and depends on the level of tune-up you pay for, most tune-ups will make sure your heater is ready to heat your home until spring.
At Landmark Home Warranty, our furnace tune-up includes:
- Thermostat calibration
- Checking heat operations
- Cleaning and tightening electrical connections
- Inspecting pilot system
- Testing safety switches
- Testing limit switches
- Cleaning burners
A Furnace Tune-Up Ensures System Is Ready to Heat
When you call a qualified heating contractor to come out and do a heating tune-up on your furnace, they will inspect the system to ensure it’s functioning correctly. This may mean testing the burners in your gas furnace to make sure they’re lighting properly without yellow flames or ensuring the furnace will turn on at the correct temperature.
While this is the most basic reason to get a tune-up, it’s always nice to know before you really need it if the furnace is having problems. Imagine if you found out your furnace wasn’t heating properly on an extremely cold night when you desperately needed it! Getting a tune-up can ensure the furnace will be working properly when you need it to heat your home.
A Furnace Tune-Up Catches Problems Before They Become Dangerous
When a qualified technician does a tune-up on your furnace, they’ll clean and check different elements of the heating system. Not only will cleaning your furnace prevent it from working too hard and burning out quicker, cleaning and checking the furnace can catch smaller problems before they become larger, more dangerous ones.
For example, if your technician inspects the gas burners on your furnace and finds they’re yellow instead of blue, this means that your burners aren’t completely burning the natural gas. This can be fixed but, if left unsolved, it can produce dangerous levels of poisonous carbon monoxide. Almost 500 people die each year from the colorless, odorless gas.
A technician can spot potentially dangerous problems with a furnace that you as a homeowner probably wouldn’t notice and keep you and your family safe.
A Furnace Tune-Up Saves You Money
While a furnace tune-up does cost money ($100-$200), it saves you more money in the long run by ensuring your furnace is up and running. According to Angie’s List, many HVAC experts say that around 75% of their furnace calls in the winter months are no-heat calls because of lack of maintenance. If you neglect to maintain your furnace with a furnace tune-up, you’ll probably end up spending more money to have the furnace repaired or replaced, possibly at emergency rates. (Of course, if you have a home warranty, most of these costs will be reduced significantly as long as you maintain your heating system!)
A furnace tune-up also saves you money on your energy bills. When your furnace isn’t cleaned, the connections aren’t tightened, and switches aren’t operating normally, it may still be working. However, it will be working harder to heat your home past the dust and grime. This means burning more fuel, and that means more energy spent attempting to heat the home. A heating tune-up can ensure the energy that’s going toward heating your home isn’t being wasted and saves you from overspending.
You can also decrease your energy bills by making sure to switch out your air filter every 1-3 months. A dirty air filter makes your furnace work harder and burn more fuel.
Annual Tune-Ups Keep Your Furnace Running Longer
Finally, tune-ups keep your furnace and heating system running longer. Cleaning and maintaining a heating system can cause it to not work as hard to heat your home. Without cleaning and maintenance, a furnace works harder and parts wear out faster, meaning it takes a shorter amount of time before you end up paying to repair or replace the entire system. If you take care of your systems and appliances within your home, they’ll last you much longer.
If You’re a Home Warranty Customer a Furnace Tune-Up Is Included in Your Plan
With most warranties, lack of maintenance voids a warranty on a unit. Many furnace manufacturers even include a stipulation in their warranties that states if the furnace hasn’t been maintained, they won’t repair or replace it. Landmark Home Warranty has a similar policy, but we also help you to maintain your heating system by providing a heating tune-up for the cost of a service call fee in all of our plans! You can use your home warranty to maintain your heating system for significantly less.
If you don’t have a home warranty, don’t worry! You can look at which plan or price is right for you using our plans and pricing tool here. You will input your information, and the plans and pricing for your state and home will be generated as a personalized quote. Don’t miss out on hundreds of dollars in savings!