Temperatures have been dropping, and with Thanksgiving just around the corner, most Phoenix homeowners will soon be firing up their furnace for the first time this year. To get ready for the holidays and avoid common furnace frustrations, please take a few minutes to perform a brief checkup to ensure the safe and successful operation of your furnace before you turn it on. It’s important to remember, where there is heat there is always a potential for danger. We’re not trying to alarm you, just providing a friendly word of caution. Your furnace has been sitting idle for six or more months – you never know what may have happened over its long summer vacation.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
In our many years of providing HVAC service to Phoenix homes, we’ve seen it all. Furnaces are sometimes shoe-horned into unusual places – small HVAC closets, utility rooms or garages. One of the most common mistakes we see is allowing clutter and miscellaneous stuff to pile up on or around furnaces. Whether it’s toys, bikes, tools or storage boxes, the area around your furnace should always be completely clear. Take special care to be on the lookout for old newspapers, rags, combustible chemical cleaning solutions or aerosol cans.
Forced air heating can be broken down into four main phases; temperature control or
Ignition/Combustion
Gas furnaces do a dependable job of economically heating homes. With gas being highly flammable, you should always maintain a safety-first attitude. If you notice the smell of gas at any time, you should immediately open doors and windows and call for service. The ignition sequence for your gas furnace is triggered by the pilot light, which should be on and ready to go. If it is not on, you will need to follow the instructions carefully to reignite your pilot light. If you’ve never performed this task, it can be slightly challenging. Until your pilot light is on, your furnace will not work at all. If you’re having difficulty lighting your pilot, just give us a call.
Airflow
The importance of unobstructed airflow in forced air heating cannot overstated. Both in terms of exhaust and distributing heat throughout your home. The danger of gas heaters is real. Burning fossil fuels produces carbon monoxide, which can be lethal if not properly vented from your home. It is recommended that you have professionals check your HVAC system once a year to guard against CO poisoning. During a fall tune-up we will also inspect your draft inducer fan which feeds air to the heat exchanger and check your blower fan which pushes warm air throughout your house.
Thermostat
One of the most common problems we encounter in service calls this time of year is the case of mistaken identification. Many times, homeowners go to turn on the heat for the first time and nothing happens. People often assume something is wrong with their furnace. However, many times the issue is with the thermostat – not the furnace. Is it time for you to replace your old thermostat with a new wi-fi enabled smart thermostat? Our service technicians can fill you in on all the advantage of going digital.
The Heat Is On
Having the heat work properly and safely in your home should be a top priority with the holidays approaching. Why not give us a call and we’ll schedule your fall furnace tune up pronto!
Summer in Arizona is officially over. November has arrived, and temperatures have been dropping accordingly. As the seasons change and nights get colder, neighborhood critters may be considering setting up a winter residence in your home. That’s not a pleasant thought, however, we receive calls every fall from Phoenix homeowners who’ve noticed something is amiss when they fire up their furnace for the first time. Heat will sometimes reveal surprising odors that may have gone unnoticed with the air conditioning blowing cold air for the last six months.
During periods of extreme heat and constant use, you may occasionally need to reset the circuit breaker for your air conditioner. Especially after a severe thunderstorm or power outage. During the hottest months of the summer, Phoenix’s electrical power grid is pushed to the limits and fluctuations in power or brown outs can cause your breaker to disengage. However, if you find yourself resetting your AC circuit breaker two or three times within the same day, you probably have a problem that needs to be addressed. In the interest of safety for you and your family, please do not keep constantly resetting your breaker. The circuit breaker trips when your air conditioner is drawing too much power and is a clear warning that some part of your AC unit is not working properly.
Being a homeowner in Arizona means you’re the director of your own little show called Home Improvements. Whether you bought a fixer upper or a brand-new house (or something in between), there’s always a project or repair that needs to be done. In Phoenix, the hottest city in America, improving the effectiveness of your air conditioning is a constant challenge and always a concern. If your electric bills have been getting out of control this summer, you might want to consider some long-term home improvements that will retain more cool air where it belongs – inside your home and keep the hot air out.
Among the most common questions we get from customers is, “How long does an air conditioner usually last?” It’s a valid question, but the reality is there are many variables that can have an impact on the lifespan of your system.
