Most heating repair calls come in the late weeks of winter, when our furnaces and other heating systems have been running steadily for months. All of that strain can take its toll, which is why you should find ways to improve your heating system’s efficiency wherever you can. Not only will a more efficient heater help lower your monthly bills, but it can help prevent those repairs from ever needing to be made.
Some heating efficiency techniques are likely already practiced in your home: setting the thermostat lower than normal, for instance, or wearing warmer clothes indoors. But there are additional steps you can take as well, with the help of a friendly service technician. Here’s a brief list of some options.
Duct Repair
Ducts are a vital part of your system: carrying heated air form a forced-air furnace throughout the various rooms of your home. When the ducts run into trouble, it can drastically affect the efficiency of your furnace. A duct breach, for example, can pull heated air out of the system, which forces it to work harder. A crimp or blockage in the ducts can be even worse, since it forces heated air to stay trapped in the furnace, and may cause one or more components to overheat.
In those cases, you need a trained technician to get that problem fixed, though you can learn to spot the signs of a leak or a breach.
Breaches or leaks tend to result in whistling or humming noises, as well as reduced air flow from the affected area. In the winter, a heating breach can also create a warm spot on the part of the wall where leaking air might be blowing.
Clogged or crimped ducts will make their presence known with low airflow out of the vents, and with short cycling: your furnace turning off and on rapidly throughout the day without ever really warming the home.(that’s caused by the furnace shutting down before individual components can overheat.
High-Efficiency Small Ductwork Systems
The ductwork itself can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system in many ways. High-efficiency small ductwork systems take up only about a third of the space of ordinary ducts. Because there is less surface area, less heat is lost (and less cool temperatures are lost in the summer) and the system can do its job with a great deal more efficiency.
High-efficiency small ductwork systems can also serve as an answer to comprehensive heating problems, such as homes that lack the capacity to support larger ducts. That in turn, helps the home get rid of portable space heaters and other jury-rigged solutions in favor of something that does the job for the whole house.
Now is the ideal time to schedule such upgrades, when your need for a good heating system is reduced, but we haven’t hit the high temperatures that come in the summer.
For heating and air conditioning services throughout Portland, OR, call the Clean Air Act today!