As we start getting the cool nights that signal the coming of fall, you might start wondering, “When should I schedule my fall furnace tune up?”
Early fall is the best time to schedule this appointment. Ideally, it should be less than a month before you might want to turn on your furnace, and we’re already in that timeframe (the earliest recorded freeze in Denver was September 8). If you haven’t scheduled your maintenance yet, now is the time. If you wait until people are starting to need their furnace, you might have difficulty scheduling around people who need their furnace repaired or replaced – or you might be needing furnace replacement yourself!
Why Schedule a Fall Furnace Tune Up
People also often ask, “Is a furnace tune up worth it?” The answer is: yes. Furnace tune ups offer many benefits including:
- Safety
- Reliability
- Efficiency
- Longevity
Safety
A properly functioning furnace is a safe appliance that can keep your home comfortable all winter long. A malfunctioning furnace can leak toxic fumes, start fires, even explode.
Getting regular furnace tune ups ensures that your furnace is safe to operate.
Function
A furnace tune up also ensures that your furnace is functioning properly. When you schedule a tune up, you can get your furnace tested, adjusted, and repaired so that it will turn on when the thermostat triggers. If your furnace doesn’t turn on when the temperature drops, it can be hard to troubleshoot the problem. In fact, there are many parts of your furnace that you simply shouldn’t mess with unless you’re a trained technician: it’s too dangerous.
There are many people who skip the tune up and wait until their furnace fails to schedule a technician to come out. Since many of these people often notice their failing furnace at the same time, you might have to wait a week or more during the coldest weather to get someone out to look at your furnace. This is not only unpleasant: it can put you at risk for frozen pipes in your house.
Efficiency
Long before a furnace fails, it starts to lose efficiency. As dirt and combustion products accumulate on your burners, they start to function less efficiently, even if they manage to keep functioning. In addition, fans and blowers can get stiff if not properly maintained. As a result, your furnace might use more gas and/or electricity to deliver the same amount of heat, which can make your heating bills go up. Regular tune-ups can help keep your utility bills down.
Longevity
Properly maintained furnaces last longer than poorly maintained ones. You can add five years, ten years, or more to the life of your furnace by getting regular maintenance. Since the average cost of replacing a furnace is over $5000, an inexpensive tune up is a good investment.
How to Prepare for Your Fall Furnace Tune Up
When you schedule your fall furnace tune up, you don’t have to do much to prepare for the technician. Just do a couple of things to make sure the tune up goes smoothly. There are, of course, more fall furnace maintenance steps you can take if you’re so inclined, such as changing the filter and cleaning the heating grates. However, these are the only two steps that are really recommended before the technician comes out.
Clear a Path to the Furnace
With the furnace unused all summer, you might have let things pile up around it or otherwise block the path to the furnace. Take a few moments to clean up these items so that the furnace technician can make it to the furnace itself and the thermostat.
However, there’s no need to clean up your house generally. We just want to make sure we can access your furnace.
Inspect Your Thermostat
You don’t need to test your thermostat – the furnace technician can and will do that. However, you should look and see if the display is on or can be turned on. If the thermostat requires a battery, make sure you know what kind and have one on hand for testing purposes.
Get a Fall Furnace Tune Up in Denver
If you’re ready to get your furnace in top shape for the cold weather, Major Heating and Air Conditioning is ready to help. We’ve been helping people in Denver enjoy year-round comfort in their homes and businesses since 1970. We believe in doing the job right every time, whether we’re at your home for a new installation, a repair, or a simple fall furnace tune up.
Although we’re current on the most recent and high-tech systems – including more than 1000 geothermal systems installed and functioning as designed – we have deep institutional knowledge about how furnaces were designed and built back in the day, and we can help your old furnace keep operating as long as it’s safe and reasonable to do so.
To schedule your fall furnace tune up in the Denver metro area, please contact Major Heating and Air Conditioning today.
Save on HVAC Service and Maintenance visits with our Major Members Programs
Our Major Members Programs will help you save money on many of the important annual service and maintenance tasks necessary to keep your HVAC system running properly. Give us a call to learn more about the different program options we offer.
