Add These HVAC Resolutions to Your List This Year

While you’re busy making New Year’s resolutions for 2018, don’t forget your home’s heating and cooling system. You can save substantial energy and money by fulfilling a set of HVAC resolutions.

Commit to taking the following steps this year:

1. Check the furnace or A/C filter once a month so you can change it before it gets clogged and reduces your forced-air HVAC system’s effectiveness and efficiency. A clogged filter impedes airflow through the heating or cooling system, resulting in wasted energy, cold or hot spots in rooms, and stressed system components (such as the blower).
2. Promise yourself that you’ll schedule annual professional maintenance on both your heating and cooling systems. A trained technician will clean, lubricate and adjust the HVAC equipment, replacing any defective parts and spotting small issues before they become big problems. Consider signing up for a maintenance plan that will ensure your HVAC system gets the care it needs to work as designed.
3. Don’t forget to set ceiling fan blade rotation for the proper seasons. During warm weather, the fan blades should rotate counter-clockwise (the default mode), so cooling air blows down into rooms. In the winter, the blades should spin clockwise, so air is pushed upward, displacing warm air that’s collected near the ceiling. That air moves downward warming the areas occupied by people.
4. At regular intervals, check vents and registers throughout your home to make sure they aren’t blocked. When rugs, drapes, furniture, etc., partially or wholly block registers, air circulation is impeded. This not only reduces comfort; it also may adversely affect air circulation elsewhere in the house.
5. Inspect your home’s outer perimeter, both from inside and outside. Look for places where air might be infiltrating through cracks or other openings. This can happen at window frames, where utility lines or pipes enter the home and at the sill plate (where the foundation meets the walls). Seal openings with caulk, weatherstripping or spray foam.

For more ideas for helpful HVAC resolutions, please contact us at NisAir Air Conditioning & Heating. We provide quality services in Martin, Indian River and Palm Beach counties.