It’s that time of year again – time for your HVAC system’s fall furnace tune up. Your heating system requires maintenance care performed by a professional every year to keep it in good condition so it is able to serve you reliably through the coming cold season.
Even so, many furnaces in the Indianapolis area do not receive the tune up they need each fall. Homeowners forget to schedule or simply choose to skip it to save money. What many homeowners don’t realize is that because of the important work performed during a tune up, the system may experience many unwanted problems without annual service. Take a look at what is possible when your furnace doesn’t get its tune up, and you’ll understand why this HVAC service must be a priority.
What Happens When You Skip a Furnace Tune Up?
Without annual furnace maintenance, the door is open for a number of unwanted issues, including:
Poor Comfort Control in the Home
Skipping furnace tune ups doesn’t always cause noticeable comfort struggles right away. Even if your home feels just as comfortable as it did last year, the furnace’s performance has still been impacted. Neglecting maintenance needs will certainly produce issues with home comfort over time.
A primary purpose of furnace maintenance is for better system performance, which results in superior comfort inside the home. Professional service counteracts the damage sustained by the furnace through regular wear and tear, so the HVAC system operates at peak performance levels throughout the winter. When the furnace is hindered from delivering its best performance, there is a greater risk it won’t be able to sufficiently heat the home this year. Homeowners may experience uneven heating and the need to turn the thermostat higher than normal for needed warmth.
Higher Heating Bills
The wear and tear sustained by your furnace over a single heating season greatly reduces furnace efficiency. The system may still generate ample heat to achieve the comfort you want indoors, but it does so with higher energy consumption than before. The result is higher heating bills than last year, and your operating expenses will continue to climb over time without a furnace tune up. Without maintenance, the furnace’s actual AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) can drop over time as its energy efficiency declines.
Surprise Breakdowns
One of the most important benefits delivered during a furnace tune up is identification of system problems for early correction. Problematic operating conditions and hazards that exist inside your furnace are found by a trained technician, so they’re able to be repaired right away. When these issues go undiscovered and uncorrected, continued operation of your heating system may result in more extensive damage as the problem grows.
Without maintenance, furnaces are more likely to break down and require repairs over the course of the heating season. You may be surprised when your furnace doesn’t turn on when you start it up on the first cold day of the season. This problem could have been corrected ahead of time, but now you’re stuck waiting without heat until repairs can be made.
Unsafe Heating
Safety checks are performed on your heating unit during a tune up. Your technician ensures system controls function as they should, the flue system allows for proper exhaust of combustion gases and verifies safe condition of the heat exchanger to prevent carbon monoxide exposure. These checks are critical to your family’s safety over the winter.
Schedule a Fall Furnace Tune Up Today
Don’t find yourself stuck with any of the above problems this winter – make a furnace tune up a priority now! Call Star Heating & Cooling today to schedule service and improve the performance and efficiency of your heating system for better comfort this winter. For all of your home’s furnace and air conditioning maintenance needs, contact the friendly technicians at Star!