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With the cold winter months upon us, upgrading to a brand new furnace can be an excellent way to make sure your household stays warm and cozy. However, if you want your new furnace to not only do a good job of heating your home but also work for a long time and help save you money, you need to make sure that you’re taking proper care of it. To help you keep your new heating system running smoothly and efficiently, here are four crucial tenets of proper furnace upkeep.

1. Regular Maintenance

At least once a year, it’s strongly recommended that you enlist the help of a trained professional to give your furnace a tune-up. During this regular maintenance, the technician will inspect the furnace for any potential problems and tune up the appliance to maximize its energy efficiency. Furnaces that receive this service regularly will break down less often, require fewer repairs, and save you money in the long run by using less energy. For homeowners in Springfield, OR, and the surrounding areas, we at Jco Heating A/C Electrical have a team of reliable technicians that can affordably perform these scheduled tune-ups for you.

2. Purchase a Humidifier

You may have noticed that during the chilly winter months, it tends to feel like the air you’re breathing and surrounded by is more dry than usual. But, did you know that this dry air can actually make your home feel much colder than it really is? This is due to the fact that oxygen with a low moisture level is unable to transfer heat around as effectively. By investing in a humidifier, you can combat this issue, as it will significantly raise the moisture level in your home’s air. Just like that, you will feel much warmer without cranking up the heat on your thermostat, which will give your furnace a valuable break. Furnaces that are allowed to rest regularly without exerting energy are known to have fewer technical issues, as well as longer lifespans.

3. Don’t Let Heat Escape Your Home

When your house is having trouble keeping warm air trapped within its walls, your furnace typically ends up having to compensate for it. The good news is that there are a couple of things you can do to prevent so much of that heat from escaping. Most importantly, we recommend locating and sealing up any leaks or cracks where air may be seeping out. These kinds of leaks are most commonly located around the edges of your windows, doorways, and garage doors, and they allow warm air to exit and chilly air to enter. Even the tiniest little cracks can force your furnace to work harder and burn up more energy, so it’s important to be very thorough, even if that means hiring a professional to do the job.

If all of your household’s air leaks are all sealed up, but you’re still concerned that heat may be escaping, you can also use your curtains to help remedy this. By simply closing up all of your home’s curtains and blinds, especially at night, you can trap significantly more of the warm air that would otherwise be leaking out through the windows.

4. Clean or Replace Your Furnace’s Air Filter

The air filter has the crucial task of preventing things like dust and debris from clogging up the workings of your furnace. Over time, though, the filter itself can become clogged with these substances, which makes it extremely difficult for the furnace to effectively pull air through it. We recommend that at least once a month, you remove the air filter and give it a thorough cleaning. If it seems like it’s too dirty or clogged to really clean well, simply purchase a replacement filter instead. If you have pets, recent renovations, or any other circumstance in your home that may increase the amount of dust, debris, or other clogging particles, you may need to clean or replace your filter even more often.

At Jco Heating A/C Electrical, we have been providing the greater Springfield area with dependable service since 2002. Owned and operated by two brothers, we take pride in consistently doing business with honesty, integrity, and excellent customer service. In addition to our heating services, we also have dedicated professionals trained to handle any of our customers’ cooling or electrical needs as well.

Today is a great day to take the first step in becoming a more proactive homeowner or business owner. Contact us now to schedule an appointment with one of our friendly, knowledgeable professionals.