As the seasons change, so do your home comfort needs. When the weather outside turns to cool and then cold, you need to keep your home warm without breaking the bank. By following a few easy tips on your own, along with some professional services from our HVAC technicians, you can keep your Camp Verde home warm and comfortable this winter without exceeding your budget.
Close the Windows and Doors
Keeping your windows and doors shut tight helps keep the cold air out and retain the warm air inside. Even a single open window in the house can create enough of a draft to increase the workload of your heating system and make less efficient conditions. Seal especially drafty windows to prevent excess cold air from coming through the cracks. Limit your trips in and out of the house as much as possible to keep the doors closed.
Rely on the Sunshine
Sunshine in the winter can be an excellent tool for heating your home. Open the blinds and curtains on sunny days and let the sun shine through. If the sunlight is shining directly through, it can help increase the warmth in your space by a couple of degrees. At night and during cloudy conditions, close the shades to block the cold air on the window and prevent it from cooling down your area.
Clear the Vents
Ensure all your HVAC vents are open and cleared to allow heat to enter your space. Move furniture away from the vents and keep an open area around them so heat isn’t blocked. Clean excess dust and dirt from the vents to prevent poor airflow.
Use Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans are set to rotate clockwise to create an updraft. This updraft keeps you from feeling the chill of a breeze from the fan while moving warm air from the ceiling around to mix back in with the cooler air below. Heat naturally rises, so this helps keep the room at an even temperature.
Change Air Filters
Air filters in your HVAC system block dust and contaminants from circulating through the furnace and air ducts. Depending on your particular heating system, these air filters should be changed every one to three months. Excessively dirty filters can become clogged and cannot keep dust out. Excess dust in the system causes your furnace to work harder and lowers the system’s efficiency.
Bundle Up
When all else fails, consider adding extra layers for personal comfort rather than tapping the temperature on the thermostat. Wear a comfy sweater, long pants, and warm socks when lazing around the house. Cover up with a blanket while you relax on the sofa, or snuggle up with your loved ones for added warmth. If you get cold while sleeping, put extra covers on your bed in the winter or switch to flannel sheets or a warmer comforter.
Schedule Professional Maintenance
Routine maintenance keeps your heating system efficient, reliable, and safe through the winter months. Schedule maintenance every year to enjoy the maximum benefits of the service.
Our technicians visually inspect your system during annual maintenance, looking for signs of potential breakdowns and faults. We clean the inside of the system to remove built-up dust and debris and lubricate moving parts to keep them free from damage caused by friction. We also test the safety controls within the system to ensure they function as they should and shut down the unit when a malfunction happens. During a test run of the heating system, we assess for proper airflow, ensuring your home heats up as it should. We also listen for strange sounds and check for unusual smells that may indicate a problem. If any issues are noted, we promptly schedule repair services to prepare your furnace when winter sets in.
Hire Professional Duct Cleaning
Air ducts allow heated air to travel from your furnace to the vents. If these ducts are blocked with dust and debris, you won’t get efficient and sufficient heating. Our technicians clean your ductwork using compressed air and a powerful vacuum, blasting and sucking contaminants out of the system for a clear pathway.
Ductwork Repair and Replacement
Old ductwork may corrode over time, leading to tiny holes that allow heat to leak out before it ever reaches the vents. Some air ducts may come apart and have gaps where even more significant amounts of heated air escape. Our technicians can seal and repair leaks and gaps, ensuring a tight connection. If the ducts are damaged, we can replace certain sections of them or the entire system of ductwork to boost the efficiency of your heating system.
Switch to a Programmable Thermostat
Programmable thermostats allow you to set your home’s temperature based on your schedule. You can lower the temperature when you leave for work in the morning and have the system programmed to return to a comfortable temperature just before arriving home so you aren’t frozen when you walk into the house. Likewise, you can do the same when you go to bed at night if you prefer a cooler climate. This allows you to preset the conditions so you don’t forget to change them back and helps make your system more efficient.
Try Zoned Heating
Zoned heating uses multiple thermostats to control dampers in the air ducts, allowing you to heat different areas of the home to different temperatures. This is a great idea for larger homes and houses where many areas are less used.
Upgrade Your Furnace
A new furnace can greatly impact your heating system’s energy consumption. Older furnaces lose efficiency over time, as noted by climbing utility bills. Our technicians help you find the perfect new model to fit your home so you can enjoy comfortable heating throughout the winter without rising heating costs.
Transition to a Heat Pump
Because heat pumps utilize warm air from the ground to heat your home, they are considered more efficient than a traditional furnace. Heat pumps also provide cooling, giving you a single system for year-round comfort. As a bonus, our technicians can switch you to a heat pump using the same ductwork installed in your home to avoid added messes and labor.
Your Home Heating Technicians
As your trusted home heating partner, we offer a variety of services to help keep your home comfortable when the weather outside turns chilly without breaking the bank. Count on us for trusted cooling and heating maintenance, repairs, and installations. We handle mini-splits, heat pumps, furnaces, and air conditioners to round out your home comfort needs. We also offer ductwork services, including cleaning and repair, indoor air quality services, and zoning system setups. For more services from the same reliable company, look to us for your plumbing needs. We offer professional plumbing repairs and installations and handle your garbage disposals, water heaters, and gas lines with expertise.
Turn to the best HVAC company in Camp Verde this winter to keep your home warm and cozy without causing a spike in your heating bills by calling the professionals at Goettl's High Desert Mechanical today.
