Time for a Fall Furnace Tune-Up?
If you haven’t turned on your furnace yet, you’ll probably need to soon. The nice warm weather we’ve had recently has vanished and we’ll be facing temperatures in the 30’s next week. To help ensure your furnace is running efficiently, we suggest you make sure that you’ve changed your furnace air filter recently and that you get your furnace serviced every one to two years.
Energy Star recommends checking the filter every month. If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it, and at a minimum, be sure to change the filter every 3 months. If you don’t change your air filter on a regular basis, the air flow will slow down and your HVAC system will need to run harder, leading to wasted energy. In addition, a dirty filter may lead to dust and dirt accumulating in the HVAC system which could lead to expensive repairs.
Most furnace manufacturers recommend an annual tune-up. If you are in need of repairs or an annual tune-up, we have compiled information from several Milwaukee area furnace experts, including some decent furnace tune-up coupons. If you are aware of any other quality HVAC contractors in the Milwaukee area offering a deal, please contact us and we’ll add the information to our post.
1st Choice Heating and Cooling has four coupons on their website, including coupons for $5 off any service if you provide them with your email and $25 off a service call (does not apply to diagnostic charges or tune-ups). Coupons expire 12/31/2011.
Allied Heating & A.C., LLC has a coupon for a $79 furnace tune-up. Expires 10/31/2011.
Burant Heating and Air Conditioning LLC has a coupon on their website for $10 off a regularly priced $105 performance tune-up.
Burkhardt Heating & Cooling has a coupon for $20 off any service over $100.
RJ Heating and Air Conditioning LLC gets kudos for listing their prices up front. $84 for a gas furnace cleaning, $99 for an oil furnace/boiler cleaning, and $25 for a carbon monoxide text.
Seider Heating and Air Conditioning - Lists their prices in a FAQ. Tune up prices for a gas furnace or gas boiler is $99.95. Tune up for an oil furnace is $169.
You can also use a free service called Service Magic to search for contractors. After filling out a little information on the Service Magic website, they will match you up with up to four contractors. Contractors can compete for your business and you have the opportunity to review comments from past customers in order to help you find the best match for your needs.
Interested in saving more money by conserving energy? Check out our other helpful energy savings tips.
Have You Changed Your Furnace Air Filter Recently?
According to Energy Star, as much as half of the energy used in the typical home is for heating and cooling. Therefore, taking steps to make heating and cooling equipment as efficient as possible can save homeowners a lot of money.
With the colder weather we’ve been having most heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems have been getting a good workout so its a good time to check the status of your furnace. Our energy savings tip for the week is to make sure you’ve changed your air filter for your furnace recently. According to Energy Star, homeowners should check their air filter every month and change it when it looks dirty. Also, Energy Star recommends that at a minimum, the filter should be changed every three months.
In addition to the advice from Energy Star, it may be helpful to check the owners manual for the HVAC system to find information that is applicable to you. The type of filter you use and the conditions of your house (e.g. if you have pets or allergies) will also make a difference in how frequently your air filter needs to be changed.
HVAC air filters should be changed regularly for several reasons:
- Dirty filters slow down the flow of air and consequently the HVAC system has to work harder, using more energy in the process.
- Dirty filters result in more dust and build up in the HVAC unit, increasing the probability of expensive maintenance procedures.
- Clean air filters will help trap dust and allergens, preventing them from being circulated throughout your house.
For more information on Energy Star’s recommendations, see their HVAC webpage.
