So, heating season has arrived and you’ve found yourself eyeing our maintenance plan. It all looks good, but there’s just one pesky thought in the back of your mind… Do I really need this?
Well, the answer to that question isn’t quite so simple. While we’d argue that yes, you do need maintenance on a yearly basis, you might not see the effects of skipped maintenance until several years down the line. Neglect doesn’t cause problems immediately, but it causes gradual deterioration over time, which could be a big problem for your furnace eventually.
This blog post is going to dive into furnace maintenance in Grand Rapids, MI. We’ll talk about what it is, why it’s important, and the three most valuable benefits that come from it. Don’t forget, your furnace relies on you to keep it safe, functioning, and efficient. You are the master of your own destiny!
Safety First
Gas furnaces are systems that burn gas to create heat for your home. There’s no real way around this, you’ve got combustion occurring in your home which means that safety protocols must be in place. Thankfully, a gas furnace has a lot of components that help keep it safe and secure.
The flame or heat sensor, for instance, is a component that helps detect whether there’s a flame burning inside of the system, shutting it down immediately if there’s not. This makes sure that no gas is being wasted or leaked. The heat exchanger is also a component responsible for keeping your furnace running safely, as it’s the first line of defense against the fumes and carbon monoxide created by the combustion process. This component allows for the system to create heat and exchange that heat with the fresh, breathable air of your home.
Maintenance allows us to inspect, adjust, and maintain those components to ensure your system runs safely.
Better Performance and a System Evaluation
How is your furnace running? Is it performing well? Maintenance usually involves a system evaluation, to the point where we can even see how well it’s working while it’s on. We can make recommendations if your furnace is getting old and needs to be replaced, or we can advise you to repair it if there’s a component that’s breaking down. This system evaluation can be paramount to your future home comfort.
Fuel and Energy Efficiency
Every gas furnace has a rating called an “AFUE rating.” This is basically the amount of gas that gets burned and turned into heat expressed as a percentage, usually a number below 100. If your gas furnace has an AFUE rating of 95, for instance, it’s going to turn 95% of the gas that’s burned into heat, which is an extremely high level of efficiency. However, that ratio can deteriorate over time as the system ages, wears down, and eventually runs into issues.
Maintenance on a yearly basis is a great way to help ensure that the AFUE rating of a furnace remains high. We want to be very clear, by our technicians cleaning your system and providing basic maintenance over time, we will be able to keep the system in great shape and running as efficiently as possible. That’s our promise to you.
Contact GRmetro Heating and Cooling Inc to invest in furnace maintenance this season.
