Furnace Tune Up: Make Sure It's Done Right With This Checklist

Regular furnace maintenance increases the efficiency of your system and offers significant savings. It costs very little in time and money, giving you the peace of mind your system will perform reliably all winter long. Keep your furnace in peak condition and reduce the need for expensive emergency repair with routine furnace maintenance conducted by a licensed professional who knows what they are doing. What steps will your local furnace maintenance pro go through to make sure your system is in peak operating condition? Here’s what it would look like:

Powering Off The Furnace

A no-brainer, but make sure they turn off the power to the furnace before proceeding with anything else!

Taking Off The Combustion Chamber Door

In most units, lifting up and pulling outward would be all they would need to do to remove the combustion chamber door, but some units may also have a burner cover, held in place by two screws, which they would be removing.

Turning The Power Back On

Once the door and cover are removed, power is turned back ON, along with the temperature setting, to activate your furnace.

Checking The Burner Flames And Carefully Cleaning Burner And Blower Cavities

Burner flame quality is inspected carefully without breathing on flame (which can affect results). By looking at the color of the flame, the  pattern of the flame and by performing a combustion analysis. A furnace maintenance professional will  be able to tell if the burners are dirty or clean. With the power off they will clean and adjust the burners as needed and clean the blower cavities. This cleaning should be careful and thorough, as haphazard cleaning can damage the system or throw it off balance.

Changing The Furnace Filter

Your home air filter should be changed at the start of the season and every 1-3 months for optimal performance. As part of the furnace tuneup, they will typically also replace the filter while they are there.

Clean The Pilot And The Flame Sensor

The pro would clean any dust off the pilot, and clean the flame sensor as well to prevent any potential ignition problems. If the system has a hot surface ignitor instead of the standing pilots/electronic igniter, they would know exactly how to clean it as well, as the cleaning technique for those is different.

Sealing Leaky Ducts

Any leaky ducts they discover would be sealed with metal tape or high-temp silicone.

Adjusting Dampers

If your furnace and AC share ductwork, dampers tpically require adjustement for seasonal changes in use. Summer/winter settings should be marked on the damper handle.

Checking For Backdrafting

The pro should be checking the potentially dangerous backdrafting of carbon monoxide and other dangerous fumes, and immediately address if there seems to be a cause for concern.

Remember, for the safety of yourself and yours, it is best to let a licensed professional handle your furnace maintenance needs. Contact us to schedule a comprehensive annual professional furnace maintenance and inspection today. Ensure a warm, worry-free winter with the help of H & H Heating & Air Conditioning.

This blog was originally posted on https://www.delcohvac.com/blog/furnace-tune-up-make-sure-its-done-right-with-this-checklist/