If you looked at your heating bills during the previous winter and wondered why they seemed higher than normal, this post can help. We know you probably spent more time in your home last winter than usual (pretty much everyone did), so that will account for some of the increase in how much you paid for heat. But if you factor out that, as well as any rise in energy costs, and the price still seems too steep, then there are several steps you can take.
First Choice Heating & Cooling Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Heating System Maintenance’
If Your Heating Bills Seemed Too High Last Winter…
Monday, November 8th, 2021Schedule Heating Maintenance Now and Beat the Rush
Monday, September 27th, 2021
Fall started officially on the 22nd of September, but most people think of the season starting after Labor Day, or when the calendar leaf flips over to September. Now it’s almost October and the reality of fall (and a certain even colder season that follows it) will strike homeowners. They’ll start making cold weather preparations. One of the most important preparations is arranging for professional HVAC technicians to do a maintenance inspection and tune-up on their heating system.
We can’t overestimate the importance of annual fall heating maintenance. It helps home heating systems work at high energy efficiency with little chance of repairs cropping up. The peace of mind that comes along with heating maintenance is worth the cost alone.
Although you can have heating maintenance done anytime in the fall, or even during early winter, we urge you to have it scheduled as soon as possible. Or just “now.” Why?
Is It Too Late to Have Maintenance for My Furnace?
Monday, January 18th, 2021
When we talk about regular heating maintenance, we often call it “fall heating maintenance.” That’s because this is the typical time when people arrange to have it done. Heating maintenance done during autumn has the advantage of giving homeowners time to arrange for any repairs the technicians may uncover during inspections and ensures the heater is in the best condition just before it will be needed the most.
This, however, doesn’t mean that once fall is over that maintenance has passed it’s “expiration date.” We need to emphasize this: There is no expiration date for professional heating maintenance. A residential heating system requires maintenance once a year, and doing it later is far, far better than skipping it. And it is especially true for a gas furnace.
In short: No, it’s not too late to have maintenance for your furnace in Brighton, MI.
Leave No AC Repair Undone—Even in Fall!
Monday, October 26th, 2020
The fall brings relief from the heat and a time to prepare for the cold of the winter. It’s when our technicians get busy taking care of the heating system maintenance our customers need to make sure their home’s heater is in the right shape for problem-free comfort through the end of the year and the beginning of the next.
It’s also the season when homeowners still need to be aware of when they need air conditioning repair in Brighton, MI. It’s far too easy to brush off any lingering AC problem when the weather is close to making a hard right turn into colder temperatures. But please don’t ignore any air conditioning trouble you notice during this time. You don’t want any repairs left undone before you shut down your air conditioner for its hibernation period.
It’s Time to Schedule Heating Maintenance—Don’t Skip It!
Monday, September 16th, 2019September, when summer officially ends and autumn begins. We know it’s hard to say goodbye to summer weather, although fall has its joys. To get the most from the fall and ensure you enjoy a comfortable and worry-free winter, you need to ensure your heating system is ready to get back to work.
In other words, it’s time to schedule regular fall maintenance for your heating system.
Yes, this is another item on an already busy fall “to do” list. But it’s an important one. Please don’t decide you can sit out maintenance this year because the heater is “doing fine.” Skipping maintenance for even a single year has consequences, and if you skip it once, you’re more likely to skip it again in the future. (You know it’s true.)
Shutting Down the Furnace for the Summer
Monday, April 29th, 2019
At First Choice, we like to help our customers save money with their heating and cooling systems. Our summers and winters can force HVAC systems to put in an immense amount of work, which can make for steep utility bills. But there are many ways to cut down on energy costs, and one of them is partially or completely shutting down your home’s furnace during the summer.
Make Sure to Regularly Change the Furnace Filter
Monday, December 24th, 2018
We can offer plenty of advice for how to better and more energy efficiently heat your home during the winter. And we can offer plenty of heating services in Davison, MI to improve your overall comfort. But if we could only say one thing, only give a single piece of advice, it would be to regularly change your furnace’s air filter.
Thankfully, we have our own website and the space to elaborate on this advice …
Heating Repair Myths You May Believe
Monday, November 26th, 2018
We’re now in what we in the HVAC business call “heating season.” It’s when home heaters turn on and work steadily all the way through the early spring—and sometimes longer than that.
As you settle in for the end of the year with your home’s furnace, boiler, heat pump, or other central heating system, we’d like to provide you with some information to dispel common myths about heating repair. Because we live in an era of instantaneous info available through the internet, it’s easy for these fictions about heaters to spread. Once you know the reality, you’ll be able to take the best possible care of your household heater.
5 Great Ideas for Saving Energy on Heating This Winter
Monday, October 29th, 2018
Even people who like winter more than any other season don’t like seeing utility bills start rising as the temperature begins dropping. It’s true you can’t avoid paying higher energy costs during the winter because of all the work your home’s central heating system must put in (and the water heater does more work as well). However, you can cut down on those costs with some basic steps.
Below we’ll share five ways you can save heating energy this coming winter—and of course they work every winter!
Does a Boiler Need to Have Regular Fall Inspections and Tune-Ups?
Monday, October 15th, 2018
The furnace is the most common type of central heating system, but in our area there are many homes that rely on boilers. Boilers are often found in homes that don’t have a network of ventilation ducts, since a boiler works by circulating hot water through pipes to terminal points (radiators, baseboard heaters) where the heat then radiates into the rooms.
Most people who have boilers enjoy the comfort and energy savings they bring. They also like how rarely the boilers need repairs. Because boilers contain fewer moving parts than furnaces or heat pumps, they wear down slower and will not only require fewer fixes over their lifetime, they’ll have longer lifetimes as well.
However, don’t let this slower aging and lower amount of repairs trick you into thinking your boiler can miss routine fall maintenance now and then. Any heating system must have annual inspections and tune-ups, boilers included.