Most Common Mistakes Homeowners Make with Their Heating Systems

Upon installing your heating system, chances are you will relax without any care in the world. With time, however, you would end up committing one or a combination of the most common expensive mistakes homeowners make with their heating systems. Courtesy of Tri-Star Heating Air & Plumbing Savannah, GA, these include:

Manufacturer’s Manual

You would have disposed of the manufacturer’s manual that came with your heating system immediately after installing the system. The manual contains very crucial guidelines on the running, maintenance and repair of the system.

Energy Audit

You do not know how much power your home needs because you have not had it determined through a professional study, known as an energy audit home energy assessment. It is only through such an audit that you can determine exactly how much energy you consume and how you can reduce any wastage or misuse.

Size

You would have been too excited or uninformed to consider the needs of your home. Therefore, chances are you would have installed a too large or too small heating system. This means, with a small system, it does not adequately heat your home while a large system requires you to spend an arm and a leg to run it.

Maintenance

You would end up assuming that your heating system will last forever without ever you touching it again after installing it. The system needs regular maintenance to fix any small problems before they spiral out of control. Consequently, the system would soon start developing all manner of problems regularly, which will drive up your repair costs, reduce its efficiency while pushing up its power consumption and by extension your power charges. Sometimes, you may opt to carry out the maintenance yourself, and because you may lack the requisite skills and adequate equipment, you would probably worsen the problem.

Filters

You would take time without cleaning your system’s air filters, messing the airflow and quality. You had better change them monthly in line with their manufacturers’ recommendations.

Speeding up the Heating Process

Your home could be freezing, and you believe that switching the system to its maximum will speed up the heating process. Unfortunately, it will not have the desired effect. Instead, your power bill will shoot through the roof.

Reducing the Heat

Reducing the heating to the lowest possible level and even switching off the system would cut your power. It, however, will equally subject the system to excessive strain as it struggles to heat your home. This would lead to the pipes freezing. This is why you need a robust thermostat, which you can scale up.

Sealing the Outlets

You may seal any outlets-vents, doors, windows, etc. to unused areas to stop any heat loss or incoming cold. In the process, however, you would be straining your heating system rather than letting warm air to circulate throughout the house.

Not Accepting Your Limitations

Chances are you have neither have formal training or requisite skills to install, operate and service the system. And you insist on doing it yourself. This is counterproductive, and you are better off leaving all those processes to the professionals.