Raising the Standard Episode 58

This week we are continuing our series of how to prevent common emergency issues in your home. Last week, we covered our most common emergency plumbing calls we receive, and this week we are going to give you tips on how to prevent the most common HVAC emergency issues. We get countless phone calls year-round for  emergency service needed at all hours (even in the middle of the night) for furnace or air conditioner breakdowns. That’s not ideal for anyone so let’s take a look at our top 4 preventable HVAC problems and their easy DIY fixes.

Tip #1: Change Your Filters Regularly

The first thing to do if your HVAC system isn’t working properly is to check your air filter unless you changed it less than 30 days ago. Make sure it is free of clogs so the air can flow through and hopefully resolve the problem completely. We frequently receive emergency calls for HVAC system shutdowns due to homeowners forgetting to change their air filters regularly.  Air filters should be changed every 60-90 days at least in order to prevent a major furnace or air conditioner breakdown.  This is super important because your air filter is filtering all the bad particles out of your air. However, if it gets clogged, it’s restricting the airflow and likely the cause of your system shutting down. 

Often homeowners will find that their system is shutting on and off frequently, which is an indication that the air isn’t getting through the filter. Actually, there is a little sensor inside that regulates the pressures in your HVAC System. So basically when your filter is clogged, it’s tripping the sensor safety because it has restricted airflow, which can lead to a lot of different problems. A common issue that results from a clogged air filter is the burners tend to overheat. Normally, air blows through and pushes the hot air off your burners and into your home. However, with restricted airflow, the burners will overheat, which triggers the safety sensor to shut your HVAC system off.

Tip #2: Check Your Thermostat Battery

Our second tip is simple, but homeowners often forget to check if their thermostat battery. A lot of times when a thermostat quits working, it could easily be solved by changing the battery if your thermostat isn’t wired to receive power from your HVAC system and is, in fact, battery-operated. Most batteries last a couple of years depending on the thermostat. Thankfully, sometimes the solution to a no-heat or no-cold air situation is as easy  as taking the thermostat off the wall and putting a new battery in.

Tip #3: Check Your Breaker Panel

Our top 2 tips are probably the most common DIY solutions for an HVAC breakdown, but another solution could be simply checking your breaker panel to see if your furnace or air conditioner breaker may be tripped. Sometimes there was a power surge and a trip to breaker that you’re unaware of so that is always something worthwhile to check. You can easily flip your breaker back on or reset it rather than having an HVAC Tech come out to your home and paying money to have them do it. If this problem continues to happen, that is a sign that there’s an internal issue. Either your breaker is going bad or there is an issue that’s causing something to happen inside your system, which means you need to call a professional at that point to examine it.

Tip #3: Check Your Vents

The other most common system breakdowns result from ventilation problems. If your furnace is venting into your chimney and a squirrel moves into your chimney, it’s will back up your exhaust and trigger the safety in your furnace to shut it off. This way, you’re not pumping carbon monoxide into your home. Also, if you have a PVC pipe outside of your house, it’s always good to make sure that it is clear of snow and anything else that may build up inside of that vent so it doesn’t trip your furnace. So just make sure your vents are clear and you can exhaust all of your fumes to the outside of your home instead of in your basement or mechanical room. 

Tip #4: Invest in a Carbon Monoxide Monitor

Speaking of carbon monoxide issues, you can prevent CO poisoning by investing in a carbon monoxide monitor, which you can get from just about any big box store relatively cheap. We are huge fans of the Defender Low Level CO Monitor. It’s not just setting off an alarm when you have too much CO in your home. Rather, it’s also monitoring the CO level 24 hours a day. You can push a button and the Defender will tell you what the readings were at any given time during the day. It will also tell you what the max readings were throughout the day. So that’s what we recommend because it’s monitoring CO all the time.  

We sell the Defender Low Level CO Monitors and install them so we can definitely help you get one in your home to make sure your family is safe at all times. We recommend one monitor on every level of your home because you never know where the leak or build up is coming from. 

Not Sure if Your HVAC System is Going to Make it Another Season?

If a professional has told you that your HVAC system is on its last leg, we currently have the best deal of the year going on: Save Like a BOSS Spring Event. If you need a new furnace or air conditioner now is the time to save before anticipated summer price increases from supply houses. This March only, we are offering $2,000 off a complete HVAC system (furnace and air conditioner). This is a very straight forward sale. Often, we see other companies saying “Buy an AC, get a furnace free.” However, usually, the system isn’t truly free and they will make up for the savings by charging more for the install and labor. So with this sale, there aren’t any gimmicks, just $2,000 off a complete HVAC system or $900 off either an air conditioner or furnace. 

You can sign up to receive a free consultation to claim this offer right here on our website: https://thebossservices.com/save-like-a-boss/

More Questions?

Thanks for reading – let us know if you have any questions about your HVAC system or would like free quotes for a replacement this March to save big on a new system! We serve all of West Michigan from Niles and New Buffalo to as far north as Grand Rapids, and as far west as Kalamazoo. You can reach us 24/7 at 269-468-6682!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download