Crown Heating, Cooling & Plumbing Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Heating System Maintenance’

Do Electric Furnaces Need the Same Maintenance as Gas Furnaces?

Monday, September 26th, 2022
question-mark

When we talk about the importance of scheduling annual maintenance for a gas furnace, we always stress safety. Natural gas furnaces aren’t inherently dangerous, otherwise they would never be allowed in so many homes. But they do have the potential to leak toxic fumes and create combustion hazards if they’re neglected. The regular inspections done during maintenance are critical in spotting potential safety worries, and the tune-ups help to slow down the aging that can also make a gas furnace dangerous.

But you have an electric furnace, which doesn’t have the same safety concerns. In fact, you may prefer having an electric furnace because you’re worried about using natural gas in your house. Does this mean that electric furnace maintenance isn’t as important or doesn’t need to be done as often? Not at all! Electric furnaces require annual maintenance, the same as gas furnaces. The maintenance inspections and tune-up steps are different, but still essential.

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End of Winter Question: How Long Can You Expect Your Furnace to Last?

Monday, March 14th, 2022
furnace-old

When the end of winter comes around, it is a perfect time to check up on your home’s furnace to see how long you can expect it to last. You might find out that the heating system was already on the verge of breaking down before you checked it, or you could discover that your furnace will most likely last until next winter season.

Either way, the general rule of thumb is that a gas furnace will work well for about 15 years, but an electric furnace will last about 20 years—if you maintain the heating system properly with annual professional inspections and tune-ups. That’s really the best way to make a furnace last for as long as possible: don’t fall behind on maintenance every winter.

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Do I Need to Worry About the Safety of My Gas Furnace?

Monday, November 1st, 2021
carbon-monoxide-detector

Some homeowners feel nervous about using natural gas in their homes, even though natural gas is one of the most widespread energy sources for residential buildings. Natural gas does present potential safety hazards, such as uncontrolled combustion and exposure to toxic carbon monoxide, which is a byproduct of burning fossil fuels like natural gas. But when it comes to natural gas appliances, proper precautions and safety measures can reduce possible dangers to extremely low probabilities.

This applies to the gas furnace in your home. To directly answer the question in the title, you don’t need to worry about your gas furnace’s safety as long as you pay the proper attention to the services necessary to keep it working safely.

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Is Heating Maintenance Necessary Every Year? YES!

Monday, September 20th, 2021
Service Blue Marker

Is it that time of year already? 

Yes, it’s fall—or will be when you read this. That doesn’t mean an instant change in the weather, but it means the change is coming. Time to schedule the most important heating service in Akron, OH of all: an annual maintenance inspection and tune-up.

“Does it have to be annual?” you might ask. “I didn’t have any troubles with my heating system last year, so can I just skip it this time?”

The heater needs this service each year. In fact, you want your heating system to have it annually, even if you don’t know it right now. Below, we’ll explain why regular heating maintenance is both necessary and hugely beneficial.

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Why You Must Change the Furnace Filter Regularly

Monday, February 22nd, 2021
pleated-air-filter

Your furnace has a dedicated filter, which is usually located in a slot on the site of the furnace’s cabinet where the return air duct connects to the blower. You can easily remove the filter from its slot and replace it. In fact, you need to do this on a regular basis during times when the furnace runs routinely.

People are often confused about the purpose of this filter. They assume that the filter does the job of helping to clean a home’s air. Although it does remove particles that come through the return air ducts, this doesn’t have a major impact on the indoor air quality; for true IAQ improvement, a home needs special dedicated filters. What the furnace filter does is protect the interior of the furnace and the air handler from dust and debris. It takes from one to three months for enough material to build up in the filter to the point that it needs to be changed for a clean one.

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Be Cautious of This Major Furnace Problem

Monday, February 8th, 2021
Furnace-standard

It’s important for us in the heating and air conditioning business to reassure customers that their furnaces are not super dangerous. Gas furnaces would never be permitted in homes—let alone millions of homes across the country—if their operation commonly posed a threat to people. 

But it’s important for us to let customers know there are ways a furnace, especially an older one or one that hasn’t gotten regular maintenance, can pose hazards. Keeping up with maintenance can lower the chance of problems like this occurring down to almost nothing, but a bit of knowledge also goes a long way.

In that spirit, we’re going to look at a major furnace problem that can put your household in jeopardy: a cracked heat exchanger.

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Yes, An Electric Furnace Needs Annual Maintenance

Monday, September 21st, 2020
heating-element

In our last post, we discussed the importance of annual heating maintenance and having it done each fall. Short version: this maintenance is necessary each year to ensure a heating system remains safe, energy efficient, and in good repair during the winter, and that it will reach its maximum system life expectancy.

“But what about an electric furnace?” a few people may ask. “I get why a gas furnace needs to be checked on but is it that important for an electric furnace?”

The answer is: yes! Heating maintenance is a requirement for all types of heating systems, and your electric furnace in Akron, OH is not an exception.

Electric Furnaces Undergo Strain Like Any Other Heating System

It’s true that electric furnaces have a longer system life average than gas furnaces. The chemical reaction between natural gas exhaust and the parts of a gas furnace will take a toll, and electric furnaces don’t have this issue. But without maintenance, an electric furnace will still fail years too early. You can get 20 years out of an electric furnace with the proper care. Without it, the electrical stress on the system will end its life long before this, possibly giving you only 10 years before needing a replacement. You don’t want to toss away a decade of heating the furnace would have given you.

Electric Furnaces Can Pose Hazards Without Care

It’s easy to convince people they need to be cautious with natural gas-powered systems. But electrical furnaces can pose safety dangers as well. An electric furnace places a large demand on the electrical system of a house, using more power than most appliances, and this may cause shorts to occur and even fires. (If the furnace starts to regularly trip the circuit breaker, please call us about repairs!) Maintenance examines carefully all the wires and electrical connections to make sure a furnace operates at the highest levels of safety during its service life.

Electric Furnaces Can Waste Immense Amounts of Power

An electric furnace has a 100% AFUE (efficiency rating) because all the electrical power converts to heating. There’s no exhaust! But a furnace can start to drain more and more power if it isn’t maintained. Dirt along the heating elements is one way a furnace can become pricier to run. Keeping up with maintenance will keep those energy bills in check.

Electric Furnaces Can Break Down—And Take the Electrical System With Them

Maintenance helps you avoid losing your heating system when you need it the most, and an electrical system is as susceptible to a breakdown as any other type of heater. Tune-ups and inspections will see that you won’t have the furnace fail during one of the coldest days of the year. It also will stop a breakdown from causing damage to the rest of the electrical system and leave you without power.

All it takes to schedule heating maintenance is to sign up for our Crown Comfort Club, which cares for both your heater and AC each year. You’ll receive other benefits as well, such as repair discounts.

Crown Group Ohio is your local comfort experts since 1963. Talk to us today to sign up for our maintenance program and schedule your fall heating maintenance.

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Get Ahead of the End of the Year With Heating Maintenance

Monday, September 7th, 2020
hands-opening-heating-cabinet

The start of September doesn’t mean cool weather. But it is the start of people thinking about cool weather as they look at the trees and wonder when the leaves will change color. When you begin to think about the shift in seasons, that means it’s an ideal time to schedule your annual heater maintenance in Green, OH. The coming winter is going to be as tough and cold as we usually get in Ohio, and your heater needs the same quality pre-winter treatment it should get every year.

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