Important Tips for Switching from Cooling to Heating

The air is cooling down and the leaves are slowly changing from green to bright yellows and oranges. Fall is here! But before heading out to buy everything pumpkin spice and festive fall decor, make sure your home’s furnace is ready to go as soon as chilly weather arrives. This means discontinuing the use of the air conditioning unit and cueing up the indoor heat. Are you prepared to make the switch? Not only will the warm air keep you comfortable all season long, but a properly prepped and well-maintained furnace can also save you energy and money on power bills.

Below are some helpful tips for switching safely from the AC to the heating unit in your Oklahoma City, OK home this fall:

• Shut down your air conditioner: The warm weather is coming to an end, so it’s best to get ready to perform a seasonal shutdown of your air conditioning unit. You should remove any debris that’s collected on or around the unit, clean the coils and remove any drainage. Note that outdoor AC units usually don’t need to be covered during periods of non-use.
• Inspect and clean the furnace: If your heating unit is in an easy-to-reach area of your home, perform a quick visual inspection. Look for loose components or connectors, as well as damage caused by pests. Signs you have pests include chewed-on or frayed wires, scratch marks on unit surfaces, ripped-up wall materials and traces of urine and feces. Clean around the furnace to remove dust and other debris.
• Replace the air filter: Your HVAC’s air filter should be changed once a month or at the start of a new season, depending on the manufacturer’s recommendation and your indoor living conditions—pets shed fur and dander, kids kick up extra dust and cigarette smoke is a key contributor to poor indoor air quality. For a fresh start to the fall season, replace the old filter with a clean one.
• Change to heater mode: This may be an obvious move, but be sure to change the thermostat from the cool setting to the heat setting. If you have a digital thermostat, it should now show HEAT ON and/or COOL OFF displayed on the monitor. Otherwise, adjust the manual switch accordingly.
• Test furnace settings: After you’ve replaced the air filter and switched the thermostat from the AC to the heater, run the heat. It’s important that you test your heater before the cold weather really sets in. This helps you avoid issues when you need your heater the most. Don’t be alarmed if a strange odor comes from the vents at first. This is typical of a furnace system that’s a little dusty from having not been used in months.
• Schedule annual maintenance: The pros highly recommend scheduling a furnace inspection every year. Joining an HVAC Maintenance Program is beneficial and should be considered.

Whether you need routine maintenance or repairs to your heating unit in Oklahoma City, OK, the team at Dailey Heating & Air Conditioning can help. Call us today to schedule one of our exceptional heating services!

Categorised in: Heating Service

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