How Often Does A Gas Furnace Need Maintenance?
There are several reasons why it is important to have a professional technician perform maintenance on your gas furnace periodically.
- Gas appliances can be dangerous when not properly maintained and tested. Gas appliances, including gas furnaces, exhaust carbon monoxide (CO) during their combustion process. This is normally not a problem as a properly functioning gas furnace will vent the CO exhaust to the outdoors. However, over time, the heat exchangers in older gas furnaces can develop cracks that can leak carbon monoxide into your living space.
Carbon monoxide is odorless and tasteless, meaning unless you have a properly functioning carbon monoxide alarm in your home, you wouldn’t be able to detect it. At high levels, CO is dangerous and can even be fatal. It is important to have a technician perform regular maintenance to ensure that your furnace is not emitting CO into your home.
- Regular maintenance ensures that your gas furnace is performing optimally. During a maintenance, a technician will run tests that determine if your furnace is performing how it was designed to perform. If it is not, the technician may make some adjustments, or may let you know if something needs to be fixed or replaced on your furnace to return it to its optimal state. That way you can be sure it is running as efficiently as possible.
- Maintenance helps extend the life of your furnace. During a furnace tune up, a technician will not only make sure your furnace is running well, but will also do a thorough cleaning of your furnace and its components. Dirty components can shorten the life of the major components in a gas furnace. Just like regular oil changes can extend the life of your car, regular deep cleanings will help extend the life of your furnace.
- Lack of proper maintenance will void most manufacturer’s warranties. Most manufacturers warranties have a requirement the furnace be properly maintained. The lack of proper maintenance can void a warranty, which not only means higher repair costs for you, but the lack of proper maintenance also increases the likelihood of an early failure of your furnace and its components.
So how often does your gas furnace need maintenance?
It is recommended that you have your furnace maintained once per year to ensure it is operating in a safe and efficient manner. At Evergreen Home Heating and Energy, we offer a Precision Tune Up service for furnaces and other types of heating and cooling systems. For more information, give us a call at 206-763-1744.
