How to Maintain Your Central Heating System
Modern home cooling and heating systems are made from pretty reliable materials, and yet like all the other systems in your home, they require routine maintenance to keep them in good condition. An HVAC system specifically requires inspection by a certified professional at least once a year, as this helps to identify problems early on before they become a full-on emergency. You also need to clean the main components regularly to maintain good air quality in your home, and the system itself should run like a well-oiled machine.
While different furnace repair San Francisco, CA and cooling systems require unique maintenance procedures, the rule of thumb is to perform two maintenance visits every year without fail, regardless of the system you have. This article specifically deals with forced air furnaces as well as hydronic systems.
To differentiate, hydronic systems work by moving heat through the radiators, whereas forced-air systems move the heat through specialized ducts. However, both can be heated with an oil-fired or gas furnace.
The seasonal maintenance of your home’s cooling and heating San Francisco, CA system should be handled by a licensed contractor with a warranty. Apart from changing the filter, we don’t recommend that you make any major repairs on the system yourself. The following information is just to give you an idea of the process often followed by a licensed contractor when performing maintenance on an HVAC system.
Thermostat Maintenance
Regardless of the type of system that you’re performing a maintenance check on, the first thing to do is to check the thermostat. Once you’ve turned the thermostat up, you should be able to hear the furnace running as a sign that it’s working, however, if it only runs for a short amount of time and turns off, then you have a problem on your hands.
This is an indication that your thermostat is short-cycling, which can be caused by one of two things:
Either the thermostat is not properly adjusted. In this case you’ll have to recalibrate it or replace it.
Or, the furnace’s heat exchanger is overheating
Either way, you need to call a professional who can check it for you.
Also, if the boiler or furnace burners spark a flame when you turn the thermostat up, you should check the flames for their color, shape and quality. Ideally, the flames should be a solid blue color and a tight oval shape. Seeing hints and traces of yellow flame in there could be a sign that the fuel/air mix needs to be adjusted, which is a job for a qualified technician.
Forced-Air Systems
The key performance indicator of a well-functioning forced-air system is the presence of clean airways, which also help to maintain good indoor air quality.
You’ll also need to:
Check the filters at least once a month
Check the ductwork at least once a year for mold, dust build up, rust and open joints
Make sure that the registers and ductworks are always clean
Clean the blower and examine the blower belt as well.
If you have an oil-fired boiler or furnace, then you need to change the oil filter at least once a year, and get your warranty-backed technician to check the oil nozzle to find out if it needs to be replaced.
Hydronic Heating Systems
The following suggestions should be considered so that your hydronic HVAC San Francisco, CA system can operate at an optimal pressure and temperature. If you find any discrepancies then you should immediately call on a technician.
Check for leaks. After turning the thermostat up, make your way down to the boiler room to examine the valves and pipes for any leaks, and if you do find standing water or leaks anywhere, call a professional technician immediately.
Check the water pressure and temperature. Ideally, you want a water temperature between 180 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit, with pressure between 12 PSI and 25 PSI.
Lubricate the circulating pump periodically.
Check the combustion chamber in the boiler for soot and clean it out.
Drain the system completely and flush it.
Purge air from the radiators.