Once the autumn comes and temperatures drop, what we usually do is put on some warm clothes, oversized sweaters and we curl up in a cosy blanket with a cup of tea or hot chocolate. However, just wrapping yourself up in a blanket is not enough once the winter comes and the temperatures really drop. Once that time comes, we need to heat up our houses. Now, some people have fireplaces, some use electric energy and some of us use gas furnaces.
Those who use gas furnaces know how hard working they become once the winter comes. Naturally, like every other hard worker, your furnace needs a break and regular maintenance, as well. That is if you want it to perform the way it should and we assume you do.
That begs the question – how often should you do it? Well, we thought we’d like to find out and let you know, so, let’s do that.
Should You Service A Gas Furnace?
Considering that gas furnace inspection and maintenance isn’t free, many wonder do they really need to spend all that money on a service that may not be necessary. Well, contrary to popular belief, this service is quite necessary and should never be skipped just for the sake of saving some money. Sure, you might feel like you’ve thrown away some money, but in reality, you’ve saved thousands upon thousands of potential damages done by a faulty furnace.
How Often Should You Service A Gas Furnace?
Usually, when it comes to certain appliances, a regular maintenance schedule is quite hard to set. You see, sometimes it’s hard to see how anything would go wrong or affect the performance so we neglect the maintenance altogether.
However, when it comes to furnaces, scheduling regular maintenance and service is quite easy. According to Infiniti Air, you should perform service on your furnace once a year. By you should perform we mean you should hire a professional that knows how to properly do the job, we wouldn’t advise DIY-ing this unless you have some pretty significant experience in the matter, which we assume you don’t if you’re reading this. So, call a pro – it’s much safer and efficient in that way.
The timing also matters as you want to make sure your furnace is up and running, without any hiccups, by the time cold weather strikes. So, the end of summer or early autumn would be the perfect time of year to perform an annual check-up and service on your gas furnace.
How Much Does The Service Cost?
One of the most common questions people ask when it comes to gas furnace service is how much does it cost. As we said, people feel like they’re wasting money when they don’t know why something is being done or why is it important. That’s one of the reasons they want to know how much does it cost – before they make a call.
On average, the cost of the service is anywhere between 50 and 100 dollars, depending on a service provider. Now, that might seem like a lot of money, but when you compare that to a cost of a brand-new furnace or worse, damages caused by a malfunctioning furnace – the cost seems rather insignificant. So, sacrifice a dinner at a restaurant and invest that money into something that’s going to keep you warm all through winter.
Who Should You Hire To Perform An Inspection And Do The Service?
As we have previously said, this shouldn’t be a DIY job. It’s not that this is a complicated endeavour, but you do have to know what you’re doing and what you should be paying attention to. Contrary to popular belief, servicing the furnace is not the same as cleaning it – it’s quite more complex.
With that in mind, you should know who to hire. Your best option would be to contact the furnace provider and check are they offering these services and do you, as a previous customer, have any benefits or discounts that you might cash in on.
If you don’t know where you bought the furnace from or it was already there when you purchased a property, your safest bet would be to go online and look for a local servicing crew. Of course, don’t just hire the cheapest ones – read a couple of reviews first. Ideally, you’re looking for someone responsible, reliable, knowledgeable and only then, affordable. You should never put price above the quality of service when it comes to these things – it’s not worth it.
Also, make sure you do some research because you don’t want to end up having to spend $200 for some materials and ‘sudden expenses’. Check out what other people say and make sure you don’t end up getting scammed. Always try and find the reliable ones – don’t just hire anyone.
Benefits Of Servicing Your Furnace Annually
Finally, we want to talk to you about some of the benefits of annual furnace maintenance and inspection. We’ve decided to keep it brief and focus on the most important benefits, although there are a few others, as well.
It’s Preventive Maintenance
We’ve mentioned the cost of this endeavour several times during this article, but only for the sake of people realizing preventive measures aren’t wasting money. Spending less than $100 annually, to minimize the risk of a furnace breaking down and burning down your house, seem pretty reasonable when you think about it from that perspective – doesn’t it?
It’s Cost Efficient
Not only will this save you money in the long run, in case something happens, but it will also actively save you money. You see, non-serviced furnaces tend to run inefficiently, burn more fuel and rack up your power bills. When you consider that the furnaces tend to run for about 6 months non-stop – those additional expenses easily surpass $100.
It Prolongs The Life-Expectancy Of The Furnace
Furnaces have a life expectancy and an expiration date just like any other man-made thing we use. Now, how long will they run – nobody knows. However, what we do know, is that if we keep these devices in the best shape possible, they’re going to last longer – a lot longer.
There you have it. Hopefully, we have given you enough information on this subject and you now know why it’s important to service your furnace and how often should you do it.
