It's the middle of the heating season - how well is your furnace "breathing" through the filter? Have you been changing the filter regularly? If not, January is a great month to start a regular maintenance cycle. Furnace filters should be changed every 3 months for optimal performance of the furnace. A clean filter allows better air flow and a furnace that doesn't have to work as hard to meet the heating demands of your house. 

Check out these other posts from Jovag Home Inspection for further information on furnace systems and maintenance.

Plan ahead for 2018 - get a great deal on furnace filters from Global Filters. If you follow my advice of changing your furnace filters every three months, January is a great time to start. I really like the quality of the filters from Global Filter Source and the prices on their site are much cheaper than buying filters from Home Depot or Lowes. 

Take a look at the website - the best deal is on the MERV 11 filters. All you need is your filter size and you can get enough filters to cover all your needs for the year. You can use the coupon below for an additional 10% off your order. 

Winter is coming. It's almost heating season and a good time to check and/or replace your thermostat batteries. If your thermostat batteries are dying or dead, your heat isn't going to come on during the next chilly morning.

Most electronic wall mounted thermostats (ones that have a LED screen) have batteries. It's not always obvious where these batteries are located. They can be in a compartment accessible from the front or they can be hidden behind. If you can't find an obvious place for a battery, try googling "thermostat name/model changing battery". 

Thermostat manufacturers recommend changing the batteries yearly. This is probably overkill if you have a heat only system as the thermostat is working for only part of the year. If you have a heat pump or A/C in addition to heat your thermostat is working throughout the year and may need yearly battery replacement due to the increased power demand.

Changing the furnace filter is an easy task that is often overlooked. Change your furnace filters every three months to prolong the life of your furnace and provide peak airflow (and heated air) to your house. 

Most furnaces have an easily accessible access panel on the front of the plenum (air chamber). Slide open the panel and you should see the filters sitting inside the furnace. Carefully remove the filters and note the orientation of the airflow. It is important to place the new filters with the arrow pointing in the direction of the airflow for proper operation.

The filter on the left has been in the furnace for about three months. Lots of dirt, dust and debris on the filter medium. It has been doing it's job, but is starting to get clogged. You can see a clean and dirty filter side by side in the middle picture. The filter on the right is brand new and ready to be put in the furnace. 

Buy the correct filter or filters and put them back in place. There will be an arrow on the filter indicating the direction the air needs to flow through the filter for it to work. Orient the filter in the correct direction and then close the access panel.

Make it easy for yourself the next time - put some reminders on the front of the furnace or plenum. I use a piece of blue tape to note the date that I changed the filter. Every time I change them, a new piece of tape goes up with the most current info. I also wrote the specs for the filters right on the front of the plenum, much easier to have that to reference when I'm ordering new filters.