Flipping the switch, HVAC fall maintenance tips

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) -As we approach the fall, heating and cooling experts say this is the time to have HVAC systems checked to ensure everything is working properly.

In a residential setting, Harker Heating & Cooling recommends having a professional technician checkup at least two times per year, predominately spring and fall.

“Homeowners can change their filters and do basically everything outside the furnace but once you go inside the furnace, most people don’t have the technical expertise or equipment to do that safely,” said Jordan Breunig, vice president of mechanical service operations with Harker Heating & Cooling.

Having your heating system checked is an important safety practice since improperly functioning systems can produce carbon monoxide. Breunig cited the furnace as the biggest draw for a professional eye, as many people will be turning on their heating system for the first time since spring.

“The biggest thing with a gas furnace is that it’s got a combustion process that has the potential to create carbon monoxide,” said Breunig. “So having a qualified technician do a safety check on it and analyze the combustion process they’re able to determine the health of that furnace, the parts that you can’t see.”

Closing a chapter on AC for the foreseeable future, Breunig does not recommend tightly wrapping up your outdoor units. “By wrapping the unit up completely you make a nice warm home for a family of mice to live in and they like to chew on everything they’ll cause a lot of damage.”

Instead Breunig advised people to simply cover the top of a flat unit with a piece of plywood, if there are concerns about ice damage from a roof.

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