Blogs home Staff blogs Shop Talk with Jenn and Julie
Furnace maintenance — some like it hot
This week I had our furnace serviced as part of a regular maintenance package. We’ve gotten into the habit of doing this when our air conditioning broke down a month after moving into our home. You can imagine what it would be like having no AC in the middle of August. I contacted Advantage Heating and Air (Lawrence) through a reference from our real estate agent, and since then we’ve had the twice annual check ups — air conditioning in the spring and furnace in the fall.
So when I was setting up my fall appointment, I decided to ask Randy Ortiz of Advantage if he had any tips for saving on our heating bills this winter. This is what he had to say:
— Change your filter regularly. Randy says that if the filter is changed as recommended by the filter or furnace manufacturer, 71 percent of service calls could be avoided. He says pleated filters are the best, and usually need to be change quarterly. A brand he recommends is Honeywell. Other filters usually need to be changed monthly.
Here is a dirty filter:
Here is a clean filter:
— Install a programmable thermostat. You can have this done through Advantage Heating and Air for a cost of $125 to $300 installed. Programmable thermostats can also be purchased at Home Depot and installed by the homeowner. With this type of thermostat, you can set the temperature lower when you’re not home for long periods and increase the temperature an hour or so before you return. Randy recommends professional installation of the programmable thermostat if you have a heat pump.
— A humidifier can make the temperature in your home feel up to two degrees higher than it actually is.
— He also stresses that regular maintenance on your furnace will increase its longevity, and keep it running efficiently. One thing he points out, furnaces that have a pilot light are becoming obsolete in terms of their efficiency.
If you’re looking to purchase a new furnace or air conditioning unit, as part of the federal government stimulus package, you can receive 30% of cost, up to $1,500 tax credit, on the purchase of qualifying furnaces or air conditioning units. For more information, go to Energystar and click on tax credit for energy efficiency.
I’m a stickler when it comes to good service, and Advantage ranks up there for the quality of service they perform. I have been pleased with the employees I speak with on the phone and the service reps that come to my home. I agree with Randy that regular maintenance on your furnace keeps it running efficiently which saves us money, and in the long run can help avoid major problems.
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28 October 2009
at 8:07 a.m.
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Bassetlover (Anonymous) says…
Julie—Do you mind sharing what you pay annually for the two house calls? I'm wondering how the price Advantage charges you compares with what I'm paying Cloud to do the same thing. Thanks!
28 October 2009
at 8:18 a.m.
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puddleglum (Anonymous) says…
julie, how long have you worked for advantage?
28 October 2009
at 8:20 a.m.
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lastcall4oh (Anonymous) says…
And what specifically do they do during each of their visits?
What is “routine maintenance”?
28 October 2009
at 8:39 a.m.
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jafs (Anonymous) says…
Annual furnace and A/C regular maintenance usually involves things like cleaning/adjusting/checking operation of the appliances.
Most places that do this will have a checklist that they go through each time that they can provide you.
Blue Dot is another company that does this - they are a BBB accredited company. Their charge if you buy an annual package is $160, and includes 10% off various other work if necessary, and a visual plumbing inspection.
I don't work there - I'm checking them out to see if we want to use them.
28 October 2009
at 9:01 a.m.
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somedude20 (Anonymous) says…
I am BS accredited and will tell you your furance is good for only $25. Act now and I will throw in a free deluxe coffee mug
28 October 2009
at 9:19 a.m.
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inluelty (Anonymous) says…
That 10% off from Blue Dot is hardly worth much considering they never seem to be able to fix something with just one trip out. Then they show up late for appointments, and want to charge overtime because they were late and went past 5pm. Never again.
28 October 2009
at 9:32 a.m.
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jafs (Anonymous) says…
inluelty,
Please tell me more about them - what kind of work did you have them do, etc.?
How can they maintain a BBB accreditation/A+ plus rating with problems like that?
28 October 2009
at 10:24 a.m.
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inluelty (Anonymous) says…
I had them work on plumbing…. unclogging a bathtub drain. Two trips. First one ran into overtime due to their late arrival. Had them work on furnace fan — they replaced the belt - two trips, and then the fan quit again within a month. One of those trips also ran late, and we made it clear we weren't playing the overtime game before we let him in the house. It came up again anyway, but was removed when we complained. Had another company come out and the fan was fixed first trip. We have since replaced the furnace and the 2nd company's bill was marked paid since we had them do the installation.
They probably maintain a good rating because people like me don't think to turn in a BBB report.
28 October 2009
at 12:14 p.m.
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jafs (Anonymous) says…
Who would you recommend for heating/ac?
28 October 2009
at 3:27 p.m.
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lastcall4oh (Anonymous) says…
Cleaning/Adjusting/Checking what actually?
28 October 2009
at 5:43 p.m.
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cowboy (Anonymous) says…
cloud is pricey but I trust them , can't say that about many of the others.
28 October 2009
at 9:13 p.m.
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RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Anonymous) says…
Never changed a filter on my heat system in 12 years.
29 October 2009
at 8:15 a.m.
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jafs (Anonymous) says…
lastcall,
Cleaning/adjusting/checking the burners.
They also check things like the heat exchanger and other parts of the furnace.
Also they should do a CO test to make sure the levels are correct (not too high).
With the AC, they'll clean the fins, check the freon levels, etc.
Routine maintenance of central heating/cooling systems is a very good idea, not a scam. It can prevent more serious problems, and lets you know if you have one you need to deal with. Also, if you have a home warranty, they will deny any claims for systems that haven't been serviced like this once/year.
RI,
That's an obviously bad idea, unless you have some sort of cleanable permanent filter.
29 October 2009
at 8:23 a.m.
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RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Anonymous) says…
Nope, no filter, period.
29 October 2009
at 8:54 a.m.
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julieanderson (Julie Anderson) says…
Jafs - Thanks for the information. I couldn't have said it better.
Bassetlover - The cost for the annual maintenance agreement at Advantage Heating and Air is $130. This is for your AC (spring visit) and furnace (fall visit) and includes your new filter. If you have a humidifier, it's an additional $40, and that is checked in the fall.
Inluelty - What I appreciate about Advantage, is that they deliver what they promise. When we had our AC issue, they came right out. It took the service rep pretty much an entire day to fix it. No additional charges were incurred. He even came back the next day to make sure it was functioning properly, when he could have just made a phone call.
When I get my maintenance calls, they are very accommodating; always showing up during the 2 hour time frame given.
Like I've stated, service is a priority for me. I would never mention a business I didn't believe in.
I would like to add, because it tends to come up, I am not paid by any of the businesses I refer to in the blog.