I don't know how you heat your home, but I do know with the price of heating oil, natural gas and electricity is at ridiculous rates. You don't want to waste your money on an inefficient heating system.
Here's a couple of tips to help you get the most out of what you've got.
OIL FIRED FURNACES/ BOILERS OR FORCED AIR
Have your oil filter changed once a year without fail. Make sure your oil guy removes and cleans or replaces the strainer in the pump. Have your nozzle changed also. Oil blasting through that thing will eventually wear the orifice hole and change the spray pattern and gallon per hour rating.
Have the gun adjusted professionally and make sure they do an efficiency test with documentation that they leave with you. You can't do it right yourself, or let them just wing it. It's like a carburetor and needs the air/fuel mixture just right to run clean.
Older oil tanks tend to accumulate a lot of cruddy sediment in the bottom.
Don't run your tank all the way to the bottom or it will slurp up all the junk that sits in the bottom of the tank and clog your oil lines. If your tank is outside make sure you have the fill cap and sight gauge on so water doesn't get in...water doesn't burn. Put a bottle of "heat" or other additives in with every fill up to lessen the chances of oil line blockages when it gets really cold out. It sucks thawing oil lines with a heat gun in the middle of the night when it's snowing.
If you notice black soot on your walls, ceiling, drapes, or in corners you have a cracked heat exchanger and your oil furnace needs to be replaced ASAP.
HEAT PUMPS
Keep that air filter clean. Change it monthly, or at least pull it out when the system is off and check it. Heat pumps need a good air flow to exchange heat to the coil. Dirt and neglect will greatly diminish it's capacity to heat.
Have your refrigerant pressures/temperatures checked. A low refrigerant charge will cause your system to run and run and bring on your electric supplementary heaters and make your electric meter spin like a circular saw.
If it snows outside keep that outdoor unit clear of snow on the sides or it won't defrost and turn into a giant ice cube. Be careful and not damage the tubing and electric wires running to the unit.
Heat pumps should defrost themselves and should not accumulate a coating of frost or ice on the outdoor unit for more than 90 minutes. Keep your eye on that outdoor unit during ice storms and freezing rain. Water can freeze on the fan blades and make an out of balance situation and just like your washing machine it will start shaking and wander off somewhere in your backyard.
NATURAL GAS/PROPANE FIRED EQUIPMENT
Again keep your air filter clean.
Take the front door off the burner compartment and watch the burners when it lights. Keep your face out of the way! Flames should burn blue, and all light almost simultaneously with no delay from burner to burner. No yellow flames.
Flames should not waiver, after the blower comes on. Never should you see the flames roll out.
If it's in your laundry room and subject to lint accumulating, vacuum it out while it's turned of at the t'stat. Be very careful to not disturb the wiring or hot surface ignitor.
Check the integrity of your vent piping( Flue pipe) If the metal is rusting or pitting through from the inside replace it immediately. It's your exhaust pipe pumping bad stuff into your home.
If you have a high efficiency gas furnace that vents with PVC pipe keep leaves, debris and snow away from the inlet and outlet of the pipes. Do not put any type of fine mesh screen over the ends of the pipes. Water will freeze on the screening and block the air/exhaust from flowing and shut your system down. Use 1/4" or larger mesh screen to keep birds out, but make sure the screen is attached in such a way the the squares on the screen are diagonal, not horizontal like graph paper would look. This will allow the water to run off in the "off" cycle and not re-freeze.
BUY A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR IF YOU HAVE ANY FOSSIL FUEL BURNING APPLIANCE IN YOUR HOME OR WORKSHOP!!! Gas, oil, woodstove, fireplace, kerosene space heater.
Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless and you'll wake up dead.
WOOD STOVES/ PELLET STOVES
Creosote builds up on the inside walls of your chimney, or stainless vent pipe chimney . Get them cleaned professionally or you will risk having a chimney fire that will burn your house down. Don't think it can't happen to you'
PUT A CHIMNEY CAP ON YOUR CHIMNEY
You can get them at Home Depot, Lowes, or your local hardware store.
Keep the birds, squirrels and other critters out and prevent them from building nests in your nice warm chimney.
If you need advice or have any specific questions feel free ask.
TiM
Here's a couple of tips to help you get the most out of what you've got.
OIL FIRED FURNACES/ BOILERS OR FORCED AIR
Have your oil filter changed once a year without fail. Make sure your oil guy removes and cleans or replaces the strainer in the pump. Have your nozzle changed also. Oil blasting through that thing will eventually wear the orifice hole and change the spray pattern and gallon per hour rating.
Have the gun adjusted professionally and make sure they do an efficiency test with documentation that they leave with you. You can't do it right yourself, or let them just wing it. It's like a carburetor and needs the air/fuel mixture just right to run clean.
Older oil tanks tend to accumulate a lot of cruddy sediment in the bottom.
Don't run your tank all the way to the bottom or it will slurp up all the junk that sits in the bottom of the tank and clog your oil lines. If your tank is outside make sure you have the fill cap and sight gauge on so water doesn't get in...water doesn't burn. Put a bottle of "heat" or other additives in with every fill up to lessen the chances of oil line blockages when it gets really cold out. It sucks thawing oil lines with a heat gun in the middle of the night when it's snowing.
If you notice black soot on your walls, ceiling, drapes, or in corners you have a cracked heat exchanger and your oil furnace needs to be replaced ASAP.
HEAT PUMPS
Keep that air filter clean. Change it monthly, or at least pull it out when the system is off and check it. Heat pumps need a good air flow to exchange heat to the coil. Dirt and neglect will greatly diminish it's capacity to heat.
Have your refrigerant pressures/temperatures checked. A low refrigerant charge will cause your system to run and run and bring on your electric supplementary heaters and make your electric meter spin like a circular saw.
If it snows outside keep that outdoor unit clear of snow on the sides or it won't defrost and turn into a giant ice cube. Be careful and not damage the tubing and electric wires running to the unit.
Heat pumps should defrost themselves and should not accumulate a coating of frost or ice on the outdoor unit for more than 90 minutes. Keep your eye on that outdoor unit during ice storms and freezing rain. Water can freeze on the fan blades and make an out of balance situation and just like your washing machine it will start shaking and wander off somewhere in your backyard.
NATURAL GAS/PROPANE FIRED EQUIPMENT
Again keep your air filter clean.
Take the front door off the burner compartment and watch the burners when it lights. Keep your face out of the way! Flames should burn blue, and all light almost simultaneously with no delay from burner to burner. No yellow flames.
Flames should not waiver, after the blower comes on. Never should you see the flames roll out.
If it's in your laundry room and subject to lint accumulating, vacuum it out while it's turned of at the t'stat. Be very careful to not disturb the wiring or hot surface ignitor.
Check the integrity of your vent piping( Flue pipe) If the metal is rusting or pitting through from the inside replace it immediately. It's your exhaust pipe pumping bad stuff into your home.
If you have a high efficiency gas furnace that vents with PVC pipe keep leaves, debris and snow away from the inlet and outlet of the pipes. Do not put any type of fine mesh screen over the ends of the pipes. Water will freeze on the screening and block the air/exhaust from flowing and shut your system down. Use 1/4" or larger mesh screen to keep birds out, but make sure the screen is attached in such a way the the squares on the screen are diagonal, not horizontal like graph paper would look. This will allow the water to run off in the "off" cycle and not re-freeze.
BUY A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR IF YOU HAVE ANY FOSSIL FUEL BURNING APPLIANCE IN YOUR HOME OR WORKSHOP!!! Gas, oil, woodstove, fireplace, kerosene space heater.
Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless and you'll wake up dead.
WOOD STOVES/ PELLET STOVES
Creosote builds up on the inside walls of your chimney, or stainless vent pipe chimney . Get them cleaned professionally or you will risk having a chimney fire that will burn your house down. Don't think it can't happen to you'
PUT A CHIMNEY CAP ON YOUR CHIMNEY
You can get them at Home Depot, Lowes, or your local hardware store.
Keep the birds, squirrels and other critters out and prevent them from building nests in your nice warm chimney.
If you need advice or have any specific questions feel free ask.
TiM
