By December the fall tune-up is done, and what happens to the heating bill from here on is mostly up to the house and the habits inside it. That is good news, because the habits are simple. Here are four things a Hampton Roads homeowner can do between now and spring to keep a furnace or a heat pump running efficiently. The one sign that means stop and call rather than adjust comes at the end. Most homes here heat with a heat pump, so each tip covers both.
1. Change the filter on a schedule, not a hunch
Nothing else on this list matters as much. A filter that has been in since fall is carrying a season of dust and pet hair, and a heating system pulling air through it works harder for every degree. On a furnace, restricted airflow overheats the heat exchanger and trips the limit switch; on a heat pump, it can trigger the auxiliary heat strips, which are the expensive way to heat a house. Check the filter on the first of each month through the heating season and replace it when light no longer passes through it easily. If pets or allergies are part of the household, monthly replacement is usually right.
2. Set the thermostat once and leave it alone
A thermostat that moves up and down all day is the second most common reason a heating bill climbs. On a heat pump, asking for a jump of several degrees at once tells the system to bring on the auxiliary strips to get there quickly, so a household that turns the heat down to 62 at night and up to 72 in the morning is paying strip rates every morning. Choose a setting you can live with, keep the overnight setback modest, and let the system hold it. A smart thermostat handles the schedule for you and can be set to raise the temperature gradually, which keeps the strips off.
3. Keep the air moving where it should
A heating system is designed for a certain airflow, and anything that blocks it costs money. Walk the house once and make sure every supply vent and return grille is open and clear of furniture, rugs, and curtains, including the ones in rooms you rarely use, because closing vents raises pressure in the ducts and strains the blower rather than saving anything. Outside, keep leaves, pine straw, and snow clear of the heat pump’s outdoor unit, which needs to breathe in winter as much as in summer, and knock ice off the top of the cabinet after a storm. If one room never warms up, that is a duct problem rather than a thermostat problem, and it is worth mentioning at the next visit.
4. Manage the humidity and the drafts
Coastal winters are damp, and damp air feels colder than dry air at the same temperature, which sends thermostats up. Run the bathroom fan during and after showers, keep the fireplace damper closed when the fireplace is idle, and seal the drafts you can feel around doors and windows with weatherstripping. Under the house, closing the foundation vents for the winter and sealing gaps around pipe penetrations keeps cold air from moving across the floor and the ductwork in the crawl space. Where a home stays drafty despite that, the attic insulation is usually the reason, and our insulation team can measure it.
The sign that means stop and call
One thing on a heating system is not a habit and not an adjustment. If a gas furnace’s flame is yellow or orange rather than blue, if the carbon monoxide detector sounds, if the furnace produces a smell that lingers, or if anyone in the house has unexplained headaches or nausea while the heat runs, shut the system off and call. Those are signs of incomplete combustion or a cracked heat exchanger, and neither waits for spring. Our furnace technicians treat that call as the priority it is, and members of the Premium Home Care Agreement receive priority response when a covered system fails.
When the habits are not enough
If the filter is fresh, the thermostat is steady, the vents are open, and the house is still expensive or uneven to heat, the system is telling you something a homeowner cannot fix from the living room: a low refrigerant charge, a failing heat strip control, a duct that has separated in the crawl space, or a blower that has slowed. Russell’s American Mechanical has served Hampton Roads since 1977, and a mid-season visit sorts those out; book it online, through the website chat, or by phone, and same-day appointments are available by phone when the day allows.