How to Make Your Heater More Efficient

Are you ready to increase your heater efficiency

Summary: While striving to stay healthy, it is often a nightmare to have a malfunctioning heater in winter. Irrespective of your furnace type, this article discusses simple ways to keep your heating system efficient and shares tips for lasting improvement.

Even if you live in the Coachella Valley area, you still need to get ready for the freezing winter days. Thus, you need a comforting, warm atmosphere in your home. The solution is often a central gas furnace designed to generate and blow heated air into your living space.

Since replacing an old HVAC can be pricey, the best option is to make the existing gas furnace efficient.

We discuss four simple ways to improve the efficiency of your gas furnace and share tips on switching to a more efficient heating system.

Heater

Hire a Competent HVAC technician

HVAC installation is a costly home improvement expense, and you need a competent technician to handle it for efficiency. One important job of a furnace technician is conducting regular preventive maintenance on your heating system.

With a professional heating system inspection once a year, usually before the heating season, you can keep your family safe.

Ensure the Installation Structure is Perfect

In the hand of a competent HVAC technician, your system will be checked for structural efficiency, and the following tasks will be performed:

  • Seal the seams

Research shows that 20% of heated air is lost due to avoidable leaks. Upon the annual furnace inspection, any seam leaks need sealing to prevent warm air loss.

  • Ensure proper insulation

Due to old age, the ductwork seal and insulation will leave some gaps for heated air to escape. Your technician will find the affected insulation error and fix it to conserve heat.

  • Update the thermostat

There is no guaranteeing efficiency of an old thermostat. Where the device is faulty or inefficient, it could lead to inefficiency in the heat distribution. An experienced HVAC technician can detect a faulty or malfunctioning thermostat and fix it.

Regular maintenance

For continued efficiency, you should maintain your furnace regularly. For maintenance, you need to do the following:

  • Change the air filter

A dirty or worn filter in a furnace can heavily reduce efficiency. Follow your HVAC technician or the equipment manufacturer’s recommendation on cleaning or changing the filter. The rule of the thumb is to observe the three months cleaning or replacing of filters.

  • Clean the vents

The vents are outlets where the heated air enters your living space. It is recommended to clean these vents and remove any obstructions for efficiency.

  • Clean the furnace

It is important to clean your furnace system at least once yearly. This process eliminates any debris or dirt that has accumulated in the system over time.

Upgrade to electric heat pumps

  • Why upgrade?

Generally, you shouldn’t expect 100% efficiency from an old system. The best you can get after you have diligently followed all of the above-suggested activities is 98.5% efficiency. However, you can dramatically make your system new by upgrading to more efficient equipment like the electric heat pumps.

  • Why switch to electric heat pumps?

Electric heat pumps are efficient modern home heating technology. While the gas system is known and widely used, electric heat pumps are the best alternative with many benefits, including less electricity consumption and savings on running costs!

Due to its eco-friendly nature, it is highly recommended for good health and a happy home. The best part is the incentives! In California, there is a $3,000 rebate program to encourage homeowners willing to switch.

Heater

Are you ready to increase your heater efficiency?

If you live in the Coachella Valley area and are ready to improve the efficiency of your heating system, ANTHEM can help. Also, you can talk to them about switching to electric heat pumps to benefit from the ongoing rebate!

Anthem is a locally owned and operated HVAC company with over two decades of quality industry experience. Call now (760) 895-2621 to discuss the efficiency of your heater.

Why Is My Heater Making an Unusual Smell?

furnace smell

furnace smell

That unusual smell that runs all over the house when the heater is on can be pretty intimidating. Your worries are justified despite this being a common thing that most homes with central heating systems experience. Basically, if you live in a house full of occupants and pets but neglect the HVAC systems, these issues are relatively common. Although, as you will realize, problems like unusual smells are in your control. You’ll see what this means in a moment. But first, let’s start with what causes these dreadful smells in your home.

Most Common Unusual Smells From The Heater

You don’t have to be a “super smeller” to recognize and categorize the unfamiliar smells that are common with heaters. Although some smells are quite normal and safe, some aren’t and require specialized help to eliminate. Ideally, the foul odors you experience result from burning material or leakages. 

Therefore, based on what causes the stench, you should be able to slightly detect smells, such as burned material, rotten eggs, or a musty smell. Don’t worry if none of these relate to the smell you experienced. This is because the actual smell might vary, but the causes remain the same. So, what exactly causes the unusual smells?

1. Burning Material Smell

This is the most common smell you will come across. It could mean that something is overheating in the furnace, or there’s burning foreign material. Depending on which it is, you might experience odors such as melting rubber, smoke, or burning plastic.

If the odor is more of the furnace heating foreign material, that’s a normal occurrence. Dust and debris that are stuck on the heater burn off when it’s turned on. However, when you notice scents such as burning plastic or rubber, that could mean a technical hitch in the heater. 

The smell is bound to disappear eventually with burning dust, but for burning plastic smells, you might need to contact an HVAC professional. Technical hitches could easily escalate into bigger problems, like fire.

2. Rotten Egg Smell

Most gasses are odorless, so to help detect leaks, special chemicals are added to give them distinct smells. To most people, this chemical smells like rotten eggs. If you detect a rotten smell coming from the heater, the probability is high that there is a gas leak from the gas furnace. 

Gas leakage is the last thing you want to be experiencing in your home. Leaks are dangerous if uncontained. Slight friction can cause a massive explosion in the case of a gas leak. You don’t want that to happen. 

The best course of action is to ensure proper ventilation first and get everyone out of the house. Then, contact the gas company or HVAC company that you trust to handle the case promptly. 

Other Unusual Smells From the Heater

Some of these scents depend heavily on the type of heater you are using. For instance, if you rely on heat pumps to warm your house, you might experience musty smells coming from the air vents. This smell is usually caused when mold and bacteria in the vents are heated off. This smell can affect your respiratory system if inhaled over a long period. Avoid this from happening by having the air vents cleaned regularly. 

General Guidelines for Avoiding These Smells

Simple maintenance practices such as checkups and cleanups reduce the chances of gas leaks, technical hitches, and dust build-up that cause putrid odors in your home. Situations, like travel, increase the possibilities of dust build-up, thus leading to burning odors. Also, these smells are common during the beginning of the cold season, especially if the heater has not been in use. 

In both cases, you need to call an HVAC technician to inspect the heater and ensure it’s good to go. Changing the air filters in the vents is also effective at reducing musty odors. 

A thorough cleaning of the vents will eliminate bacteria and other deposits causing foul odor during heating. Once you have explained to the HVAC company the type of smell you experienced, they will be able to pinpoint the issue and come up with a solution.

furnace smells

Prevent Unusual Heater Smells with Maintenance 

Properly maintaining and servicing your heater helps extend its life and keep it running efficiently. That’s where we come in. Anthem offers our Preferred Maintenance package at an incredible value. Each maintenance package is a one-year commitment and includes benefits that extend the life of your equipment, keep it running efficiently, and give you peace of mind. Call us today on 760-892-2621 for a free estimate.