Keeping your home and family warm this winter is probably at the top of your priorities. And you don’t just want to keep your family warm, you want to do so safely. We have some tips to help you stay warm and safe all at the same time.
Our HVAC safety tips for Aztec, NM, will help you maximize heating efficiency in the best way possible – maximizing both safety and efficiency. After all, creating heat using a gas or electric furnace does pose some risks. You can keep reading to learn how to mitigate heating risks while also keeping your home and family warm no matter how cold it gets outside.
Allow Space
Our first safety tip is to allow space around your heater and vents. There should be about three feet of space around your heater and any air vents located in your home. If you have air vents on the floors, this means not placing furniture too close to the vents.
If your vents are in the ceiling, you want to make sure that particularly tall furniture is not blocking any of your vents so air can flow freely. It is also important to make sure all of your vents are completely open for optimal airflow. Don’t close them in an attempt to divert heat to other areas of your home. Instead, heat will just get trapped in your vents, causing your heater to work harder.
Schedule a Tune-Up
If you haven’t already scheduled a heating tune-up this calendar year, now is a great time to do so. Ideally, you want to have a maintenance appointment ahead of using your heater during the winter. It’s a great way to make sure that your heater is in good working order and there’s nothing that could potentially go wrong.
When our team performs a maintenance inspection, we can identify small issues inside your heater that could pose safety threats later on. By fixing these problems now, you can rest easy all winter long knowing that your heater is in optimal condition to heat your home.
Portable Heaters
We know that it can be tempting to buy small space heaters and plug them in around your home for added warmth. This is great for those days of winter that are particularly cold, but you need to be wise about how you are plugging in and using portable heaters. Never plug more than one heater into a single outlet.
Just like with your central heater, make sure that a portable heater has plenty of space around it. Turn portable heaters off before you leave their room for added safety. Even though you are in the room, you shouldn’t leave portable heaters on overnight either since you will be sleeping.
Turn Off Your Oven
In place of a portable heater, you may want to turn on your oven instead. This is not a safe or efficient way to heat your home. If your heater is struggling to keep your home warm and you are resorting to turning on your oven, give us a call. We can talk to you about your other options and help you find safer and more efficient ways to keep your family warm this winter.
Don’t waste your time with the run-around. Give the Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning team a call to schedule your appointment for heating services and let us do it right the first time!