Fall is trekking right along and the official start of winter is less than a month away. Chances are, you’ve begun running your heater on a daily basis already… and more cold weather is on its way. This means if you haven’t done so already, now is the time to check your heating system for any signs of trouble. Problems from last year won’t have gone away this year without professional care—and this can be compounded by lack of use over the months. Running your system on a regular basis when it’s not performing at its best will only end in frustration—and probably a broken down heater.
There’s good news, though! There are some common signs you can watch out for that indicate your heater is running into issues, and if you know what to look for, you can usually spot these issues fairly easily. Remember though, you shouldn’t attempt a formal diagnosis or any type of repair on your own. Heating systems involve a number of components that could become dangerous in the wrong hands—like natural gas. If you notice your heating system isn’t performing the way it should, the best thing you can do is call a pro. In the meantime, watch and listen for the following signs that indicate a heating system problem.
When it comes to your comfort, it’s hard to ignore some signs that your HVAC system is struggling. For instance, if it’s in the middle of winter and your vents are blowing out cool or lukewarm air, you’ll likely give our pros a call right away for repairs. For other problems though, such as funny noises, you may be tempted to wait on calling in a pro, or you may decide to ignore the sounds altogether, shrugging it off as a normal part of furnace operation.
With temps still in the 90’s, it may seem pretty odd to even be talking about our heating systems. But, there’s actually no better time to start thinking about scheduling heating maintenance! In fact, fall is the best time since weather is usually milder and you don’t have to worry about being without your HVAC system while your tune-up is performed.
Temperatures are growing warmer, and soon enough it will be the official start of spring. You may still be using your heating system on a regular basis right now, and if so we hope it’s performing as efficiently and effectively as it should. If you had maintenance done this past fall, and took care of any recommended repairs, then you likely have nothing to worry about.
With temperatures finally cooling down for the season, you’re probably just about ready to shut down your AC system in favor for your heater. 
The heating season “officially” comes to an end in just a few days. But as we mentioned in 
Temperatures in our area are certainly still cold enough for the daily use of our heating systems. But soon enough, spring will be here and as we all know, that warmer weather can come in fast and hard, leaving us quickly switching from using our heating systems every day to using our cooling systems instead.
When it comes to annual heating maintenance (or biannual, if you have a heat pump), you want to ensure that you hire a professional for the job. But there are a few small maintenance tasks that you can, and should, do on your own in between tune-ups that can and will make a huge difference for your heating system. One task is changing your air filter.