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Fall’s arrival means cool mornings and chilly nights, and the start of furnace season. Getting your furnace inspected, cleaned, and adjusted now is a great way to increase energy efficiency and save money all winter. While you can help your furnace with a few maintenance chores yourself, a true and thorough furnace inspection is best done by your professional HVAC contractor.

What to Expect

Furnace inspection involves an organized series of steps to get into, and clean, inside your furnace. It also means checking on the condition of everything going into or out of your furnace, whether it is gas-fired, or electric. The HVAC technician begins your furnace inspection by removing the combustion chamber door with the furnace firing. Inside, the shape and color of the burner flames indicate the cleanliness of the burners themselves. Once the furnace is powered down, the technician will go through these steps:

  • Vacuum burners
  • Remove blower
  • Clean blower
  • Change or clean the furnace filter (change the disposable or clean the permanent one)
  • Clean the pilot light (if your furnace has one)
  • Clean flame sensor or thermocouple
  • Clean hot surface igniters (if so equipped)
  • Test furnace efficiency

Other Parts

Attached to your furnace are your New Jersey home’s ducts, which the technician will visually inspect for open seams, punctures, or air leaks. Registers and vents should be vacuumed clean. The technician will examine and service any electric motors and their attached drive belts. If your home’s ductwork was used during summer for central air conditioning, the dampers may need seasonal adjusting for balanced airflow.

Do it Yourself?

Most of the steps to a complete and proper furnace inspection are beyond the abilities (and household tools) of the handy homeowner. Your duties—replacing the furnace filter regularly and vacuuming the furnace room to prevent dust build-up on electronics—are enough. If, while tinkering with your furnace you dislodge and incorrectly replace even a single wire, you could have created a dangerous problem without realizing it.

To learn more about furnace inspection, or to schedule one for your New Jersey home, contact us at Pipe Works Services.

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