Winter is coming. That’s become abundantly clear where I live in the last week. One day we were wearing shorts and t-shirts and the next day I had to go digging for our coats and sweaters. Living in the mountains of North Carolina, I’m pretty used to the fact that we transition from summer to winter pretty quickly and I’m usually prepared for the most part. However, a few years ago, after moving into our new home, I had a major homeowner fail. I’ll tell you more about that later (it’s a cautionary tale worth hearing) because every year, right around this time of the year, I remember what it felt like to have our heat out for three very long, very cold days. With the anniversary of that event coming up and the weather cooling down, I felt like NOW was the perfect time to share with all of you tips to help keep your family warm this winter.
Now before I get into my very important tips that could be the difference between a warm, cozy winter and one that is uncomfortably cold in your home, let me tell you a little bit about what happened in our home three Novembers ago. We hadn’t lived here long and I (perhaps stupidly) thought that since we had a home inspection when we moved in, everything was hunky-dory. Well, the first cold snap came and went. During that time if felt a little cooler in the house but I figured it was just because it was a new home and I wasn’t used to adjusting the thermostats. Then then next cold snap came and I noticed that it was a little cooler. After turning up the heat, I noticed that the house was not getting warmer. After calling the hubs (who knows everything when it comes to our house) and having him help me troubleshoot, I discovered that our HVAC system was not blowing hot air. To make a long story short, we were able to get it fixed….three days later. During that time I had to put the kids at my mom’s house (it was really cold in our house) and we slept under blankets and shivered all night at home. When I tell you those were a long, COLD three days I’m not kidding and I told myself that I’d do everything in my power to not go through that not-so-fun experience again.
So, with a little help from the hubs, I learned a little more about HVAC maintenance, warning signs that your system may need a little help and what to do to avoid every being in the situation I was in again. Lucky for all of you, I’m going to share a crash course with you that I hope will help you make changes today to avoid a very cold winter experience.
Learn What Your HVAC System Is
For those of you who are like me and may not quite know exactly what happens in your home all the time, your HVAC system is the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system that keeps your home comfortable year round. Truth: I had to ask the hubs to take me to see our HVAC system and I learned that while it runs throughout our house, it has an indoor and outdoor component that helps keep our home cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Determine if Your HVAC System Needs a Tune-Up
Having a yearly maintenance appointment for your HVAC system is really the smart thing to do so that a professional can assess any repairs that need to be made before they start causing issues that you can actually feel (it’s easy to set up a maintenance plan with Sears Home Services) and I’ll share more on how exactly to do that later but first I want to share some signs that everyone can look for right now to know if their HVAC system is in need of a little TLC. You have reason for concern with your current HVAC system if you notice any of the following signs:
- A cold home
- High energy bills
- Clogged air filters
- Soot around the furnace of flickering flames
- Strange noises coming from your HVAC
- A HVAC unit that keeps shutting off or breaking down
If you can put a check mark by any of those signs of HVAC trouble, go ahead and skip to the end of this post to find out what to do. If you don’t have these signs but want to avoid them, it’s time to move on to the most important tip I learned that helps me keep my family warm in the winter.
Take Preventative Measure to Avoid HVAC Issues
Hopefully you were able to say no to all the signs of needing HVAC repair that I mentioned earlier but even if you were, without a little maintenance you might not always be so lucky. To avoid HVAC issues, it’s important to have a regular maintenance plan in place and there’s no one better to call than Sears Home Services! Sears Home Services have been around for over 100 years and have an awesome reputation in the home improvement industry. Now they are able to help with all your HVAC needs by offering repair, replacements and, you guessed it, maintenance services! That’s right, Sears Home Services will send a knowledgeable technician (who know much more than I do) to your home to give your HVAC system the good old once over and make sure that everything is in working order to keep you warm all winter!
Even better, with their HVAC Savings Program™ (which in my opinion is a must-have for winter peace of mind) gives homeowners the ability to earn dollar-for-dollar savings from qualified, paid HVAC repairs and maintenance. These savings can be used towards a future HVAC replacement from Sears and is good for up to 10% of the new unit purchase price. Even better, these savings NEVER expire! The program is free to join and your savings are automatic from day one. That means that every HVAC repair or maintenance done by Sears Home Services automatically credits to your account, ensuring that every time you do preventative maintenance on your HVAC system using Sears Home Services, you’re earning money towards a new system when you need one!
Now, as awesome as that is, don’t run off to schedule your HVAC maintenance with Sears Home Services yet because I want to help you save even more! Right now you can save $40 on HVAC repair and preventative maintenance*! That means you get $40 off now and earn savings on a new HVAC system for later. It’s been said that peace of mind is priceless but hey, saving on the peace of mind you get from Sears Home Services is OK by me too!
Know Where to Turn if You Need a HVAC System Replacement
While I truly hope that you are in the portion of people who can schedule a repair or preventative maintenance appointment and go along your merry way with the peace of mind that Sears Home Services offers, I have some help for those of you whose HVAC unit has seen it’s better days. Winter this year is going to be cold so if your system is no longer working like it should, consider acting now because with Sears Home Services, you can save $325 on a new HVAC purchase of $1,500 or more!**
Take my best advice (from the person who was only cold for 3 days) and trust me when I say, if you need a new HVAC system, now is the time to act before it gets really, super, duper, miserably cold out there!
Whatever your personal HVAC needs happen to be, do the right thing for your home and get in touch with Sears Home Services today to learn more about their HVAC Heating and Cooling Systems and the HVAC Savings Program. Then rest easy knowing that this winter will be cold but your family will stay toasty warm because of your smart actions today!
*Additional charge for filters, parts and labor for repair. Offer good on residential units only. Price valid per condensing or heating unit. Excludes swamp coolers, whole house fans, and geothermal units. Tax not included. Not valid with any other offer. Void if copied, transferred and where prohibited by law. Any other use constitutes fraud. Cash value 1/20c. Coupon code: HVAC40. Offer expires 11/30/18. Through the HVAC Savings Program ™, qualified, paid HVAC repairs and maintenance earn dollar-for-dollar savings towards a future HVAC replacement from Sears, up to 10% of the new unit purchase price, and the savings never expire. For more information, click here!
**Save $325 on new HVAC purchase of $1,500 or more. Offer expires 02/02/19. Not valid on prior sales or in combination with any other offer. Purchase requirement before taxes and after other discounts and must be made in a single transaction For more information, click here!
Always important to do maintance check up couple time of year at least. Keep extra filters in hand always
I let my husband take care of our heating issues but he does not know too much either. We just had our boiler serviced and I hope it stays good and functional from year to year.
We have our HVAC serviced every season. The last thing we want is for our heating or cooling to go out when we need it most.
Getting the HVAC system tuned up regularly is key. It’s so important to keep on top of maintenance tasks with the heating system.
We did have someone come out to check on our heater just to be sure it’s ready to go. Good news! It is! I think it’s important to have it looked out so you don’t freeze.
Amber Myers recently posted..Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Tricks and Tips!
These are great tips! We typically have our heating system serviced every year around this time.
Tasheena recently posted..My Fall Skincare Routine
We make sure to do a maintenance check every year. It’s easier to find the problems when they’re small than wait until the entire system needs work.
It was during a routine inspection of our HVAC that a major problem was discovered. Thank goodness our furnace was still under warranty.