Furnace replacement, air conditioner maintenance, and routine checks of your plumbing are all ways to help ensure energy efficiency and reduce utility bill cost. By doing a complete check of your home’s main systems, you can avoid costly waste. If it’s been a while since your last checkup, consider that leaks in one out of every 10 American homes result in wastes of 90 gallons (or more!) per day.
Main plumbing lines aren’t the only problem. Issues with toilets, sprinkler systems, and faucets cause about 1 trillion gallons of wasted water each year, as estimated by the EPA. But in summer, as increased importance is put on air conditioning units, and in winter, when furnace maintenance is a primary concern, a whole-home approach to efficiency is best.
Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
If your home’s HVAC system isn’t running optimally, it can not only be taxing on your wallet when you get your monthly utility bill, but it can be an environmental hazard as well. If you have a solid routine maintenance schedule (e.g. changing air filters, etc.), things like furnace replacement shouldn’t have to happen very often. Even with routine maintenance, it is important to have regular inspections of your system to ensure overall mechanical health.
It might be time for heating repair — or to have your air conditioning looked at — if any of the following apply:
- Your system is old (12-15 years)
- Your heater doesn’t make the house as warm as it used to
- You notice an increase in your utility bills
- You notice funny smells or experiencing breathing problems
Plumbing
If you’ve got large tree roots that routinely grow into your main sewer line, you know the importance of a regular mainline cleaning. But other issues can be hidden from sight and cause serious problems down the line.
Even if you’re looking to do something as simple as winterizing your sprinkler system, or start your system back up in spring, it’s a good idea to have a professional check for any potential issues so that you can address them before they become extremely costly problems.
One way to check for leaks is to ensure all of the water in your house is shut off. Then, you can check your water meter and see if it’s still running. If it is, you have a leak that will need to be addressed. Some common culprits are:
- Leaky faucets
- Leaky toilets
- Toilet flapper valve issues
- Flush handle problems
If you’re experiencing any of the issues mentioned above, plumbing services or furnace replacement should be in your near (or immediate) future. While ensuring home energy efficiency is important, it’s also very important to remedy problems right away to prevent extremely expensive issues from happening down the road.
