Furnace FAQs

Yes, especially with the new variable speed motors. When you keep your fan on, you help keep your house clean. Running the fan helps to filter the air, which really helps during allergy season when it’s important to keep pollen out. With multi-level homes, hot air rises and if you keep the fan running, it circulates the air and keeps your home comfortable.

However, running your fan can be problematic for older systems because they are not very efficient. The fan “on” speed is same as the cooling speed, so it runs at a max the entire time. On newer systems, you can alternate the fan speed.

A furnace's life expectancy varies depending on where you live. For homeowners around the Northern Utah area, your furnace can last between 15 and 20 years. Builder-grade furnaces will be on the lower end, and your more energy-efficient furnaces will last closer to 20 years. Typically, you can get a longer life out of better pieces of equipment.

At Mountain Home Services, we recommend a 95 – 98 percent efficient furnace with the variable fan. When your furnace is more efficient, you are eligible for HVAC rebates and often times the local power company will help pay for the installation.

The most important thing you can do to help maintain your furnace between inspections is to make sure you keep your filter clean. The frequency of your filter change depends on your home. For example, if you have pets, you should change your filter once a month. If the furnace cannot breathe, everything else runs harder and longer, which lowers your furnace’s life expectancy.

A tune-up will help improve your furnace’s efficiency. The technician will clean the blower and that will help with the efficiency.

Ductwork done right should never have to be repaired. If you have a sudden fluctuation in energy bills, it could be a sign that your ductwork needs to be repaired. If your ductwork is in the attic or crawl space, you are dumping conditioned air into an unconditioned space and wasting money. Since the ductwork lives in an unfinished space, it is easy to inspect. However, for many homeowners in the Northern Utah area, the ductwork lives in finished basements or behind walls. When this is the case, it is much harder to inspect ductwork and unless there is a major concern, a little air leaking out won’t increase your bill much.

Before you call Mountain Home Services for maintenance on your furnace, it would help to know the make and model of the system. If you are calling for furnace repairs, double-check to make sure your system is turned on and that it is set to the heating mode. You would be surprised to learn that many homeowners just forget to change their thermostat settings between seasons and there isn’t an actual problem. Other simple troubleshooting tips include making sure your system has power and making sure the battery in the thermostat is in good working condition.

It is beneficial to turn your thermostat down when you leave for longer periods of time. If you are just leaving for a short period of time and will want to heat your home when you get back, your furnace will have to work twice as hard to get the temperature back up to the desired temperature. Lowering it by just a few degrees is better than a drastic drop in temperature.

A crack in a chamber causes the heat exchanger to create carbon monoxide. Any crack in a heat exchanger is potentially deadly.

No you cannot. Carbon monoxide is odorless and does not have any sort of taste to it.

You don’t. Since you cannot see, smell, or taste carbon monoxide, typically you only notice the problem when you start to have headaches or other severe, life-threatening problems. At Mountain Home Services, we suggest that all homes have carbon monoxide detectors installed.

At Mountain Home Services, we recommend an AC tune-up in spring and a furnace tune-up every fall. Preventative maintenance does pay for itself over time.

Absolutely. High-efficiency furnaces are rated by the government by how much gas comes in vs. how much heat is delivered into the home. Furnaces that are higher in efficiency are safer and much cleaner to operate.

A high-efficiency blower motor (ECM) is a variable speed motor. New ECM motors run between 60 watts and 100 watts, saving the average homeowner about $250 a year!

You can receive HVAC rebates from the gas company on furnaces that are at least 95 percent efficient. You can check with your utility provider to see what incentives are available for your home.

Three different places. The local gas company, the power company for AC and furnace replacement, and the manufacturer. There is also the potential to receive federal tax credits.