A Columbia heating season is short, with the system running hard for a few weeks in December and January and coasting the rest of the time. That sounds like good news for the bill (and it is!) but it also means each hour the system runs inefficiently is a larger share of the total than it would be somewhere colder. The four tips below are sorted by where in the house you do them, and none takes more than a few minutes. Most homes here heat with a heat pump, so each tip covers heat pumps and furnaces alike.
1. Change the filter on the first of the month
Every other tip on this list depends on this one. A filter that went in during the fall tune-up is carrying two months of dust and pet hair by January, and a heating system pulling air through it works harder for every degree. On a gas furnace, restricted airflow overheats the heat exchanger and trips the limit switch, so the furnace shuts itself off mid-cycle. On a heat pump, it can trigger the auxiliary heat strips, which are the most expensive way to heat a house. Check the filter on the first of each month during the heating season, hold it up to a light, and replace it when light no longer passes through easily. Homes with pets or allergies usually need a monthly change.
2. Set the thermostat and leave it alone
A thermostat that moves several degrees during the day is the second most common reason a Columbia heating bill climbs. On a heat pump, asking for a jump of five or six degrees tells the system to bring on the auxiliary strips to get there quickly, so a household that drops to 62 overnight and calls for 72 at breakfast pays strip rates every morning. Pick a setting you can live with, keep the overnight setback small, and let the system hold it. A smart thermostat runs the schedule for you and can raise the temperature gradually, which keeps the strips off, and it reports faults so a problem reaches your phone before it reaches the house.
3. Keep the air moving at the vents
A heating system is designed for a certain airflow, and every blocked vent works against it. Walk the house once and make sure each supply vent and return grille is open and clear of furniture, rugs, and curtains, including the ones in rooms you rarely use, because closing vents raises pressure in the ducts and strains the blower rather than saving anything. If one room never warms, that is a duct problem in the attic rather than a thermostat problem, and it is worth mentioning at the next visit. Keep the fireplace damper closed when the fireplace is idle, since an open flue pulls heated air out of the house around the clock, and run the bathroom fan after showers so the damp does not make the house feel colder than it is.
4. Give the outdoor unit room to breathe
A heat pump heats the house by pulling warmth from the outdoor air across the same coil that shed heat all summer, and that coil needs airflow in January as much as in July. Keep leaves and pine straw clear of the unit through the winter, since Columbia’s pines drop straw all season, and keep shrubs trimmed two feet back. After the rare ice storm, knock ice off the top of the cabinet and confirm the fan is turning; frost on the coil is normal and clears during the defrost cycle, while a solid block of ice is a defrost problem worth a call. A unit that is buried in straw runs longer for the same heat and leans harder on the strips.
When these tips are not enough
If the filter is fresh, the thermostat is steady, the vents are open, and the outdoor unit is clear, but the house is still expensive or uneven to heat, the system is telling you something a homeowner can’t with simple preventative maintenance. A low refrigerant charge, a heat strip stuck on or failed, a defrost control that runs too often, or a duct that has separated in the attic each show up on a technician’s instruments and nowhere else. Our heat pump and furnace technicians sort those out, and members of the Cloud 10 Membership pay a $75 diagnostic fee and receive 15 percent off the repair.
A gas furnace flame that burns yellow or orange rather than blue, a carbon monoxide detector that sounds, or headaches and nausea in the house while the heat runs are not efficiency problems. They are signs of incomplete combustion or a cracked heat exchanger, and the right response is to shut the system off and call rather than adjust anything. Same-day emergency service applies to residential properties only, and we treat that call as the priority it is.
Keeping the season inexpensive
2nd Wind Heating & Air Conditioning has served Columbia since 1985. If the four tips above are in place and the house still is not comfortable, schedule online or through the website chat at any hour, and the technician will record the readings, review them with you, and explain what the system needs and why.