Regular home maintenance helps keep repair costs down in Kane County

The vibrant colors of fall make for great sight-seeing.

Scheduling an annual furnace maintenance checkup could help you see more money in your wallet this winter.

“Many people may know that scheduling an annual furnace maintenance checkup is something they should do as a responsible homeowner, but not as many do it as they should,” says Eddie McNally, service manager of McNally’s Heating & Cooling (www.mcnallyhvac.com), with over 32 years of experience in HVAC. “Scheduling regular maintenance can save you money in the long run. We can address any small problems before they become bigger, much more expensive problems.”

It’s not just catching a potential problem before it becomes too big that makes scheduling a tune-up with a reputable company such as McNally’s a wise choice, it can also have a significant impact on your utility bills and indoor comfort level, can extend the life of you heating system, and often keeps your system’s warranty intact.

“Today’s heating and cooling equipment are quite sophisticated and some of the components can be quite costly to replace out of warranty,” Eddie McNally says. “We closely check and monitor all the system’s components to ensure your equipment is performing and virtually eliminate unnecessary premature component failures.

“The days of old, just adjusting a pilot, cleaning burners, and looking for signs of a failing heat exchanger are long behind us now. Our technicians follow a comprehensive checklist and record all readings. They are trained to look for the smallest abnormality and follow through to make sure it’s addressed at the time of the visit for the best possible outcome.”

McNally’s is there for the long haul.

“Everyone at McNally’s truly enjoys the sense of accomplishment that comes with keeping all our customers in our community comfortable and safe,” he says. “I think we do that really well, and our reviews reflect that.”

Whether or not you’re been using the correct air filter and replacing it regularly will certainly play a factor in what a company like McNally’s would discover during a tune-up.

Longtime HVAC professional Joe White recognizes the importance of using the proper air filter for your furnace. White is the owner of Service Tech Heating & Air Conditioning (www.servicetechhvac.net).

“A homeowner will go into the store to buy new filters and the packaging will say they last up to 90 days or up to three months,” White says. “It’s one of those two statements, but it’s saying the same thing. But you should check your filter once a month and if it looks dirty, change it. Every house has different air flow so the amount of air going through varies by the square footage of the house.”

White says you want your filter to allow air to flow through it, but to also be able to capture harmful debris. The good news is filters are budget-friendly and generally easy to choose, check and replace.

“I’ll run into a house and check the air filter and I’ll show the homeowner how you can see through it, which does allow for maximum air flow to get through it, but it defeats the purpose of the word ‘filter,’” White says. “Over time they are going to allow large particulate-size dirt to get through, which will get stuck in the fan and build up in the next location which would be underneath the cooling coil. What happens at the bottom of that coil is dirt will get stuck by it if not first caught by the air filter, and over time you are going to have permanent air flow restriction which will diminish the life expectancy of your system.”

White suggests considering a mid-grade MERV 10 pleated filter.

“It catches dirt better than a see-through fiberglass filter,” he says. “But it doesn’t restrict air flow as much as a MERV 13 (allergen filter).”

If you have seasonal allergies, White recommends adding a whole-house air purifier to the existing duct system.