ARKANSAS, USA — With outside temperatures set to reach dangerous lows, staying safe and warm inside will be on most of our minds in the coming weeks— but the folks who keep our heaters running will be busy working around the clock.
“Just making sure that everything's running properly, and is kind of within the margins of error,” explained Drew Vest, Comfort Specialist at Paschal Heating and Air.
Vest said that right now is the time to make sure your heater is ready for what’s to come this winter.
“If you think there's a problem, getting it fixed before it goes down, is really the way that you can prevent being without heat,” said Vest.
If you haven't turned your heater on yet this winter, now is the time to make sure it's working properly.
“Let it run for 20, 30 minutes, kind of let it run through its startup cycle. And then if it's running and it stays running well, then you can turn it off,” said Vest.
If you turn it on and there's a burning smell comfort, Vest said that's normal.
“Because the furnace only operates in Arkansas two to three months out of the year if we have a normal Arkansas winter,” Vest explained. “And so for those other nine to 10 months, you're going to have debris start to build up on those heat exchangers.”
Changing your air filter is important too, and if something is wrong, Vest recommended calling an expert right away— especially because some parts can be hard to get a hold of.
“What we've seen a lot with all these supply chain shortages that were caused by the pandemic was that the most random parts, sometimes the most parts we use are going to start to get back-ordered,” said Vest.
Vest also said that it's important to keep in mind how running your heater might lead to higher energy bills— but there's a way to provide a little relief.
“Turn it down a couple of degrees just so it's not going to run as much and as often, and that'll really help with your energy bills,” advised Vest.
Vest added that if you're making a call to a technician, please be patient, they're working to get to everyone on time.