How to Winterize HVAC System for Colorado’s Harsh Winters

Winters in Colorado are harsh and chilling and they often put a lot of strain in your home’s heating systems. As a wise Colorado resident, you cannot ignore the importance of proper maintenance of your HVAC systems which can lead to breakdowns, higher energy bills, and an uncomfortable indoor environment. Therefore, it becomes important for you to know how to winterize HVAC system properly that will help maintain optimum temperature, prevent costly repairs, and help your HVAC systems perform efficiently.

So, let’s dive deeper and understand various ways to prepare your HVAC system for harsh Colorado winter conditions.

How to Winterize HVAC System

The first thing to take care of is preparing the hearth of your home’’s heating system during winter that can offer reliable performance throughout the winter without any breakdowns or troubles in the chilling midnights.

What should you do?

1. Schedule a Professional Tune-Up

Normally a lot of maintenance task can be done by yourself such as dusting and cleaning. However, a professional’s help is invaluable. You should contact professional HVAC service company and technician to thoroughly inspect the furnace that will cover following checks:

• Checking for gas leaks
• Inspection of heat exchanger for cracks
• Cleaning of burners for proper combustion
• Checking electrical connections for safety
• Testing other safety controls, and so on.

All these checks with professional expertise ensures your furnace and heating systems are operating safely with maximum efficiency.

2. Change Air Filters

Over the time, air filters accumulate a lot of dirt and dust. This dirty air filter restricts air flow making your furnace to work harder and reducing their efficiency. This is a big problem which can lead to overheating and even breakdowns in future. While it is recommending to change the air filter every 36 months depending upon your usage and air quality, you can turn up to your HVAC service provider for better idea on when to clean and replace those filters. 

3. Check the vents 

Ensure all the vents are open and not obstructed by any object to allow for smooth air flow. A blocked air vent can disrupt normal air flow that creates extra pressure and imbalances in the functioning of furnace and thus reduces their efficiency. It also leads to uneven heating in various areas of your homes.

4. Test your HVAC Systems

Before the winter starts, it is important to test if the furnace and other heating sytesms are working properly or not. You can experiment by tuning up the thermostat, check for unusual noises if any, see if any foul smell such as burning or musty odor is coming. All these are signs that your system require professional maintenance.

Preparing Outdoor Units

Outdoor units of heat pump system or stand-alone air conditioner also need a few preparation to protect them from harsh Colorado winter and perform optimally. It is among the important steps to winterize your HVAC systems to keep them protected. Here are things you need to do.

1. Clean the outdoor Unit

Ensure there are no debris such as leaves, branches, weeds, or anything and clean them properly. This helps with efficient airflow and prevents further damage. While cleaning the fins, be careful and gentle. You can use fin combs or gentle stream from a garden hose. Its better to avoid high-pressure spray as it can damage or bend the delicate fins. If in doubt, always contact HVAC technicians in Colodao.

2. Cover the unit

Covering outdoor AC units provide additional layer of safety against dust and dirts. During the winter, covers will help protect these units from snow, ice, and other debris. But be careful of using breathable covers to prevent moisture buildup which is the main reason behind corrosion of outdoor unit.

Also DO NOT COVER the heat pump. It requires proper air flow to work efficiently in winter and covering it may affect its performance.

3. Check condensate drain line

Heat pumps produce condensation even in winter. So check the condensate drain line to ensure they are clear and there isn’t any blockage in the line. It is necessary to prevent ice buildup and water damage. Simply pour a warm cup of water down the drain line to see if the drainage is proper or not.

Optimize energy efficiency for winter

Now that winter has arrive, you will have spend a lot of effort to winterize your HVAC system. However, it is just one part of preparing your home from cold. You must also focus on optimizing energy efficiency of your HVAC system for effective heating with minimum energy bills.

What you should do?

1. Seal AIr Leaks

Simple cracks and openings around windows and doors can greatly impact your home’s heating efficiency. So, properly seal these air leaks with weather strippings or caulks. 

2. Insulate home

A proper insulation of attic, wals, and floors is a great way to maintain consistent temperature and reduce energy consumption. Here should be enough insulation to prevent heat loss and reduce workload on home’s HVAC system.

3. Use Programmable Thermostat

A programmable thermostat helps to set different temperatures for different times of the day. For example, you can set lower temperature when you are asleep or away from home and warmer temperature when you are in home busy doing your normal activities. This significantly reduces energy usage.

Final thoughts!

Winterizing home’s HVAC system is an important step for you to prepare your home for Colorado’s cold climate. Following the above mentioned steps can keep your home warm, your equipment protected, and your energy bills low. 

At any time you need any help, be it for regular maintenance, HVAC system tune-up, replacing or cleaning air filters, or addresssesing minor or heavy issues, you must contact professional HVAC service company Everest Mechanical. 

We have experienced and certified technicians that will take care of all your HVAC service requirements. We also provide warrantied and affordable service, so you can have your complete peace of mind.