Tips for the upcoming cold weather

A few tips from Hillside to be prepared for the upcoming heating season.

Recent mornings have been chilly, which means that the cold weather is not far away. There are several things that you can do to ensure that your heating equipment performs optimally.

Give your equipment a test run. None of us want to turn the heat on sooner than necessary. A test run will give you piece of mind that your unit will come on when you actually need it. Nobody likes to go out to his or her car first thing in the morning just to realize you have a dead battery. If your heater is not going to kick on, it is best you know before you actually need the heat.

Change your air filter regularly. Depending on what type of air filter you have, it should be checked or changed every 1-3 months. Even if you have the expensive cleanable air filters that last an entire year, it is still worth a minutes time to give it a check for dirt or anything that might block airflow.

Close any unused heating vents. If you have rooms or areas of your home that don’t need direct heat, close off the registers or vents. If that part of your house does not need to be heated to a comfortable sitting temperature, don’t waste your money.

Tune-up your equipment regularly. As with any piece of mechanical equipment, proper maintenance will ensure that it is running optimally and efficiently. A little preventative maintenance can go a long way to avoiding untimely breakdowns and prolonging the life of your equipment. Hillside does maintenance, repairs, tune-ups, and offers annual maintenance plans for almost all types of equipment. Check out our services HERE.

Consider a programmable thermostat. These programmable thermostats are ideal for people who have a Programmable Thermostat set schedule, leaving and returning home at the same time each day. A programmable thermostat will turn your equipment on and off to meet your schedule, so it is warm when you get home, but saving you money while you are away. If your schedule is a bit unpredictable, consider a programmable thermostat that you can access from anywhere you have your smartphone or Internet access. Turn your equipment on or off from anywhere, adjust the temperature, check outside temperature, and even change your program schedule whenever you need! Hillside is proud to offer a fantastic remotely accessible programmable thermostat, give us a call if you are interested or would like more info.

Is it time to consider replacement of your equipment? Nobody likes to think about such a major expense, but if you have to, the payback time for newer more efficient equipment is getting shorter and shorter. An investment today can show payback in savings of utility costs in just a few years, not to mention much more efficiency, and not worrying about how much more life is left if your equipment. Hillside always does free estimates on new and replacement equipment and we have financing available for those that qualify.

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