When Should I Turn on My Furnace?
The Ottawa area’s weather is frequently unpredictable as our seasons continue to change throughout the year. Whenever the temperature is going up and down the way a yo-yo does, you need to do whatever you can to keep your house as comfortable as you can.
So, the question is when should your furnace be turned up and when should it be turned off?
When to Turn it up or Turn it Off
When determining whether or not your furnace needs to be turned off – you should not only consider what the outside temperature is. You should be looking at what the temperature is inside of your house as well. The World Health Organization reports that the ideal winter indoor range of temperature is 18 degrees Celsius to 21 degrees Celsius. Houses with elderly residents or children should be closer to the 21 degrees Celsius for optimal comfort and health.
The outside weather, of course, does affect how cold or warm you feel indoors. Based on Brampton’s historical weather data, it is normal to need to turn your furnace on at the end of September to the early part of October.
If your household is made up of healthy adults, then you can go a bit lower in order to reduce your heating bills to save some money. There are many Canadians who set their thermostats down to 16 degrees Celsius at night!
However, if the indoor temperature of your home is less than 10 degrees Celsius, then you are running the risk of your pipes freezing, so your furnace should not be set too low.
Program the Various Thermostat Settings To Maximize Your Settings
Turing your furnace on does not mean just setting it at one temperature and then forgetting all about it. When a programmable thermostat is used and a schedule is set up for your house, you can save money on your future heating bills.
For example, a schedule could be set up for your weekends and weekdays – reduce the temperature for those times when you will be asleep or away from your home, and higher whenever you are going to be at home on your couch while watching movies and drinking hot cocoa.
Depending on how active you are at using your programmable thermostat throughout the year, you can save 10-23% on your cooling and heating expenses.
What to Consider When You Turn on Your Heat For the Very First Time
If this is the first time you are going to turn on your furnace, there are a couple of things that should be done in order to ensure it is ready.
1. Test Your Thermostat
Using a programmable thermostat will only be effective when it is working correctly. One of the easiest ways that your thermostat can be tested is switching the fan setting over to ‘Auto’ and raise the set temperature by 4 to 5 degrees Celsius over the current temperature of the room. A couple of minutes later you should hear your furnace turn on and start feeling warm air coming from the vents.
2. Change Your Filter
This task is very affordable and easy for homeowners to do. Just make sure that your furnace is turned off, take the filter out and then clean or dispose of it as necessary.You should do this at least every 3 months, not only when your furnace is first turned on.
3. Schedule a Tune-Up for Your Furnace
Your furnace should get a comprehensive tune-up once per year, and ideally before it is used for the very first time. Getting a tune-up will give you peace of mind knowing your furnace is prepared for whatever winter might bring. Also, it will increase the efficiency of your furnace, and that means you won’t need to dread your winter heating bills quite as much.
Our skilled JD Swallow technicians can conduct a thorough tune-up for your furnace and guide you step-by-step through the entire process so that you can have total confidence this winter in your furnace.
