3 Signs Your Furnace in Charleston, SC Is Inefficient

For obvious reasons, an efficient furnace can be a blessing to both you and the broader environment this winter in Charleston, SC. For equally obvious reasons, an inefficient and low-performing furnace can be a big source of trouble. Here are three ways to know that your furnace’s efficiency isn’t what it should be.

1. Ballooning Energy Bills

Efficiency in a furnace is the ability to effectively warm your home while consuming as little energy as possible, which means keeping you warm while keeping your energy bills low. So, if your energy bills explode even though you haven’t been using your furnace more than usual, that’s as clear a sign as could be that the appliance’s efficiency is low.

This event is a sign of all sorts of other bad things as well. This might mean, for example, that your furnace is too old to continue functioning reliably, that its filters are dirty or that certain critical parts have suffered some damage.

2. Uneven Heating

Unless you’ve specifically arranged to divide your home into a variety of heating zones that you mean to keep at different temperatures, your furnace should heat your home evenly everywhere. There should not be any mysterious spots that are warmer or colder than others.

Many things might cause this problem, including leaking ductwork, dirty filters, malfunctioning fans, a weak blower motor or a mid-sized heating system. Any of these can negatively impact the system’s efficiency.

3. Slow Heating

If it takes longer for your furnace to heat a room than it used to, that’s another sign that its efficiency is declining. In this case, the ultimate culprit is probably an airflow issue stemming from dirty filters, bad fans or leaking or poorly insulated ducts. You’ll almost certainly need professional repairs to take care of this problem.

An inefficient furnace can be a terrible millstone around your neck this winter. Don’t get stuck with one. If you fear that you have, call us at M & B Heating and Air in Charleston, SC and ask for our furnace repair or installation services.

Image provided by iStock