Derek Cole walks North Carolina homeowners through preparing HVAC systems for winter. Test your heat now on a cool morning, replace dirty filters, and schedule a professional tune-up in October before the first cold snap hits. A light dust smell is normal when heat first runs, but electrical or plastic odors need immediate attention.
Pick one of these cooler mornings, switch your thermostat over to heat, raise the temperature a few degrees, and pay attention. That's all you have to do. Pay attention. Does the system come on normally? Pay attention. Are you getting warm air from the vents? Is your home heating the house? Welcome to fall in North Carolina where At breakfast you need heat, and by dinner you need air conditioning. And believe it or not, this is back and forth kind of weather. It's kind of a great time to find out if your system is ready for what's coming, because the worst time to discover your heat doesn't work is that first really cold night. We have No heat. Now you got a problem. So today I want to give you 5 things you should know to make the change from cooling season to heating season here in the Sandhills. Number 1, test your heat now. Test your heat now. Number 1 is really simple. Turn your heat on. Don't wait for the first 35-degree morning to find out whether it works or not. Pick one of these cooler mornings, which are coming. Pick one of these cooler mornings, switch your thermostat over to heat, raise the temperature a few degrees, and pay attention. That's all you have to do. Pay attention. Does the system Come on normally. Pay attention. Are you getting warm air from the vents? Is your home heating the house? You don't have to make your home 80 degrees. You're simply testing the system. If there's a problem, I'd much rather you find out when it's 50 degrees outside than when it's freezing outside. Number 2, that first heating smell may be normal. Here's something that happens every single year. You turn your heat on for the first time and think, what's that burning? What's that smell? Is something on fire? Look, don't panic. Your heating system may have been sitting unused for months. While your AC handled all the North Carolina hot weather. Meanwhile, your heat strips and your heating system has been dormant since, well, like March. Dust can collect on some of those heating components, and when you turn the heat on, that dust gets heated and you may notice a temporary burning smell or a dusty smell. But if you get a strong electrical smell, a plastic melting smell, visible smoke, or an odor that just won't go away, now that's different than a light smell. Turn the system off and get a pro to check it out. But a light smell, a little dust burning smell, that's normal. If it's mild and goes away quickly, that's fine. It's usually not something to be overly concerned about. Just if you have that strong electrical smell or melting plastic smell, visible smoke as well, that's different. You need to get it checked out by a professional. Number 3, heat pumps act differently in heating mode. Number 3 is especially important around here because you have a lot of Heat pumps. Your heat pump doesn't just sit outside during the winter, it's still working. During the summer, your system is moving heat out of the home. During the heating season, a heat pump essentially reverses and you're bringing heat into the home versus outside. So basically, basically you're reversing operation versus Putting heat outside in the summer, you're bringing heat inside in the winter. So later in the season when it gets colder, you may notice longer run times. You might see the heat strips or the electrical heaters or auxiliary heaters come on and stay on. You might even see a little bit of steam coming from the outdoor unit during defrost cycle. A lot of that can be perfectly normal operation in the heating cycle. The important thing is knowing for your system so you can recognize when something isn't actually right. Number 4, check your air filter. Check your air filter. Your system just came through a hot Long Sand Hill summer. Heat, humidity, long cooling times, long run times. So heading in the heating system, physically look at your filter. If it's dirty, replace it. And while you're walking around the house, make sure you don't have any furniture or rugs or anything else blocking the vents. Supply and return. Make sure you don't have anything blocking the vents because airflow matters in cooling season and it matters in heating season as well. And number 5, finally, now is the time to find problems. Number 5 is a big one. October gives us a little window between the extremes. Your air conditioner just finished, heater hadn't really started. That's a good time to have your system checked. Did anything take a beating over the summer? Are any electrical components showing wear and tear? Is airflow where it should be? Nobody can guarantee that mechanical equipment will never break down, but after doing this for over 25 years, I can tell you, I'd much rather find a problem— smoke problem— now than find it when your family is sitting in a cold house. One more question I get this time of year: is it bad for my heat in the morning and my AC in the afternoon? Generally, no. Your system is designed to heat and cool your home. Your system is designed to go back and forth. Give the equipment time to stop before changing modes. But needing heat in the morning and then needing AC in the afternoon, that's fine. Leave the thermostat on auto, set your temperature. That way it knows if it needs cooling or if it needs heating, whichever mode it— it's going to switch to whichever mode it needs. But, you know, fall time in North Carolina, that's the way it is. You could wake up and need heat. You could get home after work and need AC. So here's the takeaway. If you're watching this during one of those weeks where it's cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon, don't wait for the first cold snap. Turn your heat on now. Test it now. Check your filter. Listen to the system. Pay attention to any unusual smells. Make sure it's actually heating the home, because the best time to find a heating problem is before you actually need heat. I'll say it again. The best time to find a heating problem is before you actually need heat. This time of year we are doing a special $88 HVAC preseason tune-up. That way we can come out, get a professional check your system in all the modes to make sure you're good to go before the first cold snap hits.
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