HVAC Tips For The Holiday Season

The holidays in Charlotte are full of wonder and joy, so you do not want an issue with your HVAC system to derail your celebrations. As you progress through the season, there are several things you can do to keep your system running smoothly. Just tackling some basic chores and being diligent will help to reduce the risk that you have an HVAC issue when you are busy with your friends and family.

Schedule Routine HVAC Maintenance

Before the holiday season begins, contact an HVAC professional and have them perform maintenance and do a thorough inspection. Since the holidays often bring with them more guests, your home usually has to deal with more pet dander, dust, and other airborne particles. This can clog up the filter faster, reducing your system’s efficiency and making it work harder, which can wear out the components. 

A professional will start by checking your system and letting you know of any needed replacements or repairs. They will also give the components a full cleaning and replace the filters. A professional can show you how to check your filter so that you know when to replace it. If your home is busy during the holidays, you might need to replace it more often to prevent dealing with a clogged filter. 

Consider Your Thermostat Settings

Your schedule likely changes during the holiday season due to seasonal obligations and festivities. When you have a lot of people over, you can lower the temperature a couple degrees since more bodies in your house will compensate and still keep everyone warm. When no one is home, you can turn down the temperature to save on energy, too. 

You might consider discussing a programmable thermostat with an HVAC professional. These thermostats allow you to pre-program temperature changes so that you do not forget to make them. This helps to save energy and give your system a bit of a break during certain times of the day.

Take Advantage of Ceiling Fans

During the winter months, turn your ceiling fan to the reverse setting. Use a low speed to help push the warm air throughout the space. This helps your house feel warmer without needing to increase the temperature. You can even reduce the temperature a few degrees and the ceiling fan will compensate and still keep your home comfortable. 

Before you reverse the direction of your ceiling fan, take a few minutes to wipe off the blades. Dust can accumulate on them, and then, when you reverse the direction your fan spins, any loose dust can fly off the blades and make a mess. 

Insulate and Seal Leaks

Insulating and sealing leaks is vital to keep your home comfortable without having to crank up your HVAC system. Take a minute to walk around your house, and check your doors and windows to see if there are any drafts. Sealing these drafts with caulking or weatherstripping keeps your heat in and the cold out so that your home’s temperature is more stable.

A professional can inspect your property to see if you need to replace or repair your home’s insulation. They will look at your walls, floors, and attic to see if there are any insulation issues. With proper insulation, there is less heat loss, so your house is warmer no matter how cold it gets outside. 

It is best to have a professional deal with insulating and sealing. This will ensure that they do the job properly so that you get the most benefit. 

Check Your Registers and Vents

One of the most common mistakes people make is accidentally blocking the registers and vents throughout their home. This is even more common during the holidays since you might bring up extra tables and seating to accommodate your guests.

Blocking the vents will disrupt airflow, resulting in uneven heating in your home. When you are moving furniture around, make sure that all of your registers and vents are clear so that the air can easily pump into your rooms. You also want to be mindful about the placement of your holiday decorations since it is common for them to get in the way of your registers and vents. 

Ensure Proper Ventilation

The more people you have in your home, the higher the risk of reduced air quality. You also have to consider that you are probably cooking a lot more and having people come in and out more frequently. If your ventilation is not adequate, this could lead to a significant reduction in your household’s indoor air quality. 

Improper ventilation may also increase the risk of mold growth due to moisture accumulation. Plus, odors will linger longer if you do not have good ventilation throughout your house. 

If you have any exhaust fans, have an HVAC professional inspect them before the holidays roll around. They will make sure that they are working properly and can give them a good cleaning. These help to keep your indoor air healthy by assisting with odor and moisture removal. You should have these fans in your bathrooms and kitchen. 

Consider Your Holiday Cooking

Extensive baking and cooking are a major part of the holiday season. Whenever you are cooking, you will increase the temperature inside of your home. This excess heat could put some additional strain on your HVAC system. 

When possible, try to do your baking and cooking during the late night or early morning when it is the coldest. You should also try to complete these tasks when there are fewer guests. All of this will help to minimize the temperature impact that cooking and baking have inside of your home. 

Mind Your Fireplace

A roaring fire is a great way to relax during the holidays, but you want to ensure that it is clean and that you use it properly. Ideally, you want to keep usage to times when you have fewer guests, everyone is relaxing, and no one is baking or cooking. 

When you are not using your fireplace, close the damper. This helps to reduce drafts and prevents the warm air inside of your house from escaping via the chimney.

If it has been a year or more, have a professional come in and inspect your fireplace. They will make sure everything is in good working order and ensure that it is clean and safe to use.

HVAC Professionals in Charlotte

The last thing you want to deal with during the holidays is an HVAC issue. Our team can help to maintain your Charlotte home’s HVAC system and provide additional advice on how to keep it going strong throughout the holidays. Once the festivities end, we also offer cooling services if you want to get a head start on preparing for the summer. We can even assist with a variety of electrical tasks throughout your house.

Call Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical in Charlotte today to learn more about how to keep your HVAC system healthy during the holidays.