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10 Signs Your Heating System Needs Maintenance in the Winter


Written on January 23, 2025.
Posted in .

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10 Signs Your Heating System Needs Maintenance in the Winter

It’s easy to overlook heating system maintenance — or rather, it’s easy to overlook until your energy bills spike or your home isn’t as warm as it should be. Heater maintenance addresses the wear your system accumulates as it works hard to heat your home, helping to improve reliability, energy efficiency, and more.

Why Heating Maintenance is Critical for Winter

Winter demands a lot from your heating system. Furnaces, heat pumps, and other heating systems are engineered to accommodate your home’s heating load as the temperatures drop, making heater maintenance important for winter comfort.

As your system works harder to heat your home, clogged filters, dirty burners, worn components, and other inefficiencies or issues compound quickly. In turn, your heating must work harder, further stressing its components and potentially leading to costly energy bills or system breakdowns. Routine maintenance addresses regular wear, dirt, and other issues that come with usage, such as replacing an air filter or calibrating the thermostat.

Key Benefits of Regular Heating Maintenance

Regular heating maintenance identifies and addresses minor problems before they can escalate, preventing undue wear or breakdowns. Maintenance goes beyond just preventing problems, though — by keeping your system in optimal condition, tune-ups also benefit your comfort, health, and wallet.

Improved System EfficiencyHeating Maintenance

Heating systems are complicated units with many components operating in tandem, and even a small problem can disrupt the entire heating process and efficiency. Routine maintenance includes inspecting, cleaning, and lubricating these components to ensure your system operates smoothly and consistently.

Lower Energy Bills

Without regular maintenance, heating systems work harder and consume more energy to achieve the same heating performance. For instance, air filters trap dust, dirt, and other debris, preventing them from entering the ductwork and heating unit. A clogged filter restricts airflow, forcing your system to work harder and consume more energy to heat your home, therefore driving energy bills up. Proper maintenance improves energy efficiency by minimizing strain, resulting in lower energy consumption and utility bills.

Enhanced Comfort and Safety

While a poorly maintained unit may provide inconsistent warmth or stop working altogether, tune-ups keep your home’s heating even and comfortable. Maintenance also ensures that safety sensors and other components are working as they should, minimizing the risk of heating-related safety concerns such as carbon monoxide, gas leaks, fire, and electrical hazards.

10 Signs Your Heating System Needs Maintenance

Heating systems often show signs when they need maintenance. While they may be subtle initially, they can lead to bigger efficiency and safety concerns later if unaddressed.

1. Unusual noises

Heating systems run quietly, typically with a low hum as air travels through the ductwork or a click of the ignition when a cycle starts. Banging, squealing, whistling, and other strange noises should be a red flag. For example, rattling or grinding suggests loose parts or mechanical problems, while banging and popping may come from small explosions within the heat exchanger.

2. Inconsistent heating

With proper sizing, installation, and maintenance, warm air should be distributed evenly throughout your home. If you encounter consistent cold or warm spots, your system may not be running efficiently. Restricted airflow, whether from a bent blower fan blade, blocked vent, or clogged air filter, is often the underlying cause of hot and cold spots. Short heating cycles, which stem from various other problems, may also prevent your system from running long enough to reach each corner of your home.

3. Higher energy bills

It’s normal for energy bills to increase in correlation to increased heating usage. Consistently climbing or suddenly spiked energy bills mean that your system is using more energy than it should to maintain performance.

4. Weak airflow

Decreased or inconsistent airflow from your vents may be due to clogged filters, faulty blower fans, or ductwork leaks or blockages. Weak airflow strains the heating unit and makes it work harder to maintain the preset temperature, potentially straining and damaging your system over time.

5. Bad odors from the vents

Furnaces sometimes emit burning-like smells after long periods of disuse and gradual dust accumulation over the summer, but these smells should dissipate after a few cycles. Otherwise, your system shouldn’t smell — musty or mildew odors indicate obscured mold, burning smells stem from overheating components, and rotten eggs signal a gas leak.

6. Frequent system cycles

If your heating turns on and off more frequently than usual, known as short cycling, it likely has underlying inefficiencies. Short cycling means that your furnace or heat pump runs more frequently, which consumes more energy and accelerates overall wear.

cold in home due to heating problems

7. Pilot light or ignition issues

Furnaces use either a pilot light or an electric ignition system to initiate a heating cycle. Problems with components involved in the ignition process, such as the thermocouple, gas valve, or burner, may prevent your system from starting properly or increase safety risks.

8. Difficulty starting the unit

If your heating unit struggles to start — whether it takes longer than usual or requires multiple attempts — several issues can be responsible. Some are as simple as resetting or recalibrating a thermostat, resetting a breaker, or replacing an air filter, while others involve more complex components and require more thorough inspection.

9. Poor indoor air quality

Dirty filters, blocked ducts, and other problems may negatively impact indoor air quality. When air filters are clogged, for instance, your system may experience reduced airflow, bacteria and mold buildup, and greater circulation of harmful particles throughout your home. Unpleasant odors and respiratory problems often correlate with poor air quality.

10. Aging equipment without regular maintenance

If your heating equipment is 10 years old or more and hasn’t had consistent maintenance over its lifetime, it’s more likely to break down or lose efficiency. Even systems that are only a few years old may show signs of wear without routine tune-ups.

How Often Should Your Heating System Be Serviced?

Most heating systems need maintenance at least once per year, ideally in the fall and before peak heating season to ensure its reliability and performance.

Some systems may require more frequent services — for example, older systems have more accumulated wear and are more prone to breakdowns and inefficiencies, but more frequent maintenance can help mitigate these risks. Likewise, heavy heating usage may require more frequent tune-ups. Households with pets, excessive dust, or other air quality concerns may need to replace their air filters more often, about once per month.

Choosing a Professional Heating Maintenance Service

Choosing the right provider helps you maximize the benefits of heating system maintenance. By selecting a licensed, insured, and expert technician, you can increase your home’s comfort, improve efficiency, and reduce energy bills with heater maintenance. Consider these tips to choose a professional heating maintenance service that meets your needs:

  • Read testimonials and reviews: Check online reviews and read customer testimonials. Your chosen provider should have largely positive reviews regarding expertise with various systems and models, customer service, pricing, and convenience.
  • Consider maintenance packages: Look for preventative maintenance plans offering annual services and other benefits, such as priority service and discounts.
  • Check licensing and certification: Licenses and certifications guarantee that technicians are properly trained and equipped to safely handle various system types.

Call AC Plus for Heater Maintenance in Victorville

Don’t get left in the cold! Serving Victorville, Rancho Cucamonga, and other California areas, AC Plus delivers essential heater maintenance to optimize your system’s performance. Schedule your heating system maintenance with AC Plus Heating & Cooling today for a warm, worry-free winter.


Written By Matt Postoian

Matt Postoian has been in the HVAC industry for over 20 years and is dedicated to providing homeowners in Southern California with total home comfort.

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