Living in South Carolina means that you enjoy relatively mild winters. We don’t have to worry about getting up an hour early in the morning to shovel our cars out, and we don’t have to worry about our pipes freezing and bursting due to continuous sub-freezing temperatures. So our heaters are not really all that important, right? Got ya! No, our winter season may not be all that extreme, but that does not mean that you can afford to underestimate just how important your heater is in the grand scheme of things.
It gets plenty cold enough around here to necessitate the regular use of our heaters during the winter season, even those temperatures may not have a negative sign in front of them. That is why it is so important to keep our heaters in great working condition. Scheduling routine maintenance will help to do so, but there is no way to make any heater 100% reliable. That is why you need to swiftly recognize the need for heating repairs in Columbia, SC.
Keep an Eye on Your Bills
Because our winters are so mild, our heating costs don’t really rack up the way that they might in the Northeast or the Midwest. That doesn’t mean that you should keep the cost of heating your home completely out of mind, though. Have you noticed that the bills associated with your heater are getting a bit out of hand?
This is one sure sign that your heating system may be in need of repairs. Remember, not all operational problems are going to render your heating system inoperable. They may just seriously drive down its energy efficiency. If you are not using your heater much more than usual, but your bills are spiking, the problem may be with your heater itself.
Hearing Something Strange?
When you think of problems with your heater, you may immediately think of being less comfortable than usual. However, this won’t always be the first warning sign that you encounter. What if you start to hear strange or louder than normal sounds coming from your heater. Sounds like trouble to us! (See what we did there?)
If your heater is grinding, squealing, or banging, then it is probably not functioning properly. With perhaps the exception of electric radiant systems, no heater is totally silent. That being said, you should definitely take note of any abnormal sounds, or normal sounds at an abnormal volume, coming from your system.
Smelling Something Strange?
Are you noticing a pattern here? Detecting problems with your heater doesn’t just mean feeling chilly. You need to get all of your senses involved. That includes your sense of smell, which can alert you to a number of issues with your heater.
Smell a sulphuric odor in your home? That could mean a gas leak, which is a serious safety hazard. Smell a burning odor? Sure, that could just mean that there is dust burning off of your coils—but it could also mean overheating wiring, etc. Odd odors when heating your home should be setting off alarm bells, so take note!
Schedule your heating services with Fulmer Heating & Cooling.