Is Your Furnace Ready for a Wisconsin Winter? 9 Things to Check This Fall

September in Central Wisconsin is a transition month. We may still have warm afternoons, but cooler mornings are a reminder that heating season isn’t far away.

And if you live in Stevens Point, Plover, Wisconsin Rapids, Waupaca or anywhere else in Central Wisconsin, you know how quickly “a little chilly” can turn into “turn on the furnace.”

That’s why September is one of the best times to make sure your heating system is ready for another Wisconsin winter.

At Badger Heating & Air Conditioning, we’ve been helping homeowners and businesses in the Stevens Point area with heating and cooling needs since 1994. Whether your furnace needs routine maintenance, a repair or replacement, taking care of it before winter can help you avoid an unwelcome surprise on a freezing January night.

Here are nine things to check this fall.

1. Turn Your Furnace On Before You Actually Need It

Don’t make the first 20-degree night of the season your furnace’s test run.

Turn your heating system on during a cooler September or early fall day and let it run long enough to make sure everything appears to be operating normally.

Pay attention to how quickly the system responds after you adjust the thermostat. Listen for unusual sounds and make sure warm air is reaching the rooms throughout your home.

If the furnace doesn’t turn on, struggles to heat the house or behaves differently than it did last season, schedule furnace repair before colder weather arrives.

Badger services all makes and models, so don’t assume you have to call the company that originally installed your equipment.

2. Schedule Professional Furnace Maintenance

A furnace is a mechanical system with components that experience wear over time. Regular maintenance gives an HVAC technician an opportunity to inspect the system before you’re relying on it every day.

Badger’s HVAC maintenance service includes checking, maintaining and calibrating heating and cooling equipment to help keep it operating properly.

During professional furnace maintenance, technicians can inspect important components and identify potential problems before they become emergency repairs.

Preventative maintenance is particularly important in Wisconsin, where a heating-system failure isn’t simply inconvenient during winter. Your furnace may be responsible for maintaining safe and comfortable temperatures through months of freezing weather.

3. Check Your Furnace Filter

Your HVAC filter has an important job. It helps capture particles as air moves through your home’s heating and cooling system.

A dirty or clogged filter can restrict airflow and make it harder for your system to operate as intended.

Check your filter before heating season begins and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for replacement. The correct replacement schedule depends on several factors, including the filter you’re using, your HVAC system and conditions inside your home.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also recommends regularly changing or cleaning central heating and air-conditioning filters as part of maintaining better indoor air quality.

4. Pay Attention to Strange Furnace Sounds

Your furnace shouldn’t suddenly become the loudest appliance in your house.

If you hear banging, rattling, squealing, grinding or other new sounds, don’t ignore them.

Sometimes an unusual sound has a relatively simple cause. Other times, it may indicate a mechanical issue that should be addressed before it causes additional problems.

The same applies to unusual or persistent odors.

A brief dusty smell when a furnace first runs after sitting unused for months may occur, but persistent burning or other unusual smells deserve professional attention.

When in doubt, have it checked.

5. Watch for Uneven Heating

Is your living room comfortable while a bedroom down the hall feels noticeably colder?

Uneven heating can be caused by a number of factors, and the furnace itself isn’t always the only possible culprit. Airflow, ductwork, system design and zoning can all influence how evenly a home is heated.

Badger offers services including zone climate control and can evaluate your HVAC system to determine why certain parts of your home aren’t staying comfortable.

Don’t spend another winter fighting over the thermostat because one side of the house is freezing.

6. Test Your Thermostat

Your thermostat is the control center for your heating system, so make sure it’s working before winter.

Set the thermostat above the current room temperature and confirm that the heating system responds. If you use programmable settings, review your schedule for fall and winter.

Your family’s routine may have changed since last heating season. Work schedules, school schedules and time spent at home can all affect how you want your heating system programmed.

A properly set thermostat can help you maintain comfort without heating an empty home more than necessary.

7. Know When Furnace Repair May Not Be Enough

Not every furnace problem means you need a new system. In many cases, a professional repair can get the system back to reliable operation.

But there comes a point when homeowners should at least consider replacement.

If your furnace is aging, breaking down frequently, struggling to keep the home comfortable or requiring increasingly expensive repairs, ask an HVAC professional about your options.

Badger provides residential HVAC installation and replacement and offers free, no-obligation estimates.

Planning a furnace replacement in the fall also gives you more time to consider your options than you would have during an emergency breakdown in January.

8. Check Your Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Fall furnace preparation should also include checking your home’s safety equipment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends testing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly and replacing batteries at least annually unless the alarms use sealed 10-year batteries. The EPA also recommends replacing smoke or carbon monoxide alarms when they are more than 10 years old.

You can review additional cold-weather recommendations on the EPA’s Winter Weather and Indoor Air Quality resource.

If you have fuel-burning appliances in your home, functioning carbon monoxide alarms are especially important.

9. Consider a Preventative Maintenance Plan

One of the easiest ways to stay on top of HVAC maintenance is to make it automatic.

Badger offers HVAC Service Agreements that include annual furnace and air-conditioner clean-and-check service. Badger’s current service agreements also include 10% savings on parts and labor and priority emergency service.

Instead of trying to remember when your system was last serviced, a maintenance plan can help keep heating and cooling maintenance on schedule.

For homeowners who want fewer HVAC surprises, that peace of mind can be valuable.

What If Your Furnace Stops Working After Hours?

Sometimes a heating system fails despite your best efforts.

Badger offers 24-hour emergency HVAC service for situations that can’t wait until normal business hours.

For emergency service, call 888-388-4883.

Please note that this is Badger’s dedicated emergency service number. Regular office hours and contact information are available on our Contact Us page.

Schedule Your Fall Furnace Service Before the Rush

The middle of a Wisconsin winter is not when you want to discover that your furnace needs attention.

September gives you time to turn on the system, listen for problems, replace the filter, check the thermostat and schedule professional maintenance or repairs before the heating season is in full swing.

Badger Heating & Air Conditioning proudly serves homeowners and businesses throughout Stevens Point, Plover, Wisconsin Rapids, Waupaca and communities across Central Wisconsin, including Amherst, Amherst Junction, Rosholt, Mosinee, Iola, Custer, Bancroft, Almond, Plainfield, Junction City and Scandinavia.

Whether you need a furnace tune-up, repair, new heating system or simply want a professional to make sure you’re ready for winter, we’re here to help.

Contact Badger Heating & Air Conditioning today to schedule your fall HVAC service or request a free, no-obligation estimate.