Winter doesn’t last long in the sunshine state, but we have some tips and tricks to heat your home safely when it does hit. Most homes in Florida are already equipped with central air conditioning systems, heat pumps, or furnaces, but if these sources fail, we have the solution to heat your home safely. Having a backup plan is always great to have in case of emergencies. To stay safe, use these simple tips to get ready for winter, no matter what type of home heat source you use.

1. Make Sure Your Furnace, Heat Pump or Air Conditioner is in Good Working Order

Furnace – to keep carbon monoxide (CO) gas from leaking into your home, ensure your furnace is exhausting properly. CO gas can be fatal, and because it’s odorless, homeowners may not even know they have a problem until it’s too late. From moving things around in your attic or having roofers working in your attic, the exhaust can be bumped and cause it not to work correctly.

Get your furnace services by a professional. Schedule a maintenance and inspection with a knowledgeable technician who can make sure your system is running properly and safely. We have checklists that we go off of and special equipment to detect any leaks.

Heat Pump – You’ll want a Service Pro to run diagnostics on your system to ensure your reversing valves are operating correctly for your heat pump. Because a heat pump can heat and cool your home, the reversing valve is crucial for your heat pump to function correctly. Occasionally these valves can get stuck and cause your system to use the auxiliary heat strip inside your air handler to turn on and increase your electricity bill.

Sign up with our memerbship plan so your heat pump is serviced before summer and before winter. That way your completely covered for both major season in Florida.

Air Conditioner – Your air conditioner uses an auxiliary heat strip inside your air handler that uses electricity. If this heat strip fails, then your heat will not work. We like to check all the electrical components during maintenance to make sure nothing has come loose. After turning on the heat during your first start-up, it’s normal to smell a slight burning smell as it burns off the dust accumulated on the heat strip.

2. Heated Blankets for Added Warmth

Heated blankets are an awesome way to stay warm at home, and it’s safe! Most heated blankets have a timer and different variations of how warm you want them. If your heated blanket is over 10 years old, they recommend replacing it so no malfunctions may happen. Don’t use a heated blanket while you are sleeping!

3. Space Heaters

Use space heaters sparingly. Keep them 3 feet away from anything flammable. The “3-foot rule” applies to curtains, papers, furniture, pillows, and beddings. Remove anything that can fall around the heater and cause a fire.

• Don’t leave a space heater unattended. Turn it off when you leave a room or are going to sleep.
• Animals and children have a tendency to knock things over so upgrading to a space heater that automatically turns off if it’s knocked over would be such a good investment. Teaching safe distance is crucial for their safety and your home. Because it runs off electricity there is not only a risk of fire but to shock them if not handled correctly.
• Keep away from wet areas. Never use one in the bathroom or kitchen.

Your safety is our priority so if you have a central HVAC system that can be utilized for heating, we recommend using that over other options. Give us a call for a tune-up to make sure everything is running correctly. When you weigh the cost of a tune-up versus a life, it’s uncomparable. Check out our membership plans & schedule today! You won’t regret it.