Protect Your Furnace From Snow in Indianapolis

Winter is coming! Read on for our three steps to protect your furnace from snow and stay warm in Indianapolis.

Weatherfolks are prediciting up to a foot of snow in Indianapolis this weekend. What’s that mean for you? Well if you regress to the mean, it means you’re probably stocking up on break and milk (still can’t figure that out) and planning to be inside until Monday.

However, if you hope to enjoy those carbs and dairy, you can’t be milquetoast in your furnace preparation.

Step 1: Protect Furnace From Snow by Checking Your Filter

This is always step 1 in a homeowner’s preventative maintenance. In every single what can you do for yourself article we’ve ever written, step 1 is always check your filter. Yet, HVAC companies across Indianapolis earn the GDP of small countries each winter fixing systems that fail as a result of poor airflow from old filters. If you’re new to homeownership, or don’t know where your furnace filter is located (hint: almost certainly near your furnace), we’ve created a How To Change Your Furnace Filter Guide.

Step 2: Check Your Furnace Exhaust

Ofter overlooked, and understandably so given our limited snowfall accumulation, is the furnace exhaust. As many furnaces in Indianapolis are located in basements and many furnaces are 90% efficient and above, many furnaces vent through a side wall near ground level.

As snow accumulates, it can potentially block both the exhaust air and intake air into your furnace. If exhaust air is blocked, safety controls will likely shut off your furnace leaving you in the cold. As you can imagine, this is a pretty simple solution: keep snow cleared from your exhaust vents.

Step 3: Adjust Your Expectations and Your Thermostat

As temperatures drop, so should your furnaces set point. That difference between outdoor air temperature and the desired indoor air temperature creates the work your furnace has to do. It stands to reason, then, that as that outdoor air temperature drops, keeping the thermostat set point constant would increase the workload of your furnace. This recommendations never wins me any fans (ahem, Holsapple Communcations) but is certainly the pragmatic move if you have concerns about the furnaces age and ability to keep up.

While there’s no set rule on this, I would begin to consider lowering your temperature set point if the outdoor air temperature gets below 20 degrees.

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As always, Homesense is here to help protect your furnace from snow. Call 317-203-8149 to get help. Or, look here you have questions on furnace repair or replacement.