Heating Tune-Up: What It Covers and What to Leave to a Pro

What a heating tune-up covers

ENERGY STAR says to have a contractor do annual pre-season check-ups, and that the heating system is best checked in the fall. Its check-up list has items for every system and items for heating only. The shared items include thermostat settings, tightening electrical connections, measuring voltage and current on motors, lubricating moving parts, and checking the controls and the starting cycle. The list also names the condensate drain, which carries away the water a cooling coil collects.

For heating, ENERGY STAR adds one line: check all gas or oil connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and the heat exchanger. It says a dirty burner or a cracked heat exchanger causes improper burner operation, and that either can make the equipment less safe and less efficient.

Trane's page for gas furnaces gives a longer list of what a dealer does each fall. It includes confirming that the flue pipe, which carries burner exhaust outdoors, the vent connector and the intake and exhaust lines are clear, and checking the condensate drain line and drain pan. It also lists cleaning the burners and the flame sensor, checking the gas valve and gas pressures, checking the heat exchanger for cracks, holes or leaks, and cleaning the blower and its motor. A flame sensor is the small part that tells the furnace's control board a flame is present. Bosch's page for its gas furnaces lists a similar yearly set for a qualified service person. It includes the exhaust venting, the wiring and connectors, the heat exchanger and blower, and a flame sensor clean and test.

Our reading: all three lists include the burners and the heat exchanger, and both makers' lists add the vent and the blower. A contractor's written checklist can be held up against that shared core.

Furnace clean: what you can do yourself

A search for a furnace clean is really a choice between doing it yourself and booking a tune-up. Our reading: the makers' documents draw the line in a similar place.

ENERGY STAR lists one action for you to do yourself: inspect, clean or change the air filter once a month. Which filter to buy and how often to change it are covered in AC filter replacement, so this page does not repeat them. Trane's owner's guide adds a monthly visual inspection that the homeowner does when cleaning the filter. Its list of what to look at includes the vent connector and the vent and air inlet being free of obstruction. It also includes the return air duct connection, where the duct that brings house air back meets the furnace. Our reading: that is a look, not a repair. The same guide says to contact your service agent if you are uncomfortable doing any of those inspections.

The guide also sets rules for the space around the furnace. It says the area must be kept clear and free of combustible materials, gasoline, and other flammable vapors and liquids. It names paints, laundry bleaches, detergents and many household cleaners, and says their fumes can lead to early heat exchanger and vent system deterioration, so they should not be stored near the furnace.

If a furnace will not light or you smell gas, the steps are on furnace won't ignite.

What the makers keep for a technician, and why

Trane's owner's guide states that a furnace is not a household appliance, and that it is complex and requires professional maintenance and repair. It says that apart from the simple maintenance in the manual, you should not attempt adjustments to your furnace. It says a qualified service technician should inspect the heat exchanger and flue pipe at the start of each heating season. It says cleaning the blower wheel and housing must be done only by a qualified servicer or service agency.

Trane's tune-up page lists the risks of a do-it-yourself job. They are a fire hazard if you lack the knowledge, carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) released into the home, and a voided warranty. Our reading: that page also promotes Trane's dealers, so the owner's guide, which is the maker's instruction for the equipment, is the firmer source.

Bosch's gas furnace page opens with a notice that only professionals who are qualified to work on such equipment should do so. Our reading: the cleaning the makers keep for the technician is the work inside the cabinet, meaning the burners, the flame sensor, the heat exchanger, the blower and the gas connections. This page gives no steps for any of it.

Carbon monoxide: why the check is a safety job

EPA calls carbon monoxide, or CO, an odorless, colorless and toxic gas that is impossible to see, taste or smell. Its list of sources includes leaking chimneys and furnaces, and worn or poorly adjusted furnaces whose flue is blocked or disconnected. Among its steps to reduce exposure, EPA says to have a trained professional inspect, clean and tune up the central heating system every year. That covers furnaces, flues and chimneys. EPA also says to repair any leaks promptly.

EPA's page also relays advice from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Commission recommends CO alarms on each level of the home, outside each sleeping area, and urges an annual professional inspection of all fuel-burning appliances, furnaces included.

Florida Statute 553.885 requires an approved, working CO alarm within 10 feet of each room used for sleeping. It applies to a separate building or an addition built on or after July 1, 2008. The building must have a fossil-fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace, an attached garage or another source of CO. The statute says it does not apply to existing buildings undergoing alterations or repairs, unless the alteration is an addition. Our reading: for an older home, the Commission's advice is a recommendation, not a statute. An alarm warns you, but it does not inspect or adjust the equipment.

What changes in Tampa Bay: most heat is electric

The Energy Information Administration's 2020 survey figures for Florida furnaces, heat pumps and heating fuels are set out in central air conditioning system, so they are not repeated here. They are statewide figures, not Tampa Bay ones. Our reading: with electricity the main heating fuel in most Florida homes, many Tampa Bay heating visits may be for electric heat or a heat pump.

Our reading: for an electric furnace or electric heat strips, the gas, burner and heat exchanger items on ENERGY STAR's list do not apply, because there is no flame. What remains is the electrical and controls part of its list: tight connections, voltage and current on motors, and the controls and starting cycle. That is electrical work for a technician. Auxiliary heat and emergency heat explain the strip heat that backs up many heat pumps, so this page does not.

For a heat pump, Bosch's maintenance page lists keeping the area around the outdoor unit clear as an owner task. Its yearly list for a qualified service person covers the air filter, the blower, the indoor and outdoor coils, the drain pans and lines, and the electrical wiring and connections. For its ductless systems, which have no air ducts, Bosch adds a check before each heating and cooling season. Our reading: one outdoor unit both heats and cools, so a yearly visit can serve both seasons. Ask what the visit adds for heating. The cooling side is in the Florida AC maintenance checklist.

A heating system that sits idle most of the year tends to show its faults on the first cold morning, which heater not working in Florida explains.

When to schedule it

ENERGY STAR says contractors get busy once summer and winter come, so the heating system is best checked in the fall. The National Weather Service Tampa Bay office puts the long-term mean date of the first cooler, drier air in mid-October. It says the real cool down does not usually occur until November, and that the first cool-down has come as early as mid-September in some years. Our reading: that makes the weeks before mid-October a workable window for the heating visit here. A short first test run on a mild day is your own check, covered in when to turn on your heat.

What changes the cost of a tune-up

This page gives no prices. We did not find a Tampa Bay figure from a source we could check in the raw text. What the sources do name is what moves the bill. Trane says the cost depends on where you live and the condition of your furnace, among other things. Its tune-up page also ties the cost to whether the furnace burns gas or oil.

Our reading: scope moves it too. ENERGY STAR splits its check-up into cooling items and heating items, so a heating-only visit and a heating-and-cooling visit are different jobs. Whether parts and repairs are included also changes what you are comparing. Trane notes that many HVAC companies sell service plans for furnace maintenance. If a plan is offered, ask in writing what each visit includes.

Questions to ask before you book

1. Which equipment is the visit for: a gas furnace, an electric furnace or strip heat, or a heat pump?
2. Which items are on your written checklist, and do they match the lists above for that equipment?
3. For a gas furnace, will the heat exchanger, the vent, the burners and the gas pressure be checked, and will I get the results in writing?
4. For electric heat or a heat pump, which electrical, controls and coil items does the visit include?
5. What happens if the visit finds a problem, and will the repair be quoted in writing before work starts?
6. Is the contractor licensed in Florida? Florida's licensing agency, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, says verifying a contractor takes a license number, or the contractor's name, or the business entity's name.
7. What does my warranty say about maintenance? Trane's owner's guide says do-it-yourself repairs on a unit under warranty may void the rest of the warranty.

Ask for the answers in writing. Anything involving gas, wiring or the inside of the cabinet is a technician's job, so leave the panels closed.