HVAC Technician Provides Tips To Keep Homes From Losing Heat

BLAINE, Minn. (WCCO) – Even in homes that are somewhat new, the same old things can go wrong. Inside a house in a Blaine neighborhood, space heaters are keeping each room warm as Nathan Wallace, a technician with Standard Heating and Air Conditioning, tackles the busted furnace in the basement.

"It's a 90 percent efficient unit and the blower motor decided to stop working," he said.

Keeping homes heated is a concern across much of the Midwest this week. It's why Unique Comfort Heating and Cooling, an HVAC company in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, sent out a warning to customers on its Facebook page on how to keep their homes from losing heat.

The information was then shared by the Brooklyn Park Fire Department on its Facebook page, garnering 5,700 shares by 9 p.m. Monday.

The fire department's post was later edited, omitting some of the suggestions.

The post from the Chicagoland HVAC company said in part, "Newer homes will struggle to maintain temperature and older homes will NOT maintain temperature and the temperature WILL drop while the heating system is working at full capacity."

It went on to suggest that homeowners should boost their thermostats by 2 to 4 degrees above the normal setting, even maintaining a temperature of 70 degrees while taking the thermostat out of setback mode.

"I've never heard of anything like that," Wallace said. "I mean, ultimately, I would just set (the thermostat) at the temperature you're comfortable with. And it should be, if it's functioning properly, it should be able to maintain that (temperature)."

Unique Comfort Heating and Cooling also warned people that furnaces near Chicago aren't designed for subzero temps, but Wallace says that's not the case for newer heating systems up North.

"The Minnesota energy code states that for minus 15 degrees, which is the (furnace) design temperature, you should be able to sustain 72 degrees in your house," Wallace said.

If your house still loses heat, Wallace said to check for drafts around windows or doors and make sure your furnace filter is clean.

"When the filter is clean it allows more airflow through the system, everything operates more efficiently," he said.

We asked CenterPoint energy the same questions. A spokesperson says they do not encourage customers to turn up their thermostats more than they normally would. They say doing so would put stress on the heating equipment and CenterPoint's natural gas system.