3 Heating System Myths

March 1, 2019

Many people often believe myths about heating systems. There are many theories about what makes a furnace work better or fail. However, homeowners are surprised when the professionals at Brennan Heating & Air Conditioning in Tacoma, WA, let them know that their long-held beliefs simply aren’t true. Here are three of them.

1. Turning Off the Heat When the House is Empty Saves Money

This sounds like it should be true, but it’s not. If everyone’s going to be at work or school all day and the heating system is turned off, they’re just going to come home to a house that’s freezing cold. The impulse is to turn the thermostat off. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, this means the house is cold and everyone must wait for the rooms to warm. This is not only uncomfortable, but it wastes energy and eventually runs up the energy bill. Not only that, but a frozen house encourages frozen plumbing pipes.

Our advice is when you leave home in the morning, turn the thermostat down only a few degrees.

2. Fireplaces Lower Energy Bills

It must be said that in a modern home the fireplace is largely there for the ambiance. You and your family won’t feel much heat from it unless you sit right next to it, which can be enjoyable if you have a fender or an inglenook. But don’t count on fireplaces to add much warmth to a chilly room. This is simply because hot air rises, and most of it is going up the chimney. Worse, the updraft made by the heated air pulls out much of the warmth that the room already has. We at Brennan Heating & Air Conditioning do understand that fireplaces are lovely to have anyway, though. Make sure that yours is inspected every year by a chimney sweep.

3. Closing Registers and Vents in Empty Rooms Saves Money

This is also a counterintuitive myth. Closing off the registers, return registers and vents in a room just makes your furnace work harder and does not tell it to cut down on the amount of hot air it’s blowing through the ductwork. Most furnaces still respond to the thermostat setting and not whether the registers are opened or closed. Call Brennan Heating & Air Conditioning today if you need heating repair, installation or maintenance services.

Brennan Heating & Cooling icon
Categories: