Most homeowners look forward to the cooler weeks of the year after a scorching summer. You will have to use your heating system at some point, and that is when things will get heated up. Here are some tips to follow before turning on your furnace for the current season. Turn on your pilot light, since your heating unit has not been running for a while, your pilot light may need to be re-lit. If you don’t know how to do this yourself or want to have your unit evaluated at the same time, call a qualified worker, and make sure you hire a qualified worker. If you want your heating system to run efficiently and effectively for as long as possible, it must be inspected properly. A qualified worker should inspect the proposal once a year to ensure this is happening. Replace or scrub the air filter, because as your system’s air filter gets dirty, it will not clean properly and could start releasing contaminants into your home. This can be prevented by cleaning or replacing the air filter every 2-3 weeks, depending on how suddenly it clogs. Make the switch to a better temperature control, as programmable temperature controls allow you to control the mornings and times when your heating and A/C unit operates. Manual temperature controls are a thing of the past and with newer units, wifi control and weather updates are available on several of these. Make sure your alarms are working and there should be at least one carbon monoxide alarm per story in your home, along with multiple smoke alarms. Each one can be tested by a small button on the front and batteries can be replaced if necessary.