What if you were so busy worried about the heat that you never saw that hard freeze coming?

When you live in the Sunshine State, you generally have to worry more about hot days rather than cold nights. But here in Florida, winter gets far chillier than you might expect. And if you don’t take the right precautions with your home HVAC unit, then you may spend the entire winter season simply trying to stay warm!

Fortunately, we’re here to keep that from happening. Keep reading to discover how to prepare your own HVAC unit for the colder months.

Tweak the Thermostat

Some of the tips to prepare your home HVAC unit for the winter are more complex than others. But we’re going to start with the easiest tip of all: adjusting your thermostat.

Try to gradually ease your thermostat up as the days get cooler. Not only does this keep you more comfortable, but it makes it easier to prepare your HVAC system for switching over to heat during the winter.

You can take things to the next level with a programmable thermostat. It can help reduce the costs of your power bills even as it ensures you and your family are as comfortable as possible.

Clean the System

During the heat of a Florida summer, your HVAC is probably getting a real workout. So before winter gets here, one of the best things you can do is to clean your system.

This means cleaning up both outside and inside. Outside, you need to clean around your outdoor unit (especially clear out stray limbs and other debris from nearby trees) and exterior casings. Inside, you need to work on the inner coils and any other parts of the system you can easily reach.

After this deep cleaning, try to maintain everything until winter comes. Otherwise, you may end up having to clean your home HVAC unit all over again.

Use Heat Pumps and Heat Strips

For as complex as an HVAC system can be, the basic principles behind it are pretty straightforward. It all comes down to moving hot air and cold air to different parts of your house when you need to change the temperature.

To make things more efficient, you can always install a heat pump. This pump helps warm your house partially by using the warmer outside air, which takes some of the strain off of your HVAC.

If you have an air handler as part of your system, you can always use heat strips to bring extra heat into the house. The final result is the same: you’ll be warmer and cozier during the winter and your HVAC won’t have to work as hard (and won’t be costing you so much money, either).

Get Your Home HVAC Unit Ready Today

Now you know how to best prepare your home HVAC unit for the winter. But what if you didn’t have to do it alone?

We specialize in all things HVAC and love to keep the locals cool in the summer and warm during the winter. To see how we can help with HVAC maintenance, HVAC repair, or anything in between, simply contact us today!