By Robert Patterson
The short answer: our heating season is short but the first hard freeze always finds the systems nobody checked. A fall safety check, a fresh filter, and knowing whether you run a furnace or a heat pump is 90% of a comfortable winter.
What kind of heat do you have?
Most homes here run a gas furnace or an electric heat pump. They fail differently: a furnace has combustion safety concerns (see our furnace basics), while a heat pump needs its reversing valve and defrost cycle confirmed before winter.
The fall to-do list
Replace the filter, run the heat for a few minutes to burn off summer dust (that first-use smell is normal), confirm every room warms, and book a professional check. For a furnace, that check must end with a combustion and carbon-monoxide test — non-negotiable.
The failure mode we see
Systems that cooled fine all summer but sat unused for months, then get asked to heat on the coldest night of the year. Igniters, flame sensors, and reversing valves pick that moment to quit. A quiet fall visit prevents the 2 a.m. no-heat call.
Your next step
Get a fall heating check before the first freeze — furnace service or heat-pump check, covered by the $159/yr maintenance plan. Weighing an upgrade? Read furnace vs. heat pump or visit the Learning Center.