How to protect your heating system during freezing temperatures

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - As we brace for the cold, we spoke with the owner of All Weather Heating and Cooling about how you should maintain your heating and cooling system.

As cold weather hits, local heating and cooling companies are gearing up to help you stay warm.

Stay up to date on winter weather by downloading the WRDW Weather App on Google Play or the Apple App Store.

Arthur Kowalwski says you should keep your thermostat set to 65 degrees, and you should never turn it off. If you do, your house could suffer.

“In the winter months, if you turn that unit off, it could just absorb moisture inside the house. It could make it very cold and damp,” said Kowalwski, owner of All Weather.

He says routine maintenance on your heating and cooling system is important year-round, but especially during extreme weather.

Part of that maintenance includes changing out your filter.

“The same attention to that unit needs in the springtime because you have to repeat that same process for the fall months because that unit operates the same way around, so anything you do in the springtime to get that unit ready for the summer months, repeat that same process,” he said.

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Overall, he says it’s most important to keep your thermostat on its normal settings, or else it’ll work much harder than it needs to.

“Your heat pump is designed to operate solely as your main supplementary source.

“Your emergency heat or your auxiliary heat is not meant to be used as your main source. It is only designed to come in occasionally to help the system out and to step away,” said Kowalwski.

He says that most heating issues come from electric heat pumps. If you have a gas system, there’s no need to worry.

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