Cold weather puts focus on heating system maintenance | Home

The ever-changing weather in Ohio can lead to extreme hot and cold temperatures, which can spark issues with ventilation in the home. Planning ahead can help homeowners avoid lasting repercussions.

Among the biggest problems is malfunctioning equipment due to a lack of fresh air, according to Steven Smylie, owner of Smylie One in Bedford Heights.

“When it gets really cold outside and we get a lot of snow, there are a lot of houses that are locked up and they don’t get enough fresh, outside air into the houses,” he said. “Fresh outside air is a good thing. It’s a necessity for furnaces and water heaters to work right.”

All fossil-burning appliances need fresh air to work properly, including wood- or gas-burning fireplaces and stoves, Smylie said.

For example, if an attic is not ventilated well and kept at a cold enough temperature, the snow on the roof starts to melt and has no place to go, he said. The snow then forms ice dams, which push under the roofing materials and get into the house, he said.

An attic should be similar in temperature to the air outside and it should have ventilation, such as through vents or an attic fan, to ensure proper air flow, Smylie said.

When moisture builds on windows and walls, it is a sign that there is not enough fresh air in the home, he said.

This problem became more prevalent following the COVID-19 pandemic, when people began staying indoors more often and working from home, and therefore leaving the house a lot less, Smylie said.

In addition to protecting the health of the home, fresh air is good for people. Items in the home expel off-gasses, he said, which taint the air.

“Dilution is the solution,” Smylie said.

For most people, simply going in and out of the house several times a day will let enough fresh air into the home, he said. Those who leave the house less often should be more conscious about air ventilation, he said.

“Crack a basement window a quarter of an inch,” Smylie said. “Open a door every once in a while and let some fresh air into the house.”

It could also be worthwhile to invest in an energy recovery ventilator or a skuttle, which attaches to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and brings fresh air into the house when the fan turns on, he said.

Other good practices include making sure ventilation pipes are not covered in snow, change the filters and check to make sure the heating system is working before you need it. And while conventional wisdom says to turn down the thermostat at night to conserve energy, Smylie advised against it.

“The run time to get back to the higher temperature the next morning will offset any savings and the furnace has to work harder to catch back up,” he said.

He also suggested having the furnace serviced in the offseason.

“We’re in Ohio, we need to be aware that extreme weather happens,” Smylie said. “As long as you plan ahead and have your system serviced ahead of time, the odds of not having heat when it’s cold out are less.”

Shannon Mortland is a freelance journalist.