When the temperature drops outside, you depend on your heating system to keep you warm and comfortable in your home. Preventative maintenance plays a role in helping that happen, but you may also need to make your home more energy-efficient so your furnace doesn't have to work so hard.

Those steps make things easier on your furnace so it lasts longer, and they may also reduce your winter power bills. Here are some ways to get your home and heating system ready for a long winter.

Have Your Heating System Serviced

Schedule a visit from an HVAC maintenance company to service your furnace, thermostat, and ducts. These three parts of your heating system have to be clean and functioning optimally for your furnace to work efficiently and properly.

The technician may clean the furnace and thermostat and replace worn down parts. They may also test the operation of the furnace to make sure it cycles on and off properly.

The technician may also check the ducts since a duct leak makes it impossible to keep your house warm. If a leak is found, it can probably be repaired, but if not, a duct might need to be replaced.

Keep Up With Maintenance And Repairs

Change the filter in your furnace as often as indicated in your owner's manual. A clean filter is essential for your furnace to get enough air to circulate through your home. You can change the filter yourself, but if your furnace develops other problems, be sure to call an HVAC service without delay.

Things like not keeping your home warm, cycling on and off quickly, or not blowing air could signal problems with your furnace that need quick repairs. Keeping up with repairs prevents damage to your furnace and prolongs its life.

Get Your Home Ready For Winter

The steps you need to take to increase energy efficiency in the winter depend on how well your home is built and how well it's insulated. If you have an older home, you may lose a lot of heat through the windows. You can cover the windows with plastic sheeting to keep out drafts and cover the windows with heavy drapes to provide insulation and to keep in the heat.

You might need to seal gaps in your siding, around windows, and around the door so heat stays inside and the cold wind stays outside. If you're not sure what you need to do to make your home more energy-efficient, check with your local power company to see if they provide free energy audits.

They might help you find problems you didn't think of, and once repairs are done, you might stay warmer in the winter while taking some strain off of your heating system.