A proper furnace tune-up has two halves. The safety half checks combustion, the heat exchanger, venting, and gas pressure. The performance half cleans the burners and blower, checks airflow and temperature rise, and confirms the furnace is running at the settings it was built for. A visit that only swaps the filter and lights the burner is not a tune-up.
What gets checked on the safety side?
This is the part that matters most in a gas home. A cracked heat exchanger or a blocked vent can put combustion gases where people breathe, and neither is visible without opening the unit.
- Heat exchanger inspected for cracks and corrosion
- Venting and flue checked for blockage, slope, and secure joints
- Gas pressure and burner flame quality measured, not eyeballed
- Safety switches and the flame sensor tested
- Carbon monoxide checked at the appliance
What gets checked on the performance side?
Performance work is what keeps your bills flat and the furnace alive to its full lifespan. Temperature rise is the key number: it tells a technician whether the furnace is moving the right amount of air across the heat exchanger.
- Burners cleaned and the blower wheel checked for dust loading
- Temperature rise measured against the rating plate
- Static pressure read to catch duct or filter restriction
- Blower motor amperage checked against spec
- Thermostat calibration and cycle timing confirmed
How do you tell a real tune-up from a sales call?
Ask for the numbers. A real visit leaves you with readings: temperature rise, static pressure, gas pressure, and motor amps. If the report is only a checklist of ticks with no measurements, nothing was actually measured.
The other signal is what happens when nothing is wrong. An honest technician tells you the system is fine and leaves. A sales call finds a reason to quote a replacement on a furnace with years left in it.
Our technicians are TECA certified and gas ticketed, and every maintenance visit in the Fraser Valley leaves a written record of the readings taken, so you can compare year to year.
Book a Furnace Tune-Up
We will send a ticketed technician and leave you the actual numbers, not just a checklist.