A local professional is advising residents to service their furnace each year.

Johnson Heating & Cooling office manager Nikki Schumaker said servicing your furnace keeps it in good shape.

She suggested cleaning and replacing filters on a regular basis.

Turning your furnace down when you are gone, then back up after you return is not necessarily efficient, Schumaker said, noting adjusting your furnace to rapidly-changing temperatures makes it work harder.

She suggested setting and keeping your furnace at a comfortable temperature.

“It (the furnace) won’t work as hard,” she said.

Schumaker, who has worked at Johnson Heating & Cooling — a family-owned business — for six years, said new furnaces have become more efficient in the last 10 to 15 years.

Home energy assessments are available for Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services customers who have Minnesota Energy Resources gas service.

Freeborn-Mower Director of Energy Resources Mike Murtaugh said customers pay $50 and the entities pay the rest of the cost of the audit — $235.

The program includes at no additional charge the installation of energy efficient materials, including showerheads, faucet aerators, water heater pipe wrap, measurement of home air leaks, insulation inspection and a combustion safety test on the home heating system and water heater.

The goal of energy audits is to help people reduce their carbon footprint, lower their energy bills and increase energy savings.

The audit can also help qualify homeowners for energy improvement financing and utility rebates to assist in home improvements.