Schedule Your Furnace Tune-Up Now
Don't wait until the first freeze to find out your furnace doesn't work. Schedule a professional inspection in September or October. A technician will check the heat exchanger for cracks (carbon monoxide risk), test the ignitor, clean the burners, check gas pressure, inspect the flue, and test safety controls. This $100-$150 investment prevents emergency calls during ice storms.
Protect Your Pipes
Oklahoma ice storms can drop temperatures below 10°F for days. Insulate exposed pipes in garages, crawl spaces, and attics. Know where your main water shut-off valve is. During extreme cold, open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls and let faucets drip slowly. Disconnect and drain outdoor hoses. If you'll be away, never set your thermostat below 55°F.
Check Your Emergency Supplies
Oklahoma ice storms can knock out power for days. Have flashlights, batteries, blankets, and a battery-powered radio ready. If you have a gas fireplace, know how to use it during power outages. Never use a gas oven, charcoal grill, or generator indoors — carbon monoxide kills. Consider a portable propane heater rated for indoor use as a backup.
Seal Your Home
Walk around your home and feel for drafts around windows, doors, electrical outlets, and where pipes enter walls. Apply weatherstripping to exterior doors. Caulk gaps around windows. Add foam gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls. Check attic insulation — if you can see the ceiling joists, you need more insulation.
Emergency HVAC Service
If your furnace fails during a freeze, ARP Heat And Air offers 24/7 emergency service. our team answers the phone personally and has responded to emergency calls within 30 minutes. Save our number now: (405) 413-0583.
At ARP Heat And Air, we've been helping Oklahoma homeowners with their HVAC needs since 2009. Our our team brings 17+ years of hands-on experience and is known for giving honest, practical advice — not trying to upsell you on services you don't need.
If you have questions or need HVAC service in the OKC metro area, give us a call at (405) 413-0583. We offer free estimates, same-day service, and 24/7 emergency response.
Based in Edmond, OK, we serve 25 cities across the Oklahoma City metro area. Oklahoma CIB License #00125054.
Oklahoma-Specific Winter Prep
Generic winter checklists miss things specific to Oklahoma. Here's what matters here.
Ice storm prep: Oklahoma gets 1-2 significant ice events per winter on average. Have 72 hours of backup ready: fuel for generator if you have one, bottled water, food, batteries, flashlights. Disconnect tree limbs near power lines yourself or call utility if near the service line to your house.
Pipe freeze prevention: Drip taps on exterior walls when temperature drops below 20°F. Open cabinet doors under sinks. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots. Insulate pipes in attics and crawlspaces — exposed copper freezes in 4-6 hours at 15°F.
Furnace inspection before first cold snap: Oklahoma often has its first hard freeze in early November. Don't find out your furnace is broken when it's already 25°F and you need it now. Schedule a fall tune-up in September or October.
Chimney/flue check: Birds nest in furnace flues during summer. A blocked flue during first use can back carbon monoxide into the home. Professional inspection catches this before it becomes dangerous.
Replace carbon monoxide detector batteries: Or the entire detector if it's over 5-7 years old. Detectors have shelf lives — old ones read low even when CO levels are actually elevated.
Storm prep for freezing rain events: Don't use extension cords to run space heaters. Space heaters account for a significant percentage of Oklahoma house fires in December-January. If your heat goes out, call immediately — don't try to bridge with space heaters long-term.
Oklahoma Winter HVAC Checklist: What our team Does Before Every Cold Snap
After 17+ years servicing HVAC systems across Edmond, Moore, Yukon, and the OKC metro, I've developed a pre-winter checklist that catches 90% of the failures I see in December and January. Here's exactly what I do on my own system — and what I recommend to every customer before the first hard freeze hits.
1. Replace the Air Filter (Do This First)
A clogged filter forces your furnace to work harder, which stresses the heat exchanger and can trigger the high-limit switch — causing intermittent shutoffs on the coldest nights. In Oklahoma, where red clay dust is a constant issue, filters clog faster than the manufacturer's schedule suggests. I replace mine every 60 days in fall and winter, not 90.
2. Test Your Thermostat in Heat Mode — Before You Need It
Set your thermostat to heat and raise the setpoint 5 degrees above room temperature. Listen for the furnace to fire within 60 seconds. If it doesn't, or if you hear a clicking sound without ignition, you likely have a dirty flame sensor or a failing ignitor. Both are inexpensive fixes — but not at 11pm on a 20-degree night when every HVAC company in the metro is booked solid.
3. Clear the Area Around Your Furnace
Oklahoma homes built in the 1980s and 1990s often have furnaces in tight utility closets or garages. Combustible materials stored within 3 feet of the unit are a fire hazard and can also block combustion air intake, causing the furnace to run rich and produce carbon monoxide. Clear a 3-foot radius and make sure the intake and exhaust pipes outside are free of wasp nests and debris.
4. Check Your Carbon Monoxide Detector
This is non-negotiable. A cracked heat exchanger — common in furnaces over 15 years old — leaks CO into your living space silently. Oklahoma's tight-construction homes built after 2000 are especially vulnerable because they don't breathe as naturally as older homes. Test your CO detector monthly and replace it every 7 years regardless of whether it's beeping.
5. Schedule a Furnace Tune-Up Before November
Every HVAC company in the OKC metro books up in October and November. If you wait until your furnace fails in December, you're looking at a 3–5 day wait in some cases. A $89 diagnostic visit in September catches the issues before they become emergencies. I offer flat-rate diagnostics with no trip charge — call (405) 413-0583 to get on the schedule before the rush.