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What to Do When Your Furnace is Not Heating

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Posted by admin on September 04, 2014

Winter is coming — and no, we aren’t quoting any popular television shows! This means that you will be relying on your furnace a lot in a few months. But what if it isn’t working? Your furnace not heating would be a big problem for your indoor comfort during the colder months. Fortunately, we have a few tips for what to do when this happens:

Double check your thermostat

Before you convince yourself that your furnace not heating means that it is broken, double check your thermostat. You may have forgotten to change the temperature settings or may have missed a step required to get your furnace going.

Also, it could be your thermostat that is broken, so double check that it is functioning properly.

Make sure that your furnace is turned on

Many random occurrences could cause a furnace to be switched off. There is an easy fix for this; all you need to do is find where the shutoff switch and connected breakers are (they are usually located right next to the furnace). This could save you from a little bit of embarrassment and from having to spend money on a furnace repair service professional who shows up and just flips a switch.

Change your furnace filter

This is likely the most common issue related to a furnace not heating. All furnace filters are subject to dust buildup, which can severely restrict airflow. A telltale sign of a filter clog is a furnace that is attempting to heat your home with no hot air coming out.

Make sure that your fuel source is working

Double check that your oil or gas line is supplying your furnace with the fuel that it needs. You can double check this with your energy supplier. Also, find out if they can send out a technician to verify an energy supply line’s functionality (this is usually free).

Flush the drain lines

Furnaces, even high efficiency ones, discard several gallons of water through their drain lines every day. Mold, backups and other clogs that restrict the drain lines will force the furnace to cease functioning.

Flushing a drain line is usually a pretty simple task. Simply disconnecting a drain line and flushing it out with diluted bleach is usually more than enough to get the furnace going again (assuming that a drain line clog was the problem).

Check your ducts for debris

Air ducts can also get clogged enough to stunt your furnace’s ability to function. They can get backed up by anything from random foliage debris to small animals, which are drawn in by the heat.

Check your ducts for leaks

Duct leaks are a common problem with heating systems. In not cases, they force your furnace to work harder to heat your home (this increases your energy bill). Sometimes, however, a duct leak can be so extreme that your furnace stops heating your home properly.

Make sure you get your furnace checked for duct leaks as you search for the root cause of the malfunction.

Call in a repair service

Sometimes the cause of a furnace malfunction can only be determined by a professional. If you can’t figure it out, they can.

If all of the above fails, it may be time for a new furnace

If your furnace is not working for unknown reasons, then you will probably need a new one.

Is your furnace not heating? Call the team at Climate Experts today to schedule an appointment to service your furnace, or to replace your existing furnace with a brand new, high efficiency furnace.

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