Furnace Repairs: What Can Go Wrong And When Do You Need Them?
Furnaces are fairly easy to maintain through the winter, but as with all units in your home, they also need to be repaired. It’s important that homeowners can find out what can go wrong and when the furnace needs a repair. Is your furnace not producing enough heat and you haven’t figured out the issue? Call Cardinal Plumbing, Heating and Air to quickly assess the issues and perform necessary repairs to restore the function of your furnace. Contact Cardinal Plumbing, Heating and Air by phone (703) 705-4466 or contact us online. Are you concerned that your furnace may need to be repaired? Keep reading to find out what can go wrong with your furnace and when it is time to place a repair service call.
No Heat or Not Enough Heat
Furnaces that aren’t blowing enough hot air can cause distress and discomfort during the colder seasons. Make sure to check whether your furnace is providing enough heat. Change the thermostat setting to “heat”, change the temperature and note if you felt a difference. If there is no change, check to see if the circuit breaker has tripped. This indicates that there is no electricity to power your furnace. If the furnace is working, try changing your air filter if it is clogged or dirty. While you don’t need to call a professional to change your filter, it is important that the task is completed often. If your unit is still not powering on, contact your local heating and air conditioning repair company to take a look at your unit.Burner Flames
The burners are responsible for heating the air that will circulate through your home. Failure can occur from contamination of debris. The easiest way to check if the burners are clean is to look at the flames of your burner. A clean burner will produce blue and even flames. Dirty burners produce a yellow uneven flame that may become hazardous if not cleaned quickly. Maintenance is relatively easy and involves cleaning and removing any debris that accumulates. To clean the burners, make sure that the power and gas is off and then vacuum around the burner and the blower.Short Cycling Issues
A furnace that turns on and off throughout the day can indicate that something else is wrong within the unit. Most of the time the cause of short cycling is a dirty or clogged filter. Having a clogged filter can lead to overheating. Your furnace will turn off if it overheats, which will end up increasing your utility bills. Fixing this issue is inexpensive and easy. To prevent overheating, change your air filter every 1-2 months to ensure that air flow is not restricted. Other causes of short cycling are due to more mechanical and electrical issues. Issues like a faulty flame sensor needs to be fixed by a licensed technician.Blower Runs Constantly
Is your gas furnace blower continuously running? This may be an indication that a repair is necessary. The blower sends cold air to the heat exchanger to be heated and circulated through your ducts and vents. The first thing to do is to make sure your thermostat does not have a “continuous fan” setting – if it does, turn it off. A blower that runs constantly may have a faulty limit control switch. The limit control switch is responsible for turning the blower on or off. If the switch is faulty, you need to call in a professional for HVAC repair or replace the part.Noisy Furnace
Odd noises are not common in a normal working furnace. If your furnace is making unusual sounds, it may have a mechanical, airflow or burner problem. Here are some common noises and what they may indicate:- Rattling sounds are indicative of a loose panel or parts within the unit.
- Squealing and squeaking noises occur when a belt slips. It is often the belt that connects the motor to the fan.
- Grinding sounds indicate that the bearings of the motor need to be repaired.
