With winter just around the corner, you may be wondering how to check if your furnace is not heating or working properly. Although any number of things could be wrong, there are a few issues which homeowners routinely run into with their furnaces, and these are the things you should check first. If your furnace still isn’t working after you’ve performed all the checks below, you should probably call in a heating specialist to help you diagnose the issue.
A trained TopCare HVAC of Hamilton Furnace Repair Technician will have diagnostic equipment which can pinpoint the problem fairly quickly, and then it will just be a matter of choosing which option you want to pursue to get the unit working again. If your furnace should stop working right during a cold spell, you should run through these checks as quickly as possible, so you can contact a specialist right away and get some immediate help with restoring heat to your household.
Our Furnace installation technicians has setup Furnace Heating units near Kirkendall South, Kirkendal North, Landsdale, McQuesten West, Mount Hope, Nashdale, Normanhurst in Hamilton Ontario. Contact our team at Topcare Hvac in Hamilton Ontario to learn more about New Furnace Units.
THERMOSTAT
The first thing you should check out should be the thermostat, because it literally controls the entire operation of your unit. Make sure the thermostat is set to Heat, and that it has fresh batteries, so that you can see any digital readouts. If it seems as though your thermostat is working properly, then you should check the temperature it has been set to. It may have been set by someone else to an inappropriate temperature level, and the furnace is just doing what it has been directed to do.
AIR DUCTS AND VENTS
It’s possible that your furnace is working just fine, but that warm air is not being distributed throughout your home, because there’s some kind of problem with the network of ducts, or possibly with the vents in each room. If you have one or two rooms which are cooler than the others, there is bound to be a problem either with the way the vents are set in those rooms, or in the ductwork leading to the rooms.
POWER SUPPLY
In situations where the furnace won’t turn on at all, you should check the power supply to make sure that your unit is actually receiving power. Make sure that the on/off switch near the furnace has been set to ‘on’, and then check the circuit breaker for the furnace itself. If the circuit breaker has been flipped to the off position, you should try setting it back on again. If it returns to the off position, there may be some electrical problem, and you should leave the switch off and then contact an electrician.
AIR FILTERS
It will be very difficult for the furnace to heat your home if the air filters are clogged with dirt, dust, debris, and hair. All these things get trapped in the filter as your furnace draws incoming air which is to be heated. There can be so much of this debris circulating throughout your home that it actually clogs your air filters and prevents the normal operation of your furnace. If you notice that this is the case, you can either thoroughly clean the air filter, or you can simply purchase a new one and replace it.
PANEL DOOR
Most modern furnaces are equipped with safety switches on their front panels which prevent operation of the furnace if the panel door has not been closed tightly. Make sure that this panel door has been closed and is secure in its setting. If you have any question about whether or not the panel door might be the issue, you can consult your owner’s manual to see if this furnace is equipped with an interrupt switch that prevents operation when the door is enclosed.
PILOT LIGHT
Owners of gas furnaces must be sure that the pilot light is still lit in order for the furnace to work. Your furnace has a safety feature which ensures that there is no gas flow across the burners unless there’s an actual flame in place which triggers ignition. If the pilot light has not been lit, or if it has somehow been blown out, it will need to be relit before your furnace will operate again. If you don’t feel comfortable trying to light the pilot light yourself, you should definitely contact an HVAC technician to have them do it for you.
AIR INTAKE
A great many modern furnaces do not vent out through a chimney, and in fact most newer furnaces route their fresh air intakes as well as their exhaust, through the side of the home. It’s very possible that there has been some kind of interruption to the normal exhaust process, for instance blockage by leaves or possibly heavy snow. Check your exterior vent to make sure that it’s free and clear, so that normal venting can occur and you won’t have any blockages.
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