The electricity is on, the TV is blaring, you are wearing your coziest thick socks, and then the air turns cold.
No, you aren’t outside. You are on your favorite sofa, and the cold air is due to a furnace that has stopped working. The question is, what can cause a furnace to stop working? Plenty of reasons.
Here are five common issues (given by furnace services providers) that can cause your furnace to stop working and what you can do about it:
You have a problem with your thermostat
The thermostat is the control center of the furnace—it tells it what to do. When the temperature is high enough, the thermostat tells the control board inside the furnace to stop heating the house.
When the temperature falls below a certain level, the same thermostat notifies the furnace to start producing heat.
When the thermostat isn’t functioning correctly, it doesn’t signal the furnace to start heating when the temperatures are low hence the cold.
To troubleshoot, set the thermostat at least five degrees above the room temperature and see whether it comes on.
Sometimes the solution is as simple as replacing the batteries. In other cases, you may have to replace the thermostat, especially if you have had it for more than a decade.
The furnace is leaking
If you are new with heating systems, you might be wondering why a unit meant to heat the house is producing water.
Well, this can happen due to many reasons including: plumbing leaks, humidifier leaks, clogged internal draining systems, and many other reasons.
If your unit has had a leakage and you hadn’t fixed it, the furnace will stop working.
Leakages are a complex issue, and you should avoid trying to fix them if you don’t have the right skills. Let an expert inspect the condensate pump and confirm its working properly.
The technician can repair or replace it depending on the extent of the damage.
You have issues with your gas line
Do you have a gas furnace? It can fail to work if you are having problems with the gas line. The first thing you should do is to confirm that the gas is turned on. You can do this by checking the shut-off valve on the outside.
You also should start another gas-burning appliance such as the stove. If it works, the gas is flowing, and you might be having a problem with the gas supply to the furnace itself.
Can you smell gas? You must be having a leakage. A gas leakage is worse than a malfunctioning furnace, so you should address it immediately, you notice it.
The filters are too dirty
When is the last time you cleaned the filters? Air filters trap dust, dirt, and debris, and when you don’t clean them early enough, these materials can clog the unit, restricting or even blocking the vital airflow.
This results in high house heating costs, overheating of the heat exchanger, and failure of the furnace to work.
Unlike when having a gas leak, you can fix this problem by yourself as all you need is to use the manufacturer’s manual to access the dirty filters. Depending on how they look, you can clean or replace them.
You haven’t turned on the furnace
While it sounds like a no-brainer, you will be shocked to realize the number of owners that call emergency furnace repair services Arlington VA providers to repair their furnaces, and yet all they did is to forget turning it on.
If your furnace isn’t working, check at the back for the power switch. Is it on or off? While at it, also check the circuit breaker and fuse.