Is your furnace blowing cold air? Are you freezing inside when your house is supposed to be warm and snug? If so, it’s time to check your furnace.
Read on to learn tips and tricks for troubleshooting your furnace
Check the Thermostat
Your thermostat runs the entire heating system. If the thermostat goes down, the whole heating system will stop. So you should check the thermostat as your first step.
Does the thermostat display work? When you operate the controls, does anything change? If not, try replacing the thermostat batteries.
Next, check the room temperature. If the temperature near the thermostat matches the thermostat setting, the thermostat will not turn in. In that case, set the thermostat a few degrees higher than the room temperature and see if the furnace starts working.
Check the Filter
If you’re not getting much air blowing through the vents, the problem may be a dirty filter. Dirt clogs up the filter, reducing the amount of air a furnace can take in. This in turn limits how much air the furnace can blow through the house.
Letting your filter get dirty also causes the furnace to work harder, which can eventually damage the furnace’s moving parts. Replace your filters on a regular schedule according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (This also applies to air conditioners, so check your filter first when you have HVAC problems.)
Check the Fan
If the furnace is burning but no heat comes out, you may have a problem with the fan. Without the fan, the furnace can’t blow warm air through the vents.
Your thermostat may have two settings for the fan: “on” and “auto.” To test whether the fan works, set the thermostat to “on” to get the fan blowing continuously. If the fan still doesn’t work, you have a problem with the fan.
Make sure any furnace access doors are closed. Many furnaces automatically shut off for safety reasons if the door accessing a motor or a fan is left open.
Listen to the Unit
If you still can’t figure out what’s going on, take a few minutes to listen to the furnace. Do you hear rattling, grinding, or squealing? If so, something mechanical has come loose. If you don’t have a background in furnace repair, call a furnace specialist to check this out.
Check the Power
Does the furnace have power? Check the switches to make sure the furnace hasn’t somehow been turned off.
If the furnace is switched on, but there’s still no power, you’ll need to check your circuit breakers to see if a circuit has been tripped or a fuse has blown. Replace any broken fuses or reset the breakers to get the system working again.
Start Troubleshooting
If you can’t solve your problem with these troubleshooting steps, it may be time to check with a professional HVAC technician. Contact Romeo Air Conditioning to have your furnace inspected or repaired, and we’ll get your heat working again!