After long periods of persistent summer heatwaves, you might have a feeling that the cold season may never come back. However, it is usually just a matter of time until everything is blanketed with snow and temperatures dip below freezing. Therefore, you need to constantly check your furnace to ensure its effectiveness when temperatures get below 20 at night.
It is a furnace’s business to blow hot air to improve your house’s living conditions. However, sometimes this is not always the case as your heating system may fail to blow heated air at that hour of need. It’s an unpleasant experience, especially when you have kids in the house.
If your furnace is not blowing hot air, here are some of the causes and fixing strategies.
Thermostat Set Too Low
A heating furnace is usually controlled by a thermostat. It’s the settings of the thermostat that determine whether your system will blow cold or hot air in a room. Therefore, if your furnace blows cold air in the room, you have to first check thermostat settings.
If the thermostat has been set too low, you can change the settings and increase heating in your home. However, thermostat batteries could also be the problem, and replacing them will help fix the problem with an unresponsive furnace.
Dirty or Damaged Furnace Ducting
Accumulation of dirt and other types of debris can easily block the furnace’s duct system, which will heavily prevent warm air from flowing to rooms. In most cases, this is not a serious problem, but it is known to cause overheating. Regular cleaning of the system will remove dirt and other materials blocking it to allow the free flow of heated air into the house.
A damaged duct system is also a major issue in preventing proper airflow to the system. In most cases, the damage is external, but a malfunctioning component inside the system could be an issue of concern.
Some of the common issues within the unit include:
- Furnace leaks
- Tears into important parts
- Holes
- Loose joints.
Issues with the Heater
Sometimes the heater could be the problem, and it could be malfunctioning or finding it hard to heat a room. For example, an electric heater could struggle with malfunctioning circuit breakers. If this happens to be a common problem, it is essential to call a furnace expert make sure that the circuit breaker is not tipping.
For a gas furnace and heat pump, you need check the unit’s specific problems before trying to find a solution. For gas pumps, you need to check whether gas valves are working as expected, while for heat pumps, you need to check on the level of refrigerant because it might be too low.
Poor Room Insulation
Room insulation plays a critical role when heating a home. There are some specific areas that need to be very insulated to prevent warm air from escaping a house. For example, where air ducts have been placed, the level of insulation needs to be at a higher level than in other areas of the house. Air ducts passing through a room that is not insulated will lose heat.
Conclusion
Although some of the problems with a furnace can be handled without an expert’s input, some issues can be so critical that they can only be handled by an experienced technician. You need to contact the right professionals immediately you realize your system is not working as expected. (Source: https://www.ambientedge.com/services/heating/repair/)
Article Submitted By Community Writer
