The temperatures outside are getting chilly, and your family will depend on your home’s furnace to stay warm and cozy on brisk fall days and nights. When this vital appliance isn’t working like it should, you may notice a variety of problems. Your home may not feel as warm as it should, or usually does, in all areas. Or you may have noticed that your heater isn’t cycling on and off like normal. Maybe you’ve even heard your furnace making strange noises.
Regardless of what issue(s) you’ve noticed, a furnace that isn’t working as usual eventually will break down. And when this happens, your loved ones will be cold and uncomfortable, bundled up in hooded sweatshirts, fleece pants, scarves, mittens, and even blankets just to try and keep warm. This is obviously not something you want to happen inside your home, so read on to learn more about some of the top warning signs that suggest you need to schedule an appointment for heating repair.
Your home doesn’t feel as warm as it should.
If you’ve noticed that there are certain rooms or areas in your home that don’t feel as warm as they usually do with the heater running, it could be an indication that all is not well with the heating unit. Before calling for repair services, however, do some diagnosis work on your own.
First, check all the vents in the room(s). If they’re blocked by furniture, rugs, curtains, or another object, air flow will be restricted. No matter how well your furnace is operating, warm air won’t be able to make it into all areas of your home. Also check to be sure the vents aren’t covered with dirt and dust, another problem which could hinder air flow.
Next, be sure that your thermostat is set on “HEAT.” It’s not unheard of for a thermostat to accidentally get switched over to “COOL” or “OFF” — especially if you have younger individuals in your home who may have been playing with the device (even though you’ve told them not to).
If these two common problems don’t seem to be what’s causing parts of your home to feel cooler than usual, then it’s time to call a professional for an inspection of your heating system to determine what the problem may be.
Your energy bills seem to be ever-increasing.
As a homeowner, you already know that your energy bills likely are a bit higher during the fall and winter months when your family uses the heater. However, if you’ve noticed that the bills are significantly higher than what they were this time last year, it may be indicating a problem and that your home’s furnace is no longer running as efficiently as it once did. Your best bet in this situation will be to contact a heating professional to diagnose and treat the problem.
Your furnace is making odd noises or emitting strange smells.
In many homes, you can hear when the furnace is cycling on or off. If the sound of your heater running is also accompanied with clanks, bangs, squeaking, rattling, loud thumping, or any other strange type of sound, this could be a warning sign of a problem that needs to get addressed sooner rather than later.
A squeaking sound could indicate that the belt inside your heating system is worn out and in need of replacement, or it could have become misaligned while your furnace has been running. Rattling noises could be a warning that one or more vital components inside your unit have loosened and need an adjustment.
Regardless of the sound your heating system is making, don’t turn the TV up louder and just ignore the problem. It should be handled before the it gets worse and results in a breakdown of your unit.
Additionally, if you notice that there’s a burning smell throughout your home when your furnace is running, it could indicate a problem inside the unit that should be handled immediately.
Your furnace is randomly cycling on and off.
If you’ve noticed that your home’s heating system seems to have a mind of its own, firing up and shutting off at odd times, it could be an indication of a problem. The solution may be something as simple as replacing the batteries in your thermostat. When the batteries are near the end of their usable life, the thermostat may not be able to send the proper signals to your heater to tell it when to cycle on or off.
There could also be other issues causing this to occur, such as a problem with the ignitor or other essential parts inside of your heating unit. If you’ve noticed this common heating issue in your home, contact a professional immediately for repair services.
Prevent many common furnace problems in your home.
To keep many of the above-mentioned heating issues from happening in your home, it’s important to have annual maintenance appointments for this appliance. During a furnace tune-up, a skilled and experienced technician will thoroughly inspect and clean your unit. He or she will ensure that all components are working as efficiently as possible, and many potential problems can be detected and dealt with early on — before they result in a breakdown of your system.
At Pivotal Home Solutions, we offer both Heating Repair and Heating Maintenance plans at affordable prices. To see if these plans are available in your area, visit us online and enter your ZIP code. Available plans for your home, as well as pricing, will be shown. Have questions or concerns? Feel free to call us any time, or you can chat with a customer service representative by clicking the Click to Chat tab on the right side of the page.