When it’s the dead of winter, the last thing you want to be worrying about is whether or not your furnace is up to the task. Suddenly, the warning signs start to emerge: you begin to hear rattling from the furnace room, or heat isn’t reaching every part of your home. When your furnace’s performance starts to dip, it’s you and your entire family that are left out in the cold until you get it fixed.
Whenever you are experiencing furnace trouble, be sure to contact the HVAC experts at Mersey Heating & Air Conditioning. Our incredible team will help you get to the root of your furnace problem so you can get back to resting comfortably during the cold season.
However, if you are the type to get your hands dirty yourself, no problem! If you start to experience furnace problems, there are a variety of things you can check in your furnace to find what is causing your grief and decide whether or not it’s time to call in the professionals.
Check the Status of Your Thermostat
Your home only stays as warm as you tell your furnace it needs to be. For the most part, our relationship with our furnace consists of adjusting the thermostat. But if the thermostat is broken, the communication system your furnace relies on is lost, leading to poor heating results.
You can tell if your thermostat is broken by adjusting the temperature and seeing how it affects your furnace. If your furnace doesn’t turn on after you turn up the heat, the thermostat could be broken or have no power. Some thermostats have batteries that easily replaceable. However, if you’re still not seeing a change after you swap out the batteries, then it might need to be replaced by one of our HVAC professionals.
If your furnace turns on, but the heat only dribbles in, your thermostat could have some faulty wiring preventing it from working correctly. When it comes to dealing with wiring, it isn’t safe to take the DIY route, so be sure to contact our team for professional repairs.
Is Your Furnace Filter Dirty or Clogged?
The first thing to do if you are checking your furnace yourself is to check on your furnace filter. A traditional forced-air furnace brings in cold air through return ducts, where it is blown through the heat exchanger by a blower fan and then pumped through your duct system, heating your home.
Your furnace filter is traditionally located right where your return ducts connect with the blower fan compartment of your furnace. If you aren’t sure where your furnace filter might be, refer to your furnace owner’s manual or look for a sign or label that indicates where your furnace’s filter is.
The filter is easy to replace on your own and prevents all sorts of dust and debris from entering your furnace system.
Can’t Feel the Heat? Check Your Blower Motor
Okay, so you’ve checked the thermostat and the air filter, and they’re both fine. However, you’re still having trouble getting adequate heat from your furnace system. So, what’s next? Take a look at the blower motor to see if that might be the root of your problem.
Your blower motor is the part of your furnace responsible for distributing heat throughout your home, so if you have a broken blower motor, then the heat building up in the heat exchanger is just going to sit there.
Before you start poking around inside your furnace, be sure to turn it off. Then, you can get inside of your furnace through the side panelling (usually, there is a sign printed on it where the furnace can open from). You can find your blower motor right next to where you have pulled your filter from, and you can start to check its status.
You can start by turning the fan from “auto” to “on”. If it turns on, then your furnace problems are likely originating from somewhere else. But if it doesn’t turn on or it trips a breaker in your home, then you may need to replace or repair your blower motor.
It would also be wise to look at the blower belt and see if it is causing inefficient heating inside your home. Depending on what style of furnace you have, you may be able to replace your blower belt on your own. Still, you may want to get help from an HVAC professional to make sure it’s installed correctly. If you are ever unsure, please give our experts a call.
Check Your Duct System
If your furnace is the heart of your home’s heat production system, then the duct system is the venous system. Your duct system transports heat to every part of your home.
However, if there is something lodged inside your ventilation system, then you might start to notice that your furnace isn’t doing its job correctly. The best course of action to take if you believe it is your ducts causing problems is to schedule a duct-cleaning appointment.
By cleaning your ducts regularly, you can help improve the efficiency of your furnace, extend its life, improve your indoor air quality, and even reduce your energy bill!
Look For Wear & Tear
The thing about furnaces is that they are built to last a very long time, often with multiple generations of owners coming and going. However, though they are very durable, they aren’t invincible. When performing your furnace inspection, keep an eye out for parts of the furnace which may have worn down or rusted over time.
Age is a factor in the lifespan of a furnace, and it is up to you as the homeowner to keep an eye on how your furnace is handling the passage of time. Rust can hinder your furnace’s ability to effectively distribute heat throughout your home or can affect how efficient the furnace is at producing heat.
Choose Mersey for Amazing HVAC Repair & Care
Our mission is to make sure your home stays warm and cozy, no matter what season it is. At Mersey Heating and Cooling, your satisfaction is our highest priority. Our incredible team is made up of certified professionals to get the job done right and treat you with respect. No loopholes. No hassles.
Contact us today and start experiencing home heating and cooling as you have never had before.
