The reason you buy a furnace is that you want to keep the house warm. This means that if the unit isn’t heating the house, there must be something wrong with it. According to furnace repair service providers, failure of the furnace to heat up the house can be brought about by a number of factors. They include:
You just switched on the furnace
Just like any other electric unit, the furnace takes time before it starts heating up a house. When you start up the furnace, it will start by blowing cold air into the house. You need to give it time for the hot air to travel through the system and into the house.
You also should give it time for the cold air trapped inside to be expelled. While this is the case, you should note that the process should only take a few minutes. If you switch on the unit and after 30 minutes there is still no hot air getting into the house, you have a reason to worry as its abnormal.
You should contact a professional to inspect the unit and recommend the way forward.
You have set the thermostat too low
Your furnace might be in good condition but there is no way it will heat the house if the thermostat settings are too low. You can set the unit the wrong way by mistake or someone else might have done it.
Either way, you should be cautious of the settings. Before you rush to contact a furnace repair professional, check the thermostat settings. Ensure that the unit is set to a temperature that is higher than the home temperature. It also should be set to run on “heat” mode.
Have you just changed the settings of the thermostat? Wait for it to reset. In some cases, you might wait for a few minutes and still no hot air is coming out. In such a case, you should check the thermostat batteries.
If you replace the batteries and still the unit doesn’t work, consider recalibrating the unit. In some cases, the thermostat will fail to function if it’s too old. If this is the case with yours, you have no way out other than to replace it.
There are problems with the heating system
Your unit will fail to heat the house if there are problems with the heating system. If you have a gas furnace, check the gas supply line valve and confirm that its open. Do you have an older model of gas furnace? Check whether the pilot light is lit. If you have a newer model, check whether the electronic starter is receiving power.
Are you using an electric heater? Take a look at the electrical panel for tripped circuit breakers and reset them. Does the breaker that controls the unit keep on tripping? Chances are that there is a short circuit in the system.
This problem is complex; therefore, you should hire an HVAC system professional to give it a look.
If you have a heat pump and the unit is blowing cold air instead of hot air, the auxiliary heat strips might be malfunctioning. The level of the refrigerant might also be too low. Unless you have the repair skills, you should hire a professional to help you with the inspection and repairing of any faulty parts.
The duct system is dirty or damaged
If the duct system of your unit is leaking, has tears, or loose joints, heated air is bound to escape into the attic or basement. The cold air from the duct system can also get into the house making the work of the heating system much harder.
When there is a lot of dirt or debris in the unit, the accumulated dirt or debris can block airflow and slow down the movement of hot air through the ducts. In most cases, this problem is minor and doesn’t affect the working of the heater, but if the airflow is completely blocked, the furnace is likely to overheat.
For you to fix the problem you need to hire furnace service Falls Church providers to identify the leaking areas and fix them. If the malfunctioning is due to dirty ducts, the professional should clean them.
