Common Furnace Issues and How to Avoid Them

Common Furnace Issues and How to Avoid Them

November 2, 2018

Your furnace is designed to do one thing, and one thing only: blow warm air into your home so that you and your family can stay comfortable during colder weather. It’s usually pretty reliable, but every now and then it runs into problems. You can fix some issues by yourself in just a few minutes, but others require the work of a professional.

Which ones are which? Unless you’re an HVAC expert, telling the difference might be tough. Luckily, we’ve got you covered! The experts at Acree Plumbing, Air & Electric can help you figure out which is which so you know when it’s time to let someone else handle the job.

Pilot Light Issues

A pilot light ignites the furnace to begin the heating process, and without one you won’t have any warmth at all. Thanks to the advances in technology, though, there are some differences in how pilot lights work.

Older furnaces use traditional pilot lights, and when one of those units breaks or malfunctions, there’s not a whole lot to be done – it just needs to be replaced.

However, modern furnaces use pilot lights that work similarly to the way light bulb filaments do. When one of these malfunctions, there’s still a chance that a professional can fix it – something we can help out with.

Constant Cycling

While knowing that your furnace definitely needs repair is frustrating, at least you know exactly what needs to happen. When it won’t quit cycling through heating cycles, though, any number of things could be the reason.

It could be because your air filter is clogged – change it out, and then see if that makes a difference.

A malfunctioning thermostat might be the root of the issue, too. When it’s not working correctly, your thermostat will have trouble providing accurate temperature readings and will continuously tell your furnace to shut on and off.

And that just scratches the surface!

Poor Airflow

A furnace might be working just as intended only to be hamstrung by something else. Even if all the mechanical parts are in tip-top shape, another area of your air-circulation system could be at fault.

Ducts are one of the usual culprits. If they’re leaky, then all that warm air escapes into the house and goes to waste. Likewise, if your ducts are clogged by some foreign object or unwanted pest, your airflow suffers.

You might be able to fix that yourself if you’re savvy in duct-related maintenance, but it’s best left to an expert.

General Furnace Maintenance Issues

Sometimes the problem is as simple as forgetting to flip the circuit breaker back on or remembering to plug something back in after you’d previously unplugged it.

Always dot your i’s and cross your t’s – by that, we mean that remembering to take care of the simple tasks can often end up saving you an embarrassing call to the technician.

 

No matter when you call us, we’ll do what we can to help. Even if it’s as simple as letting you know how to switch something off, we’ll do it respectfully and without judgement. Not everyone is an HVAC expert, and we don’t expect you to be.

Acree Plumbing, Air & Electric is here for whatever you need! Just give us a call at 800-937-6736 for all your air-related needs.

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