As much as we urge homeowners to have their furnaces fixed at the first sign of dysfunction, we know the truth: many people won’t call for repairs until their furnace has stopped working completely.
With a furnace, that’s not something you want to try and get away with. The combustion of gas is perfectly safe… when your furnace is running properly. Neglecting a furnace repair issue can do more than just drive up the cost of your energy bill. In this post, we’ll go over three furnace issues that you won’t want to ignore.
Short-Cycling
Your furnace goes through numerous heating cycles to bring your home’s temperature up. The cycles are timed to heat your home effectively and efficiently, lasting about 15 minutes each. Short-cycling, as the name suggests, is what happens when the furnace’s cycles are short and quick.
Short-cycling can have many causes from an improperly sized furnace, to a clogged air filter, to a thermostat in need of replacement. Regardless of what’s causing the problem, short-cycling will prevent your home from staying warm, drive up energy costs, and put excessive wear and tear on the furnace.
Carbon Monoxide Leak
If your carbon monoxide detector’s alarm goes off, then you need to leave the home and call the fire department. Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas that is highly poisonous.
Aside from calling in the help of professionals, there isn’t much you can do about a CO leak. However, CO leaks do have common causes that you can prevent with repairs from a professional:
- Cracked Heat Exchanger: The heat exchanger is one of the main components that generates heated air. Over time, they are known to wear out and crack. These cracks can contribute to CO leaks.
- Dirty Air Filter: An air filter clogged with dirt can create airflow problems, thus leading to a CO leak. How often you need to change the filter depends on your home, but you can always call up an HVAC technician in Plano, TX to get a proper estimate.
- DIY Repairs or Maintenance: While we certainly appreciate the proactive approach, we simply cannot condone DIY repairs. Improper repair work can give homeowners a false sense of security while leaving their furnace vulnerable to all kinds of issues.
Low or No Airflow
If your furnace isn’t doing the one thing it’s meant to do—heat your home—then that’s reason enough to call in an urgent repair request. And that’s not simply because you deserve to be comfortable.
A furnace suffering from airflow problems could be suffering from something more serious:
- Pilot Light or Igniter Issues: Pilot lights are no longer used, but on older furnaces, they may need to be cleaned our replaced entirely. Igniters—used in modern furnaces—sometimes go bad and just need to be replaced.
- Clogged Air Filter: As explained above, a dirty air filter can bring several problems, from short-cycling to carbon monoxide leaks. Before that happens, it will restrict airflow.
- Overheating: If your furnace is overheating, it will trigger the limit switch and turn the furnace off. While not technically an airflow problem, it can certainly make it seem as if the furnace isn’t blowing air properly.
