3 Signs You Need Furnace Repair

We have been in the grips of winter with cold temperatures and lots of snow. A good furnace or a similar heating system isn’t just a luxury in weather like this. It’s an absolute necessity. And if you suspect yours needs a repair service, the sooner you find out, the better. Nothing is worse than an unexpected heater breakdown in the middle of a winter freeze. Even the most well-insulated home can feel like an ice box in a matter of hours, and while a good repair service can arrive swiftly, we never want it to come to that.

The good news is that most signs of trouble can be spotted well before the system breaks down. Checking for such signs can save you a lot of time and money, and allows you to schedule repairs at your leisure (instead of scrambling in the wake of a sudden breakdown).  While you should never attempt to diagnose or repair a problem yourself as furnaces require formal training and licensing to work on, you can notice some common symptoms that signal an issue. We’ve listed three of those signs below.

1. Low Heat Levels

If you turn your furnace on and it’s only blowing out cold air, you know there’s a problem. But this problem can be spotted earlier if you make sure the air coming out of your vents is the temperature you expect. If it’s not, this lack of warmth can be caused by a number of factors, such as clogged burners or a breach somewhere in your duct system. Whatever the cause, it means your furnace will have to work harder to do its job. The cost of keeping your home comfortable will go up, and the increased strain will eventually cause a breakdown in other components.

2. Low Airflow

Low airflow can be caused by anything from a clogged filter to a problem with the fan motor. This is a problem for the same reason that low heat levels are a problem – they force the heater to work harder to do its job – but it gets worse. In most cases, low airflow means that the hot air being generated by the furnace remains trapped inside. That quickly causes other components to overheat, and while most modern furnaces have safety features designed to shut the system down before that happens, you’re still left with an inadequately heated home until the issue is fixed.

3. Strange Noises

In many cases, whatever is wrong with the system will create a noise that doesn’t match your heater’s normal sounds: a hum, a grind, a bang, a whir or anything else that doesn’t sound right. Those sounds might not always be located in your furnace itself (a duct breach might whistle for instance,) but in almost all cases, the sound will start and stop with the starting and stopping of the heater itself.

When that happens, turn your furnace off and call Quality Air Heating and Air Conditioning for quality heating repairs in Delaware, OH.