With winter upon us it is important to have your furnace is tip top condition. If you are in need of emergency furnace repair, here is some advice, and tips to keep in mind.
Troubleshooting Before You Call
Before you make a call to your furnace maintenance company you may want to check a few things on your own, to rule out any simple fixes.
- Be sure to check your thermostat to make sure the temperature wasn’t accidentally turned down, or your heat was turned off completely. This is a mistake I have made to many times to happily admit. I’m even guilty of accidentally flipping the dial to AC, then wondering why the heat wasn’t kicking in. It’s a simple mistake that can easily be made if you’re not paying much attention, and double checking can save you time when calling a professional, only to have them tap your thermostat.
- Check to see if there was a power interruption. If you recently lost power in your home, your furnace could be affected. If a circuit breaker was tripped, a quick reset could be what you need to get things working again. However, if the circuit is immediately tripped again, it may be best to call an HVAC professional to make sure there are no issues electrical issues that would cause a blowout when the furnace is in use.
- Make sure the pilot light is still on. Even when not in use, you should be able to see the light ignited. If it isn’t try using a long lighter, or match to relight it yourself. However, if you’re not comfortable doing this, which is completely understandable, a technician will be able to do it for you, in addition to making sure there aren’t any underlying reasons for it going out.
- Check to see if the air filter needs changing. Air filters are easy to forget about, a problem I struggle with often, and if they become to clogged they can prevent heated airflow from being dispersed throughout the house. If your filter hasn’t been changed in a while, replace it and see if the problem is solved.
- See if you can hear the motor running. After start up, the motor that is responsible for blowing air should initiate. If you can’t hear the motor running, it may be faulty and in need of replacing. Knowing this you can inform your technician and help save time.
- Make sure to note down your furnace make and model. Different systems will take different tools when being serviced. Knowing these things ahead of time can make it easier for your technician to be prepared.
- Know how old your furnace is. If it was already installed in the home before you bought it, and don’t know the exact age. Let them know how long you’ve lived there, as a basic starting estimate.
- Take note of the steps you’ve taken to try and rectify the problem yourself. If you restarted the pilot light, but it went out again, or if you tried resetting the fuse but it blew again. Informing the technician of what you’ve already done, can help them narrow down what they need to work on, and what the problem could be.
- Additionally, let the technician know if any other work has previously been done on the furnace. If there is a history of a particular problem occurring, it can help them figure out if another system needs repair to prevent future issues.
Things to Know When Calling for Emergency Furnace Repair
If none of the above tips help to solve the problem, here are a few things to take note of for when you call for emergency furnace repair.
If you are in need of emergency furnace repair, keep these troubleshooting tips in mind; as well as what you need to know when calling a technician. Furnaces are an important part of our homes, especially in the winter months, and it is important to keep them running well, and without issue. Additionally, if you have any tips or tricks that you’ve used in the past to fix your furnace issues, let us know down below!