Finding your furnace not working can be far more than an inconvenience here in New Hampshire. During the coldest days of winter, your home can quickly go from comfortable to unlivable if your heat gives out. Pipes can freeze, leading to serious damage to your home. It’s an all-around bad situation that homeowners hope to avoid.
If your furnace has shut down completely, is not turning on, or is putting out insufficient heat, you should reach out for professional service right away. While there are a few things you can verify for yourself, the wide range of possible reasons why your furnace isn’t working requires professional experience to navigate.
Issues with Your Furnace Blower Fan
One of the essential elements of your home’s furnace is the blower. This fan passes air through the heat exchanger inside the furnace and then into your ductwork. That’s how the heat gets from inside your furnace to inside your home, so you won’t be getting any heat if it isn’t working right.
In some cases, you might find your furnace not working on auto. This setting is meant to control the blower automatically, giving your home more efficient control than if the fan was continuously on. The fan also has a manual switch that can set it to run all of the time.
If your fan turns on when set to the manual on position, then it isn’t an issue with the fan itself but some control element. You definitely want a professional to take a look at this because the control systems for your furnace can be very complex. The issue itself could be with the thermostat, furnace limit switch, or other electrical components.
When the fan itself is not running, even when the manual switch is used, then it’s probably the fan or its motor that’s the problem. You should only let professionals handle these electrical components in order to avoid a shock or further damaging your furnace.
If your fan is delivering insufficient airflow, the issue could be a dirty filter. Air filters build up dirt over time, which eventually blocks airflow. You could be dealing with other issues with your ductwork as well, so an HVAC inspection could be in order.
Furnace Ignition Issues
One reason you could find your furnace not working is that the burner won’t ignite. If your furnace isn’t burning gas, then it won’t be generating any heat. In some cases, this will be due to the automatic safety features of your furnace.
These features incorporate a fail-safe design so that if they aren’t working right, the furnace won’t turn on.
This setup might seem inconvenient, but it makes sure that you aren’t running your furnace without working safety features. If you reach out to a professional, they’ll be able to quickly identify the specific reason behind your furnace not working.
The pilot light is a small flame that stays continually lit, and if you find your furnace not working but pilot light on, then the issue is likely some broken fail-safe or a faulty thermocouple. None of these are issues you could repair yourself, so it’s best to seek out professionals to repair them properly.
If you find your gas heater not working, the pilot light is generally the first thing to check. If it’s out, you may need to seek out professional help right away. Your pilot light doesn’t just provide ignition. It also burns any excess gas that happens to be leaking. If it goes out, you could find yourself with gas in your home.
Cycling Issues
Like other HVAC systems, your furnace runs in cycles. It will turn on and off as needed to eventually meet your desired temperature. If you find your furnace not working after changing thermostat settings, something could be wrong with the components that control this cycling.
If you hear your furnace turning on and off regularly at night, it could be short cycling. It should be running in longer cycles to be more efficient and generate less wear. If you let this short cycling go on, you could be dealing with higher energy bills and repair costs in the long run.
In cold weather, you might notice that your furnace never seems to turn off. Some issues could be reducing its capacity to the point that it can’t keep up, which is something you should get checked out right away.
Professional Furnace Services
Paul The Plumber is here to provide for all of your furnace installation, repair, and maintenance needs in Derry and Southern New Hampshire. Our team of professional technicians can quickly get to the bottom of any issues you’re having. Just contact us today!
