HVAC

With the coming of fall, local homeowners have been running their heaters on a regular basis. The heaters are only going to do more work as temperatures continue to drop through the last few months of the year. If your heating system has any kind of a problem, now is the time to identify it. That gives you a few weeks to schedule a repair call and get the issue fixed before the snows fall. Otherwise, if you don’t realize there’s a problem or ignore it in hopes that the heater will just power through, the heating system may suffer a breakdown in the middle of a terrible cold spell, turning your home into a deep freeze. The sooner you can spot signs of trouble with your heater, the better.

Spotting the signs of trouble isn’t the same as diagnosis. Only a trained heating technician can properly diagnose the problem and find a proper solution. That doesn’t mean you can’t notice when something is amiss. Your heater acts and sounds a certain way when it turns on, and you’re likely so familiar with it that you hardly notice. But when something isn’t right, you’ll likely notice it right away: anything that doesn’t match what you’ve come to expect from your system.More specifically, you can check for common issues that mark a large number of problems. If you spot them, turn the system off and call in a repair service immediately. They can include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Low Heating Levels. You can probably deduce that there’s a problem with your heater if you turn on the system and only cold air comes out of your vents. But the same issues can lead to air that’s warm, but not as warm as you’d expect.
  • Low Airflow. Similarly, a problem with the fan motor or blockages in the system can reduce the flow of air through your vents. Both low airflow and low heating levels are problematic because they force the heater to work harder to do their jobs: raising both your monthly bills and the strain on other components.
  • Sudden Shutdown. Most modern heaters are designed with safety features that will cause them to shut down instead of causing components to overheat or to stem the flow of gas. If your heater shuts down before it’s warmed the home, that may be a sign of a problem.
  • Strange Noises. Any noise you don’t recognize as being part of the normal functioning of your heater usually represents a problem. In most cases, the noises will start and stop with the starting and stopping of your heating system.
  • Higher Bills. Sometimes, there doesn’t need to be anything overt to suggest a problem. A malfunctioning component may still operate, but use a great deal more energy than it should, which will result in a spike in your service. If your heating bill goes up for no discernable reason, you may want to call a repair service.
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