What to Do If the Heating Is Not Working in Your Home
We’ve all imagined the nightmare scenario of a sudden heater failure. An early autumn cold snap or chilly evening strikes and you feel a chill in the air. You adjust the thermostat, but the temperature keeps dropping. Your children or an elderly house guest can’t sleep or get comfortable.
Help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from Davis Home Services, the leading heating professionals in Cherry Hill, NJ.
Put Your Own Safety First
Do not attempt to fix the furnace or the electrical system yourself unless you are qualified to do so.
Check that your carbon monoxide detector is working correctly and has good batteries. If it goes off, do not remain in the home. Call a professional heating technician, like the team at Davis Home Services, and follow their instructions.
Check your home for signs of water damage. If there is any danger of an electrical failure, such as loss of power, avoid coming into contact with water. If pipes have burst, shut off the water supply to the home and call a local plumber such as Davis Home Services for assistance.
If the heating is not working in your home, make sure that you and your family have a source of heat. Do not use an old, damaged, or malfunctioning space heater for warmth, as that could produce additional risks of fire, explosion, or toxic fumes.
Check the Thermostat
If the thermostat is still in “cool” mode, it will not turn the furnace on when the temperature drops. Check that your thermostat is in the right setting and is operating properly.
A broken thermostat could cause a heating failure if it does not recognize that the room is cold. Frayed wiring or a defect in the thermostat itself could cause the thermostat to read the temperature of the room correctly.
Feel for Air Coming from the Heating Vents
A forced-air furnace with central heating depends on the ability to move warm air efficiently to all the rooms in the home.
One common reason why a gas furnace might fail to heat a home is a bad blower motor. The furnace might be generating heat, but without something to move the air around, that heat will radiate into the air without ever reaching the rooms of your house. Obstructions in the ductwork of the HVAC system might also prevent heat from reaching every room in your house.
Change the Furnace Air Filters
Dirty air filters can prevent air from getting to the furnace’s combustion chamber. If the furnace does not get enough airflow, combustion does not occur properly. Soot and other by-products of improper combustion can build up in the furnace and heating system, causing damage, reducing air quality, and increasing the risk of an explosion or fire.
Check for Obstructions to Exhaust
If plant growth, animal infestation, or some other source of debris has blocked your chimney or your exhaust ductwork, air will not be able to leave the combustion chamber.
Fresh air will have no room to enter the chamber. The by-products of combustion will build up in the chamber, preventing the furnace from working correctly. Clear out any obstructions that prevent air from leaving the furnace.
Check the Power to Your Heating System
A gas furnace depends on power to run the electrical components that safely regulate the flow of air and fuel into the furnace’s combustion chamber. A short circuit or failure of any electrical systems could trip the breaker and shut off power to your furnace.
If the heating is not working in your home, check that any other appliances and electrical fixtures in your home are working properly, and check the circuit breaker for any flipped switches. If the breaker has been flipped, you can try flipping the circuit back again, but be cautious. A fault in the furnace may have tripped the breaker. If you suspect an electrical failure in the furnace, contact a professional immediately.
Check the Pilot Light
The furnace depends on the pilot light to ignite the gas in your gas furnace to produce heat. If the pilot light won’t light or won’t stay lit, it could indicate a problem with the pilot light itself or a problem with the furnace. For example, a dirty flame sensor could cause the pilot light to shut off as a safety measure. If the pilot light is not lit, do not try to light the pilot light while the furnace is on.
Call for 24/7 Emergency Service from a Professional Heating Company
The loss of heating is a true emergency, especially in the winter months. It can quickly lead to frozen and burst pipes, causing property damage, and the cold can harm residents with health problems, babies, and children.
A heating failure at work can make customers think you are neglecting your business, resulting in them feeling uncomfortable or unsafe. Sometimes, all it takes is one bad experience for a customer to give up on your business for good.
A heating company that cares about its community will be there for its customers when it matters, day or night, any day of the week. That is why Davis Home Services offers 24/7 emergency service to Burlington, Cherry Hill, and other neighborhoods in our service area.
Call the Pros at Davis Home Services
The team at Davis Home Services knows how stressful a sudden loss of heating can be, especially during the holiday season. We guarantee friendly customer service, customer satisfaction, and expertise you can count on.
We don’t just fix the problem and walk away. We’ll guide you through the process of picking out a new, energy-efficient furnace if you need one. We’ll also give you tips on how to take care of your furnace to extend its lifespan and keep your family warm throughout the year.
If the heating is not working in your home, don’t expose your family to the dangers of the cold. For help installing electric oil heaters, repairing heaters, HVAC repair, or replacing heating oil tanks, call Davis Home Services at 844-226-9872.
