What to Do When Your Furnace Isn’t Working
It’s freezing outside and your furnace isn’t working. Before you call in a heating service professional, you might be able to solve the problem on your own. When your furnace doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to, there are a few common causes and some of them are pretty easy to fix.
The next time your furnace won’t turn on or won’t work properly, try running through our tips below before calling in the experts for help.
Check and Change the Air Filter
Open up your furnace, pull out the air filter and check it for dirt and debris. If it’s exceptionally dirty or clogged, your furnace won’t be able to get the air that it needs to function properly, or it could be working extra hard to get that air. Regardless, this reduces the airflow to a point that it cannot heat your house. This is one of the most common issues we see and is very easy to fix. Simply clean or change the filter and replace it!
Look at the Pilot Light
If you have a gas furnace but your pilot light is not on, there might be a problem with the ignitor or the pilot light sensor. If you hear clicking, or hear your furnace starting up, but it never actually turns on, this is usually a good indication it’s a sensor or ignitor issue. Check your furnace’s manual to learn how to clean the sensor, or if you’re not comfortable doing this on your own, call us at Davis Home Services and we’ll take care of it for you.
Test the Thermostat
If your home has more than yourself living in it, it’s possible that the settings on your thermostat were changed. Make sure that it’s set to HEAT and that the fan is set to AUTO, or set to blow continuously. When you’re testing your thermostat, you should also make sure that the temperature setting is quite a bit higher than the indoor air temperature. Finally, turn your thermostat up as far as it goes to see if that helps your furnace kick on. If this doesn’t solve your furnace issue, run through our remaining tips below.
Try the Power
It’s possible that the power switch next to your furnace got bumped. Since even gas furnaces use some electricity, this will effectively turn the furnace off. If the power switch is in the correct position, check the circuit breaker or fuse associated with your furnace to make sure it didn’t flip or blow. If it did, simply switch it all the way off and then back on again.
Examine the Gas Supply
Check the gas lines and valves to make sure that they are all the way open so that you can make sure that your furnace is receiving enough fuel from them. If you smell gas or propane, though, close the valve and call us at Davis Home Services for emergency furnace repair!
Furnace Experts in Cherry Hill and Burlington
If you’ve tried our recommendations above and your furnace still isn’t working the way it should or won’t even turn on, give us a call at Davis Home Services. We would be more than happy to take a look at your furnace and troubleshoot the issue, or simply show you how to do the things listed above. Give us a call whenever you need help with your furnace and we’ll be there!
