We made it through a very cold February, and now many of us are hoping we’ll have an easy shot right to spring. It might happen. Or we might have more cold weather and need our heating systems working for a few more weeks. This is one of the reasons it’s still important to pay attention to your home’s furnace.
We always stress with customers that when a heating system needs a repair, it doesn’t matter the time year it is: the repair must be scheduled as soon as possible. For a gas furnace, it’s especially important because it has the potential to become hazardous if malfunctions are ignored. Even though it’s March, keep an eye out for furnace problems at this time so you can move fast to have them taken care of.
“What kind of problems?”
Technically, anything that seems out of the ordinary with your furnace deserves attention. You can take basic troubleshooting steps for some concerns:
- If the airflow from the vents is low or you’re experiencing a decline in warmth around the house, check on the furnace filter to see if it’s clogged. If you haven’t changed it during the entire winter, it needs to be replaced now. This may clear up the problem.
- Make sure room vents are unblocked if there is a drop in airflow.
- Always see that the thermostat is responding to your programing, and that you have the right programming in place.
If none of these steps resolves the issue, please don’t attempt to investigate further or make any DIY fixes. It’s unsafe for an non-licensed person to try to tamper with a gas furnace.
Now we’ll look at some specific problems you may notice from your furnace at this time of year that may warrant calling us to inspect the HVAC system and see if it requires repairs.
- Short-cycling: This is when the furnace starts and stops multiple times per hour rather than run through a complete heating cycle (which takes at least 15 minutes). There are many potential causes of short-cycling and you’ll want the source found and fixed before the extra strain on the heater causes more damage.
- Delayed ignition: Do the burners in the furnace not come on soon after the system starts up? You may notice a distinct boom noise from the furnace cabinet as all the built-up gas in the combustion chamber ignites at once. This could indicate a failing ignition system or gas flow problems.
- Other odd noises: Strange sounds are common warnings that something is wrong with a heating system of any kind. With a furnace, these sounds include clanging, screeching, grinding, rattling, and clicking. If you aren’t familiar with the noise, please have it checked out.
- Uneven heating: Are some rooms not as warm as usual? You might try to ignore this, but this is a common sign of a furnace that’s in decline and losing heating power.
No matter what you need for your furnace in Bulverde, TX to keep running until the spring weather settles in, we’re the team to trust.
At Thayer Air Conditioning, your comfort is our #1 priority. Call us today for HVAC service: we’re already on the way!
