Ohio’s weather can get pretty rough during the wintertime. Because of the extreme cold outside, homeowners should make sure their home heating equipment is in good working order and reliable enough to last through the full season before the cold sets in. If your furnace goes out or breaks down when it’s extremely cold outside, it can be a major inconvenience that comes at a tremendous cost. If your furnace isn’t keeping up with the cold this winter, below are a few things that could be causing the problem.
1. Your furnace needs to be inspected and cleaned
Your furnace spent the entire summer sitting unused, collecting dust. That dust and other debris can clog up your HVAC system and keep it from performing like it should and even cause breakdowns. We suggest showing your system some much-needed love by calling our team here at Lancaster Furnace & Air Conditioning to schedule a professional HVAC inspection and thorough cleaning. Not only will your valuable home heating equipment receive a thorough cleaning, which can include the ductwork if you opt to, but also our trained HVAC technicians will spot any concerns that could develop into serious problems later on. If you’d like, also, they make the necessary corrections on the spot.
2. Don’t shut your furnace down during the winter
After your furnace has been turned on for the winter, do not shut it off until the cold-weather season has completely ended. For those days when the weather is mild, you can lower the temperature setting on your thermostat to compensate. Here it’s important you don’t shut your furnace off altogether. When the weather gets cold again, it’ll take longer to heat up again if you’ve shut it down, which delays your furnace from warming the home again. Moreover, if you turn the heat completely off, you also run the risk of the water pipes in the house freezing and bursting if the temperatures fall below freezing. This can cause serious problems and serious damage that will be expensive to repair.
3. Your furnace is the wrong size for your house
If your furnace is too small for your home, the motor will become overworked and this can easily cause overheating. Overheating, in turn, can burn up the system’s motor and ruin your entire HVAC system. To determine if this is the problem, turn up the setting on your thermostat five degrees higher than normal then see how long it takes for your home to reach this higher temperature. If it takes a long time for the house to reach this temperature, or if it doesn’t reach the temperature at all, then the furnace in your home may be too small to be as effective as it should be.
On the other hand, if your house gets too warm no matter what your thermostat’s temperature is set on, then your heating system may be too large for your home. Not only will your home be too warm all the time if this is the problem, but the excessive temperatures can also damage your HVAC’s ductwork, meaning you will have to shell out money to have it repaired or replaced.
4. Your furnace’s fan isn’t working properly
Poor airflow is another common reason why residential furnaces struggle keeping up with the cold weather outside. If there’s a broken blower fan, a dirty air filter, or ductwork that has been obstructed or damaged, the air won’t be able to circulate throughout the home as needed. If you suspect there’s an airflow problem, look at your furnace’s air filter. If it’s dirty, check it. If this isn’t the problem, give us a call so that we can schedule to have one of our friendly certified HVAC technicians come over and inspect it and repair your heating system.
5. Your thermostat could be the problem
If your furnace stops and starts nonstop but your home doesn’t get warm, then this could indicate that your thermostat isn’t working properly. You can test this possibility by turning up your temperature five degrees higher than normal and listening for a click, then check to see if warm air is coming through the vents. If there is no warm air being blown into your home, then there is an issue with your thermostat. Contact us immediately and one of our certified technicians will visit and assess the situation. Your HVAC system may need an upgrade to a programmable thermostat. These models are much more efficient than older models. They can be pre-set to maintain the temperature in your home even when you aren’t there and to automatically lower temperatures during certain times, which will save you money on your energy bills. Most programmable thermostats are able to alert you if a problem comes up, taking the guesswork out of it for you.
Don’t take chances with your expensive home heating equipment!
If your furnace has been struggling to keep up this winter, it might be a fairly minor issue that can be resolved fairly quickly and inexpensively before it evolves into something far more serious and expensive.
The only way to find out and fix the problem quickly is to contact a reputable HVAC company who puts customer satisfaction first.
We at Lancaster Furnace & Air Conditioning believe we are that company.
Call us today at (740) 625-2320 or schedule an appointment now by clicking here!
