When cold weather arrives, your home’s furnace will go to work to ensure your family remains comfortable through the season. With the right planning—such as routine maintenance done in the fall with professionals—you shouldn’t experience serious trouble with your furnace.
Still, nothing can stop all furnace malfunctions. If you have a furnace that isn’t providing enough heat to the house, or isn’t providing any heat, you may need to call us for furnace repair in Kent, WA. We have 24-hour emergency service to see that you receive the assistance you need when you need it. Below we’re going to look into six reasons you may have a furnace that’s falling down on the job.
1. The furnace is too old and needs to be replaced
We’ll start with a big reason, which is that the furnace has aged out of its usefulness. A gas furnace averages around fifteen years of service before it starts to falter, although lack of maintenance can cause it to crumble sooner. When your furnace is more than fifteen years old, we recommend you have it replaced when it begins to struggle to keep up. Repairs at this point are only stopgap measures; that money is better spent on a new furnace.
2. The thermostat is malfunctioning
Now let’s switch to a smaller problem, but a problem nonetheless. The furnace may not be heating the home enough because the thermostat is sensing the wrong temperatures and shutting the system off early. This miscalibration is a common problem, and it’s one our technicians can easily fix. There are other possible thermostat issues that can cause the furnace to refuse to turn on at all (or in some cases refuse to turn off).
3. Failed ignition system
Modern furnaces no longer use standing pilot lights but electronic igniters to light their burners. The electronic ignition system can break and need to be replaced. If your furnace isn’t turning on at all (the burners won’t light), then the ignition system may be the issue. Our technicians can replace the ignition system.
4. Tripped limit switch
The furnace limit switch is designed to shut down the blower assembly if the furnace overheats. This can happen because too much heat is trapped in the furnace due to a clogged air filter (always make sure the air filter is changed every one to three months to prevent this) or because the sensor in the limit switch is wearing down. There are several other possible causes for the switch to trip, some of the safety features. If your furnace is shutting down often, it may be a limit switch problem or a problem causing the limit switch to activate.
5. Tripped circuit breaker
Because furnaces, even if gas-powered, use electrical components to run, a tripped breaker will shut the system down so that no heated air is distributed to the rooms. Check the electrical panel to see if any breaker has tripped. If the furnace continues to trip the circuit breaker, you’ll need to call for professionals to find out what’s wrong.
6. Gas line issues
The furnace may not be receiving enough gas through the gas lines. Only professionals should handle the work required to repair gas lines. If you suspect trouble with the gas supply for the furnace, shut it down at the furnace switch and call for help right away.
Contact Sound Heating and Air Conditioning Inc. today! We take your comfort as serious as you do.