It is the thick of the winter season, and now is a terrible time for your heating system to stop working. If your home is not warming up like it is supposed to, you have some sort of issue that needs to be handled right away. The following are some possible causes for your heating system outage:
The Burners Do Not Ignite
A furnace has burners that must ignite in order to heat the home. If you are not getting any heat out of your heating system, there is a possibility that the burners cannot ignite for some reason. They may simply be too dirty or there could be a mechanical issue with the burners themselves. To determine the issue, you will need to schedule a maintenance check with your HVAC contractor.
The Heat Exchanger Is Cracked
A cracked heat exchanger is bad news. Your house will not get warm, but there is a real possibility of doing significant damage to your family's health and well-being. A sign of a cracked heat exchanger, in addition to there not being any heat in your home, is the smell of gas combined with a rattling sound. If any of these issues arise, you need to turn off the furnace and contact your HVAC contractor immediately.
The Thermostat Is Broken
One of the easier problems to fix is a broken or malfunctioning thermostat. When the thermostat becomes disconnected or is not correctly calibrated, it will not understand the reading. A temperature reading sends the message to your heating system to tell it what temperature you want your house. When the thermostat does not work, the furnace does not get that message. This is easily fixed with a thermostat repair or replacement.
The Ductwork Is Leaking
Another issue that is preventing the proper heating of your home is leaking ductwork. When you have a tear or hole in your ductwork, all of your heat will escape into the attic, crawlspace, or wherever your ductwork is housed. Your home will not get as much heat as it should. This will require a repair or replacement of your ductwork. Your HVAC contractor will inspect the ductwork to see how significant of a leak is present. If the leak is major, you may need a complete replacement. A repair may help solve the problem if the leak is small.
Inconsistent heating is an issue you do not want to deal with this time of year. Be sure to call your HVAC contractor for residential heating services at the first sign of inadequate heat.
