During the winter, your furnace helps ensure your family’s comfort and safety. When it’s running smoothly, there’s security in the knowledge that it needs no attention from either you or an HVAC contractor.

The first sign of trouble might arrive on a frigid winter’s day, when your furnace runs and runs and can’t match the thermostat’s setting. What next?

You can call an HVAC service technician, but often you may have to wait a few days or more during the busy season. Meanwhile, you can toss another log onto the fire, pull out the wool blankets, and dress in layers, but that cold house is miserable.

At Fire & Ice, we get hundreds of service calls from Hilliard, Ohio, for furnaces during the winter months, Let’s review some common issues that can impact your furnace’s ability to heat your home.

This article may be able to help if:

• Your furnace isn’t providing enough heat
• Your furnace keeps turning on and off without running a full cycle
• Your furnace isn’t running at all

5 Signs Your Furnace Needs to Be Repaired

In this section, we’ll break down the following signs and what can cause them:

• Changes in airflow
• Short cycling
• Abnormally long runtime
• Abnormal sounds and smells
• Puddles of water and leaks

Airflow changes mean that sometimes a vent can become partially or completely blocked. This may have to do with a reduction in force from the furnace, or a blocked section of ductwork. Ductwork can be cleaned (it’s best to let a professional do this), and the furnace can be cleaned as well. The problem might lie with an excess amount of debris inside the furnace. A thorough inspection can find the root cause.

One solution that you can do yourself: Check your filter. If it’s clogged, it’s robbing your furnace of airflow, which can cause a variety of health and system problems. Most filters can be changed by the homeowner. If you need a replacement, check out the video below.

If it’s short-cycling, that means it’s turning on and off more than it should. Not only might this rob you of warmth, it doesn’t allow the hot and cold air in the house to mix. That leaves stubborn hot and cold spots.

This is also hard on your furnace. The more times it has to start, the quicker it will wear out.

If it’s continuing to run without shutting off, even though it’s not sub-zero outside, it might be a sign of trouble. You might need to keep a sharp eye on your utility bill; if it spikes, and you can’t attribute it to the weather or some other factor, it may be that the furnace is underperforming.

If you’re hearing new loud sounds and smelling something off, it might be a motor that’s burning out, or a buildup of mold inside of the unit.

Pools of water and leaks can indicate a few issues, including a damaged heat exchanger and/or a faulty seal on your evaporator coil.

Best Practices to Prevent Furnace Repairs

You can never totally avoid furnace repairs. But you do have the power to minimize them.

Change your HVAC system’s filter. How often you need to change your filter depends on the type of filter you have.

Schedule regular maintenance. A tune-up (we recommend one every year) can ensure that your furnace is prepared to heat your home. And during an annual tune-up, your HVAC service technician can catch issues before they leave you without heat on the coldest day of the year. A good contractor will inspect the furnace inside and out.

What Does a Furnace Inspection Include?

In order to make sure that your furnace is operating as it should, your HVAC technician must inspect for specific safety and performance benchmarks during your annual furnace tune-up.

At a minimum, furnace safety and performance benchmarks include:

• Carbon monoxide levels
• Satisfactory flue venting
• The condition of gas line components
• Safety shut-off equipment
• The condition of your furnace’s heat exchanger(s)
• The condition of your system’s filter
• The condition of your furnace’s flame sensor
• Your furnace’s temperature rise
• The condition of your system’s blower motor

What Does a Furnace Cleaning Include?

Once your HVAC technician confirms that your furnace is operating safely, they should also clean your furnace. This helps maintain your system’s performance and keeps the air in your home cleaner.

Some HVAC companies offer maintenance packages with different levels of cleaning during your furnace tune-up. During a furnace tune-up, the components that your HVAC technician should clean include:

• The flame sensor. When your gas furnace’s flame sensor collects too much soot, it can prevent your furnace from turning on. Your technician can help prevent this by cleaning the flame sensor.

• The plenums. Your system has two plenums that connect directly to your furnace. They help move the air into your living spaces. Your HVAC technician should inspect your system’s plenums for mold, dust, insulation, and other debris and clean as necessary.

• The furnace cabinet. Your furnace cabinet accumulates dust and other debris, which can affect your system’s performance.

• Deep cleaning for your HVAC system. In some cases, your furnace may need a deeper level of cleaning than a standard tune-up offers. Regular deep cleaning can also benefit homeowners who have an older, dusty house, pets, or ducts caked with debris.

Furnace Maintenance and Repair in Hilliard, Ohio

While items such as regularly changing your filter and scheduling routine maintenance are good practices for any system, if you’re dealing with a system that’s not producing enough heat or not even turning on, it’s time to schedule a visit from a repair specialist.

Skipping this could mean a loss of comfort, a higher electric bill, or even the failure of your system.

If you’re in Hillard, OH, or the surrounding area, reach out to us today.

At Fire & Ice, we take pride in doing the work correctly the first time, every time. Whether it’s a repair or a replacement, we have the expertise and knowledge to get your system working efficiently so that it provides maximum comfort to your home.

And if you want to learn more about furnaces, we recommend reading the following:

HVAC Buyer’s Guide

How Much Does a Furnace Repair Cost in 2022?

What’s Included in Furnace Maintenance? Inspections, Cleaning & Plans