With the arrival of the colder weather comes the inevitable worrying about whether your heating system furnace will actually start up and run this year reliably, or whether you’ll end up being stuck in the cold (literally!) in the middle of the night one snowy January evening. If you have any doubts about your heating system lasting through the winter, you should definitely call in a professional and get a seasonal check up. A little maintenance goes a long way to keeping heating systems going these days.
If you do find yourself stuck out in the cold then there are a couple things you can do before calling the repairman. If it isn’t an emergency then you might want to try some of these heating system troubleshooting steps first.
Check Your Heating System Thermostat
There are hundreds of different types of manual and electronic thermostats and you’d be amazed at how complex they can make the simple act of turning on the heat. Be sure to read your manual and make sure you’re actually setting things the right way. It could be a simple case of accidentally setting the temperature too low or having a timer set incorrectly.
Change Your Thermostat’s Batteries
This is so important that I made it a separate step. A lot of electronic and digital thermostats use little AA batteries to run and when those batteries start running out of juice some weird things can happen. Most electronic thermostats have “low battery” indicators these days, but even before the indicator comes on your thermostat could be giving you false temperature readings or not switching your heat on as it should be.
Check Inline Switches and Vents
No matter what kind of heating system you have, there are probably at least one or two switches that can turn things on or off in an emergency or at the first sign of trouble. Sometimes these emergency switches get accidentally turned off. Some systems even have separate room controls which may be turned off during the warmer months and forgotten to be turned back on when it gets cooler. My gas furnace has an emergency cut-off switch at the bottom of the basement stairs. My children know not to touch it, but sometimes they accidentally bump it off.
Check Your Air Filters
With forced hot air systems is usually one large air filter and sometimes some smaller filters along the main air heating duct. Check to make sure all the air filters in your ducts are clean and the proper size for your system. Some heating systems will actually shut down or not work properly if the air filter gets excessively dirty. This auto-shut down feature is actually a safety measure to prevent your system from working too hard.
Check Your Heating System’s Fuses
There are many different types of heating systems, from forced hot air to baseboard to ambient heat and there are also many types of heating fuels from electric to gas to oil. Almost all of these systems generally rely on some sort of electrical charge somewhere along the way, whether it’s to turn on a fan or a switch or to provide the actual heat. Make sure you haven’t accidentally blown a fuse. If you find that you did trip a fuse then you may want to think about getting an electrician in at some point to look your system over.
Look For Air Leaks
If you have a room that was once warm but is suddenly cold you may have some sort of leak. If you have a forced air system, then try to find the duct work to see if there are any holes or patches of duct that may be leaking out hot air. It’s a relatively easy job to seal and insulate air ducts. If you have a gas or oil heating system, then leaks can be a very bad thing indeed. Pay attention to odd smells or odors if you’re having trouble with your heat – it could be an indication of a serious leak. Call the repair company or gas company immediately if you suspect anything unusual.
Read Your Furnace’s Manual
When all else fails you can actually do what you should have done first – read the manual for the both your thermostat and your heating system. Now, I know that not all systems have a formal manual, but it’s a good idea to have some sort of written record of how to operate things in case you ever need to instruct someone else. If you’re really stuck you can either install a new thermostat or ask your repairman if he can give you simple instructions on how to use your furnace or heating system that you can write down and keep handy.
There’s one pretty common problem that doesn’t always appear in the gas furnace manuals, and that’s problems with the flame sensor. Here’s a quick possible fix if your gas furnace is starting and stopping intermittently.
Be safe when it comes to dealing with heating systems. Most air conditioner systems run about the same way with some minor differences, but there are dozens of different configurations of heating systems out there. If you have any doubt about your heating system working through the winter and you have elderly or extremely young people in your home then you may want to think about investing in a small back up room heater. That way even if you do have a heating system breakdown you’ll be able to gather in one room and at least stay safe from the bitter cold outside.
Thanks for sharing these steps. One of my radiators was leaking a few months back and thanks to help online, I was able to locate the problem and resolve the issue.
Very often reading the manual or checking the electronic thermostat batteries can save you an expensive call out charge.