Ohio can have some pretty brutal winter weather. When the frigid weather sets in, it will be important for your furnace to be in top working order. The last thing you want to have happened is for your furnace to stop working right in the middle of the coldest part of the year. If your furnace isn’t performing up to par, you may need to take a look at a few things that could be holding it back from working its best:
1. Your HVAC system may need a professional inspection and cleaning
After sitting dormant through the warm weather months, your HVAC system needs and deserves a little TLC. If it isn’t performing as well as it should be, give Pickerington Heating and Cooling a call at (614) 837-4026 to schedule a professional inspection and thorough cleaning. If there are any issues keeping your furnace from working properly, our trained HVAC technician will find the problem and make any necessary repairs right away.
2. Don’t turn your furnace off during the winter
Once you have started using your furnace during cold-weather season, keep it on. You can turn it down on mild weather days, but don’t shut it off completely. If it has been shut down completely, then when the weather turns ugly again, your furnace will have to work extra hard to get warmed up again. This means it will take even longer for your home to get warm as well. You should also be aware that if you shut the heat off in your house thoroughly and the temperature falls below freezing outside, there is a danger of the water pipes in your home freezing and bursting, causing major and extremely costly problems.
3. Your furnace may be too big/small for your house
If your heating unit is too small to heat your home, it will become easily overworked and the motor will burn up. Check to see if this is an issue by setting your thermostat to a high setting and timing it to see how long it takes your home to reach that temperature. If it takes a long time or fails to reach the temperature at all, your furnace may be too small to be effective for your home.
If your furnace is too big, the issue can be that your home becomes too warm, regardless of the temperature you set your thermostat on. Along with the apparent problem of overheating your house, this can also cause damage to your HVAC system’s ductwork.
4. Your system’s fan isn’t working properly
Inadequate airflow from your heating system will certainly keep your home from getting warm when the temperatures drop. Your furnace may be producing sufficient heat, but if there is a problem such as a broken blower fan, a clogged air filter, or damaged ductwork, the heated air has no way to get circulated throughout your home. Go with the easy fix first: check your furnace’s air filter and replace it if there are signs of dirt and debris trapped in it. If this does not resolve the problem, call us right away so that we can have one of our trained HVAC technicians come out and take a look at your system ASAP.
5. Your thermostat may not be working correctly
If your furnace is running continuously and your home is still not getting warm, there is a possibility that your thermostat isn’t working correctly. You can determine if this is the issue by setting your thermostat’s temperature 5 degrees higher than usual and then listening for a click. Check to see if warm air is being blown into your home through the vents. If this is not happening, then there is a problem with your thermostat. Contact us right away and one of our certified technicians will come and assess the situation. It may be that your HVAC system would benefit from an upgrade to a programmable thermostat. These thermostats are more modern and efficient than their predecessors in a number of ways. They can be set to monitor and maintain temperatures even when you’re not home and to automatically reset temperatures to save money on utility bills. Most models are also designed to alert you right away if a problem arises so that there is no guesswork involved.
Pickerington Heating and Cooling wants to be sure that your home is as comfortable and inviting as possible for you and your family throughout the cold-weather season. Give us a call at (614) 837-4026 or visit us online at https://www.pickheat.com/appointments/ with any questions you may have or to schedule an appointment for a professional inspection and cleaning of your HVAC system. We’re here to meet your HVAC needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
