Troubleshooting Tips For Your Furance

The last thing you want in the middle of a cold winter's day is for your furnace to suddenly stop working. It can get awfully cold in your home in no time at all, which can be scary, especially if you have small children or any elderly family members living with you. You can try to make repairs to your furnace before calling out a service technician, that can sometimes cost you upwards of a few hundred dollars. See below for a few troubleshooting tips to try before calling someone to come out to your home.

Check The Thermostat

Check the thermostat first to see first and foremost if the batteries need to be changed. Some models do have batteries in them, so try to change the batteries first. Then be sure the thermostat is set to "Heat". Someone could have accidentally changed the setting. If the setting is set to "Heat", change the temperature on the thermostat to a lower temperature to see if that turns on the furnace. If that didn't do the trick, move on to the next step. 

Change The Filter

If it's been awhile since you've changed your filter, the furnace may literally be choking and not getting enough air flow to it. Try to change the furnace filter with a new one to see if that helps. You can tell when a filter needs to be changed if you hold it up to the light and don't see any light through it. Furnace filters should be changed monthly.

Turn On The Fan

Your thermostat should have a few settings for the fan - On, Off and Auto. Change the setting to "On" to see if this turns the fan on. If the fan turns on, your furnace has electricity. If the fan doesn't turn on, there could be an issue with the electricity.

Turn On The Furnace (at the switch)

There should be a switch located near your furnace. If it somehow was turned off, your furnace won't have any power going to it. Turn the switch back on, then see if this turns your furnace on.

Check The Breaker

Go to your breaker box to see if something maybe tripped the breaker to your furnace. If you see any breakers that are pushed out, or switched the other direction (depending on the type of breakers you have), turn the breaker back on and see if that repairs your furnace.

Check The Gas Valve

If there isn't any gas going to your furnace, it isn't going to be able to run. Check to see if the gas valve was turned off. Turn the valve to the "On" position to see if this turns your furnace on. It may take a few minutes, so be patient.

Look For A Pilot Light

Look on your furnace for a pilot light (if your furnace has one). If you don't see the light, carefully light the pilot light again using a long lighter. The flame on your pilot light should be blue, indicating it is hot. If it's a yellow flame, you could have a problem with your heat exchanger.

When troubleshooting your furnace, don't do anything that you don't feel comfortable doing, especially when dealing with the gas valve or lighting the pilot light. Contact a professional service technician for help if your furnace is still not working properly. For more information, visit websites like http://www.chappels.com/.