DIY Furnace Troubleshooting

March 06, 2015

One of the most important parts of the winter is staying cozy and warm. Of course, staying comfortable is critical throughout the year, but during the chilly season it is even more crucial. Winters in Manassas are erratic and the coldest days can often spring up on us, sometimes when your furnace is ill-equipped. So, before you call in a specialized technician, here are a few things you can examine first:

  1. Check your filter – dirty filters are one of the most universal causes of sudden furnace failures. Air has a more difficult time floating through filters once they are filthy or dirty, causing the system to shut off sometimes. The older the furnace, the more difficult it might be to detect the problem, while newer furnaces are designed to point out clogged and dirty filters before further issues arise. Swapping furnace filters every month or so can counteract these issues and keep you comfortable.
  2. See if your batteries are weak or dead – keep incessant tabs on your thermostat batteries to make sure that there isn’t a flashing low battery light or indicator on your thermostat. If there is, it’s time to replace out the batteries on your thermostat.
  3. Ensure that your thermostat is set to “heat” – it can be easy to forget small things like the settings of your thermostat. Double-check this vital step, especially if there was a new spike in temperature that may have caused you to change the “heat” setting.
  4. Check your switches – in your home’s circuit breaker panel, find the breakers that operate your furnace:
    1. [Ensure|Guarantee|Confirm]48] that the switch is in the On side. If it is Off or in the middle of the two sides, change the breaker to Off and then reset it to On.
    2. The switch that seems like a light switch should also be in the On, or Up, side. It can often be confused as a real light switch, which is why it is often the problem with furnace troubleshooting. Once it’s back On, the system will only need a few minutes to reboot.

Working through these steps is an easy and effective way of confirming the effectiveness of your furnace before you make a call to your Manassas expert. If there are still problems after you have made it through these steps, you will have a much wider idea on how to notify your [[technicians|specialists|experts}69] on what the issue might be. If you have questions or need to arrange a repair, call Air-Right Energy Design, Inc. in Manassas.