The summer weather isn’t done with us yet. That may make it difficult for you to think about winter safety, but at Carolina Climate Control, we think it’s always wise to keep our clients informed about seasonal safety before the season arrives. You’re going to need to start thinking about your heating system soon, and many of the safety tips we’re about to list have to do with your heater.
Hello! We interrupt your hot late summer with this important bulletin: it’s almost fall! We know it’s hard to imagine the weather turning colder right now, but of course it will happen—and fall is the time to start preparations for the winter ahead.
What this means for your HVAC system is that the furnace is due for its annual tune-up and inspection. This routine maintenance visit is essential if you want to enjoy worry-free heating during the coming winter, better energy efficiency, and fewer (if any) calls for furnace repair in Charleston, SC.
We’re already enjoying some pleasant warm weather here in the Charleston area, although there’s no guarantee we won’t have another cold snap before spring arrives. March and April are notoriously temperamental!
But the warm feeling in the air is a good reason for you to start thinking about keeping your home cool in the coming months. It’s also a good reason to start thinking about the future of your heating system. If you want to replace your current heater, spring is a great time to get it done.
So, is this the last winter for your heating system? Think about its recent performance as well as its age, and you’ll get a clearer picture. We’ll help you below with some of the major ways you can tell your heater is reaching the end.
“Hey, I’ll bet I can fix this myself.”
“My friend knows a guy who can repair that for you real cheap.”
These two phrases (or similar ones) have led the way to many DIY home projects. Sometimes they work out and cost far less than hiring a professional. Other times, they just don’t work out. There are some types of projects and jobs better suited to the professionals.
HVAC isn’t just better suited to the professionals. Only professionals should ever handle actual HVAC repair work. No matter how handy you think you are, no matter how many friends recommend their cousins or “some guy they know,” this should be left to experienced and licensed professionals only. Let’s go over the most important reasons why you should go with professionals for HVAC repair in Summerville, SC.
The best way to have your furnace repaired is to catch any problem as soon as possible, before it starts to hurt your family’s comfort or leads to additional problems. A complex and powerful piece of equipment like a gas furnace will suffer from a chain of malfunctions if a single malfunction, even a small one, goes unrepaired.
How can you early detect problems with your gas furnace? There are several signs you can watch for, but let’s focus on signs you can listen for. Odd sounds from a furnace are among the most common indications that it needs professional repairs.
You have a central heating system in your house for a reason: to provide heat to all of the living space so your whole family stays warm. It’s much better than using a half dozen space heaters, right? Not to mention it’s much safer and energy efficient.
But you may run into a problem where your heater, which was once doing fine at its job, isn’t performing as well when it comes to heating the whole house. Some members of your family are complaining about their rooms getting too cold, and you’ve started to notice cool spots while the heater is running, even though other places in the house are plenty warm. For some reason, your heating system isn’t providing an even spread of heat.
So what’s the reason? Let’s look at several possibilities.
When you turn on your furnace for the winter, you want it to heat your home so everyone is comfortable. In order for a furnace to do that, it has to run long enough to distribute heated air through the ventilation system to all the rooms.
But you’ve run into a problem: your furnace is shutting down too early, and the house isn’t getting the warmth your family needs. What’s happening? And what can you do about it?
You’ve come to the right place for answers!
You don’t want to head into the winter with a home heating system that might fail during one of the coldest days of the year. You may be stuck with a cold house while you arrange to get the broken heater replaced. But how can you tell that your current heater has come to the end of its service life so you can replace it?
The easiest way is to set the Moose Loose! We’re the experts at new heating installation in Charleston, SC and we can help you determine if your current heater is ready to go or if our repairs can keep it going effectively for several more years. We’ll always be honest with you about what’s best for your home.
You may still feel on the fence about your heater, so before you call us, we’ll go over some of the major signs to watch for that will warn you have a heater ready for retirement.
Fall means many different things to people. For us and our mascot Moose, fall means it’s time to get busy helping our customers tune-up their heating systems. This regular maintenance service is the best way to ensure a heater will sail through the winter with few troubles and work at peak efficiency.
If you’re wondering if you really need maintenance for your heater this year, we’re here to convince you. Maintenance is great for your heater, your comfort, and your pocketbook, and we’ve put together a maintenance program—The Moose Plan!—that makes it an even better deal!
If you’re like most people, you probably switch your thermostat to heat when your house gets below 64 degrees Fahrenheit. You probably set your heat to about 65 to 70 degrees. This is just enough to keep you and your family comfortable during the winter months.
But, what happens if something goes wrong with your furnace? Why would a furnace tripping the breaker be a problem?
The bad news is that furnaces can develop many different issues. The good news is that most of them are easily resolved.
Read on to learn what kind of furnace repair you might need right now.
There are two major reasons why the furnace might trip a breaker. Both indicate that there’s a problem with the electrical circuits in your home.
The first possible issue is the breaker itself. This could be because the breaker is old or faulty. It could also be that the breaker isn’t powerful enough to support the furnace.
The other possible issue is the furnace. It might be that the furnace needs more electricity than the breaker can handle. You might need either a smaller furnace or a stronger breaker.
There are many reasons why a heating system wouldn’t turn on at all. The first, of course, is that the breaker tripped the last time the furnace turned on. This prevents electricity from getting to the furnace in the first place.
It could also be an issue of a short in a wire somewhere. This prevents enough electricity from getting to the furnace to turn it on.
Other issues might include faulty parts or an open service door to the furnace.
Many internal issues cause a low airflow from your heating system. For this reason, it’s very common among heater issues. Causes range from simple issues like a closed vent to more complicated issues like a failing fan motor.
A closed vent is something you can check and fix yourself, so it’s, fortunately, the cheapest issue to fix.
Clogs in the vents also prevent air from flowing as well. This issue, however, usually requires professional help to resolve.
Your furnace repair professionals might also check the fan motor to make sure it’s not failing. If it isn’t spinning as fast as it should, you may need a new motor.
Also among the common heating issues is when your HVAC blows cold air instead of hot. The good news is that this indicates that the airflow and fan motor are both fine. The bad news is that this means your furnace isn’t producing heat.
This is usually the result of faulty parts. A good example of this is the pilot light failing. The pilot light is responsible for creating the small flames that generate the heat in the furnace.
If this piece doesn’t work, then you get a furnace that only blows cool air instead of hot.
This one may or may not be a major issue with your heating system. If you only notice this the first one or two times you turn your furnace on for the winter, then it’s probably alright. The furnace just has some dust in it from the winter.
However, if the smell seems very strong or persists after that, then you may need to have a look at your furnace. This could mean faulty parts or bad wiring. If these issues continue, they could result in an electrical fire.
It’s best to have these issues resolved quickly before that happens.
Short cycling refers to when your furnace turns on only to turn back off quickly. This is bad for your furnace since it causes more wear on its parts. There are also many reasons why this might happen.
For example, if your thermostat is right under a vent, this can trick it into thinking that your house is warming up faster than it is. This causes it to turn the furnace off faster than it should.
It might also be because of faulty parts. Furnaces have built-in safety features to prevent gas leaks and electrical fires. These activate when a problem is detected with a part.
If you have a gas furnace, then you should have a carbon monoxide detector. Carbon monoxide is odorless and tasteless, so the human brain can’t detect it. However, it’s also deadly to those who have prolonged exposure to it.
Carbon monoxide is produced by your furnace but is supposed to be funneled out by a chimney. This releases the deadly gas into the air and away from human lungs instead of through your home for you to breathe in.
If your detector is going off frequently, you might have a clog in that chimney.
This issue is a matter of trusting your instincts. You know what your heating system sounds like when it runs. That being said, there are many reasons why a furnace would suddenly become noisy.
For example, there may be a loose part inside of your furnace. When the fan blows, it shakes and rattles that loose part. This vibration travels through the vents and makes your heating system seem quite loud.
If this is the case, it’s best to get an expert out to fix the issue as soon as possible. These issues only get worse if they’re allowed to go on and soon you’ll be dealing with something more serious than a loose part.
Whether you have a furnace tripping the breaker or some other issue, it’s always best to resolve it as soon as you can. This prevents the problem from getting worse and costs more to fix.
And the best place to get high-quality HVAC service is right here at Carolina Climate Control. We’re among the best in the business for both AC and heater repair.
Contact us today and see how we can keep you and your family comfortable this winter.
