Common Heating Problems and How to Tackle Them

When the winter sets in, Calgary gets covered in a thick blanket of snow. This year, there’s 24 cms of snow blanketing the city. On 21st December, the snow accumulated about 12 cm, followed by another 12 cm the next day. This is considered the biggest snowfall of the season.

In such scenarios where temperature below 0 is average, you wouldn’t want your heating system to break down. But machines are prone to seizing up from time to time. In such cases, you’d need to check for some common heating problems and see if you can fix them yourself.

Before moving ahead, it’s worth noting the problems discussed here are associated with furnace or forced air heating systems. Since these systems comprise 55% of Canada’s home heating systems, more people will find the problems relevant. For other types, you can refer to websites like https://furnace-repair-calgary.ca/.

Heating System Stopped Suddenly

You’re enjoying a cozy winter afternoon with your heating system running in the background, but then suddenly, the unexpected and unwanted thing happened. The heating system stopped suddenly pumping hot air, and you have no idea what had happened.

The reasons for this can be varying. But few things you can check for are the thermostat, fan motor, bearings, and belts. Each of these components is responsible for keeping the heating system working. But it’s usually the thermostat that breaks down too often.
If one part of your house is heating properly while the others are not, then chances are a broken thermostat is the culprit.

Therefore, you must check if you can replace it yourself, or call a furnace repair specialist at the earliest.

The Furnace Isn’t Heating At All

If the furnace isn’t heating, then there might be electric ignition or pilot control issues. These ignite the gas burners. But if they don’t work, then the burners won’t light themselves. If that’s working, then minor or major wearing can prevent proper airflow.

If you’ve bought a brand new furnace heating system and installed it, then ensure the room’s size is appropriate for the heater. If it’s not heating space adequately, then you’ve bought the wrong heater.

When facing common heating problems, consider investing in a brand new heat furnace. Upgrading your system can provide more efficient and reliable warmth, addressing many of the issues discussed in this article on common heating problems and how to tackle them.

Frequent Cycling

At times, you’d see the furnace changing modes between on and off automatically, too frequently. A common reason for this is an unclean flame sensor that causes the furnace to malfunction. Therefore, you must turn off the furnace and clean the sensor.

Worn out Air filters can also cause rapid cycling problems. If you don’t replace it regularly, then they get clogged and wear out.

The Furnace is Louder than Usual

After a long time, when you start your furnace heating system, you may hear squeaking or rattling sounds that aren’t normal.

A loud furnace hints at reduced airflow or a clogged burner. You need to check the ductwork and insulate it if possible to minimize the noise coming out of it.

There can also be mechanical problems. If the noise is coming from your furnace itself, then you can check if the blower motor demands lubrication or the pilot light is adjusted incorrectly.

The Heating System Won’t Turn Off

This is one of the most common problems newbies face. After running for a while, the heating system stubbornly won’t turn off and continue to blow hot air even after reaching the set temperature. Therefore, you’d have to manually turn it off every time, which is an added task.

You first need to check if the heating system is set to “auto” in such cases. If not, it might be set to “on”. When it’s set to auto, the system will turn off after a set temperature is reached, which is not the case in “on” mode.

Other associated problems might be a broken thermostat that fails to gauge the temperature or improper wiring. Check if the wiring is plugged in correctly and reset everything is needed.

The Vents are Blowing Cold Air

This is a funny but a grave problem. At times, the vents can surprisingly blow cold air. For a quick fix in such cases, you should check the thermostat and set it to the right temperature. If it’s set to a lower temperature, then it’s supposed to blow cold air.

Next, check if the air ducts. Cool air travels from the blower into the heat exchanger before it is warmed and sent to a different part of the house. If there’s a leakage, then the cool air will occupy the rooms.

These are some of the most common problems people face. Once you spot the problem, you can fix it at least temporarily. For more guidance, you can check websites like https://furnace-repair-calgary.ca/.