You know that scene in pretty much every horror movie ever, where the protagonist is sitting in a dark room with a single flickering light source, and you just know that it’s going to go out and then something horrible is going to happen? That’s kind of what it feels like having your furnace malfunction in the middle of an extremely cold winter. No, you’re probably not going to be eaten by some horrible monster just because your furnace is out. But, you’re still not going to have a great time trying to make it through the winter season without a furnace, either. Avoid having your living room turn into a frozen winter wonderland by watching for the following furnace issues, so that you can have them repaired as soon as possible.
Short Cycling
Short cycling is officially the worst. The worst thing that can happen to your furnace, that is. It’s caused by an electrical short circuit, or by heat becoming trapped in the heat exchanger by a clogged air filter. Once the system starts to short cycle, it will turn itself on and off every couple of minutes. This will do a number of rather nasty things to your system. First, it will hamper the amount of heat your system can actually generate in a short amount of time. This is obviously not good for your comfort levels. Second, it will put the furnace under an immense amount of strain that it wasn’t designed to be able to cope with.
If the system is allowed to short cycle indefinitely, it will cause the furnace parts to break down in rapid succession. The cost and frequency of repairs will go up, and the lifespan of the furnace will be shortened in the process. Make sure that you call for repairs as soon as you notice a problem with the system short cycling.
Clogged Air Filter
If you don’t change your furnace air filter every three months, the filter will likely become clogged and cause problems for the furnace. These problems include trapping heat inside the system, causing short cycling. A clogged filter also causes a general drop in the amount of air entering the furnace, with a corresponding dip in the amount of warm air the system is able to generate. So, if you notice your furnace’s heating output dropping, make sure that you call for repairs as soon as possible.
The good news is that this particular issue is pretty easy to fix. You can even do it yourself if you have a filter of the right type on-hand and know how to do it. If you don’t know how to do it, though, we recommend having a professional handle the job for you. Better to make sure it’s done correctly than to risk further harm.
Sunset Air provides comprehensive furnace repair services in Tacoma, WA. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with one of our furnace technicians. We’ll make sure that your furnace is properly taken care of.
