When the weather starts to cool down for the winter, your home’s furnace is essential for keeping your family safe and comfortable throughout the coldest months. If you’ve heard your furnace turn on, only to find cold air coming out of the vents? You may be looking at a minor issue that you can fix yourself, or a major concern.
Let’s take a look at three reasons why your furnace is blowing cold air.
Check For Thermostat Issues
Cross your fingers for this, as it’s the easiest when it comes to a DIY fix. Take a look at your home thermostat. Is it set to ON? That means the fan is always running, even when temperatures match the thermostat setting and there’s no need to heat the air. In that case, the air will feel cool, simply because it’s not heated, but your overall comfort level won’t be affected. Just switch the thermostat to AUTO and you’re good to go.
If the thermostat is set to AUTO and you’re still dealing with the problem, check to see if the thermostat might need replaced. Older thermostats can sometimes start to malfunction, and a replacement is easy to find at your local home improvement store.
Did Your Furnace Overheat?
Are you finding an issue where your furnace seems to blow hot air, then cold, and then suddenly no air at all? It’s possible your furnace has simply overheated. This can be a safety risk, so be sure to flip your limit switch (a furnace safety device) to turn the furnace burners off. You’ll hear the blower continuing to work for a few minutes until the furnace is down to a safe heating level. There are a few reasons a furnace might overheat. The most common, a dirty air filter, is easy to fix on your own just by switching the old filter out for a new one. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to call in a professional to take a look.
Whatever you do, don’t just ignore the problem. Repeated overheating can extensively damage your heat exchanger, which could lead to very expensive repairs or even the need for a total furnace replacement.
Is Your Pilot Light Out?
It’s not unheard of for a gas furnace to start having issues with the pilot light. If that seems to be your problem, you can try to relight it on your own. If the flame stays on afterwards, then you’re good. Otherwise, you’ll need to ensure that gas is actually flowing into the furnace. Working with gas is incredibly risky for anyone who isn’t trained and experienced. Attempting to repair a gas furnace on your own could lead to a home fire or even explosion. We don’t recommend attempting any Do-It-Yourself fixes with a gas furnace. Instead, call in an experienced technician to walk you through the problem and what you’ll need to do to fix it.
Need Help With Your Heat? Give Us a Call!
When it’s time for the heat to come on for the winter, you’ll want the number for Donnelly’s Plumbing Heating and Cooling on hand! We have over forty years of experience providing exceptional heating services to our communities here in Chester, Montgomery, Bucks, and Delaware counties and we’re happy to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Schedule service by phone at (215) 855-2014 or contact us online at any time!
If you haven’t already, remember to check out our FREE e-book on essential furnace maintenance and keep your family warm and comfortable all winter long!
