Home Heating: 8 Signs That Yours is Failing

There’s nothing quite like the fall season; the leaves change colors, the weather turns into ‘sweatshirt’ weather, and all your favorite foods become increasingly available. As the seasons change and the weather gets colder and colder, it’s important to evaluate your home heating system. Is your home heating ready to keep you warm this winter? Here are eight things that point to a problem with your home heating system.

1. Odd Noises

While no furnace is ever completely silent, it’s not normal for a furnace to be making all kinds of odd noises. If you hear groaning, banging, or whining noises, your furnace might need some repairs. It’s better to repair a few parts than to let it continue malfunctioning. Contact a professional immediately in order to remedy this issue.

2. Constantly Increasingly the Temperature

If you’re continually increasing the temperature on your thermostat, yet you don’t feel things warm up, you could have a variety of issues. Anything from a malfunctioning thermostat to a leaking duct to an issue with your pilot light could be the culprit. A malfunctioning thermostat could lead to the furnace reading the actual temperature of your home wrong, which could cause it to run or not run when it should be. Contact a professional to get this issue fixed as soon as possible.

3. Increase in Your Electric Bill

If you haven’t felt a temperature change, yet your electric bill has dramatically increased, you could have a failing furnace. While it could happen for a countless number of reasons, it would still be more cost efficient to call a professional to evaluate the situation than letting it continue for the rest of the season.

4. Pilot Light

If you’re looking for the pilot light and it’s not burning, you will need to reignite it because the pilot light must be lit continuously. It should be blue and strong, not yellow and weak. A strong, blue light indicates an ideal balance of gasses, but if your pilot light is yellow and weak, it could be a very dangerous situation that could lead to high levels of carbon monoxide in your home. This can be fatal – call a professional immediately if you see this in your furnace.

5. Air Quality

If your furnace needs repairs, you will often begin to notice the frequency in which you and your household experience breathing related issues such as asthma, allergies, and other illnesses. A failing furnace can put out mass amounts of dust, mold, and other airborne irritants that will then be circulated throughout your home.

6. Drafts and Condensation

Constantly feeling a cold draft in certain parts of your house? This could be an indication that your furnace is not able to heat your entire house anymore. Another sign is ice forming on your roof, which is an indicator that heat from your home is leaking out of your attic. If you’re noticing condensation on the inside of your windows, it’s a sign that you should call a professional to look at your system.

7. Repairs Within the Past 2 Years

If your furnace has had multiple repairs in the last two years, it might be an indication that it needs replacement. Most furnaces last around 12 to 15 years, but if your furnace is older than 15 it might be a good idea to start thinking about replacing it. The older it gets, the more likely it will need repairs.

8. Complete or Partial Loss of Heat

Complete or partial loss of heat is an obvious problem because you can physically feel the lack of heat. If you can look at the possible issues and isolate which ones aren’t the problem (i.e. loss of power, pilot light, etc.) it could point to your furnace failing. If you’re receiving partial heat, it could be an indicator of more trivial problems, yet they are still worth getting checked out by a professional.