Few people give much thought about their home’s furnace these days until something goes wrong.
The good thing about this is that your home’s heating system was deliberately manufactured to last a long, long time. Furnaces are considerably durable, dependable machines that don’t need a lot of repairing — that is as long as they are sufficiently maintained each year by a technician. With that stated, be prepared. Ultimately, even the most exceptional furnaces will need work from time to time. And, on a long enough timeline, it’s unavoidable. The best you can do at the end of the road, beyond annual servicing, is to know who is most qualified to work on your furnace if there is a problem, and what to be on the lookout for to recognize something isn’t right.
For that very reason, we at Lewis Center-Powell Heating & Air composed the following to help you determine if your furnace is overheating.
Does Your Furnace Turn Off Before it Finishes a Cycle?
This is the most common symptom of an overheating furnace. An overheating furnace will shut down before it should. The truth is that this is a protective feature of your system. When it starts shutting off like this, it’s doing so to prevent permanent damage. What happens is, the high-limit switch detects an unsafe temperature and turns the furnace off.
Do You Notice a Burning Fragrance?
When you turn on your furnace after it’s been off for a long while, a faint burning odor is typical for about 20 to maybe 30 minutes. Persistent burning smells, on the other hand, are a grave symptom. If you become convinced the latter is the issue, and the burning aroma lingers past that initial half-hour when you first fire it up, don’t wait. Call one of our expert technicians promptly. Our contact information is at the end of this post.
Unusual Sounds Coming from Your Furnace
Strange or new humming sounds originating from your heating system usually indicate your motor is overworked. If this is going on, it means it’s about to shut off permanently. In this situation, you need to shut off your furnace off right away. If you fail to and let this go on, it won’t take long for it to shut off by itself. If that occurs, you’ll be without heat in the dead cold of a Delaware County winter. Avoid this altogether by giving us a call ASAP.
Final Thoughts
If you take away one thing from all this, we hope that it’s the understanding that you can avert all the above and prolong the life of your home’s expensive heating system with one easy preventative measure. What’s that measure? Schedule annual checkups with a qualified HVAC professional. Don’t skimp out on the importance of regular maintenance. As we like to say, it pays off in the long-term if you are proactive with your home’s precious heating system instead of being reactive. Those who think they are saving money by skipping a year or more do not realize that any perceived savings end up costing more. Just imagine it. How much will a new furnace cost you if your furnace dies unexpectedly in the dead cold of winter in these parts? Think about it. Give us a call. We’d love hearing from you! You can reach Lewis Center-Powell Heating & Air at 614-490-7530, or you’re welcomed to schedule an appointment online now at www.lewiscenterpowellheatingandair.com/schedule-now/.
Thank you, and Merry Christmas!
