When polar vortexes and freezing weather hits, it’s essential that your HVAC system works properly and can keep your house warm. While any HVAC issues are something you should have a technician check out as soon as you can, some problems are considered an emergency and require immediate assistance.
1. Heater Won’t Run
The most obvious sign you need an emergency HVAC repair is if your heating system suddenly won’t turn on. If you can’t get your heater to run, it often won’t take but a few hours before your house becomes unbearably cold. At some point, your home could then become so cold that your plumbing could potentially freeze, resulting in burst pipes and extensive flooding.
There are a variety of reasons why a heating system will fail to turn on when it’s supposed to, including a tripped circuit breaker, dead batteries in the thermostat, a malfunctioning thermostat, wiring and electrical issues, and more. If you have a furnace, it could also be that there’s a failed component such as the electronic igniter, flame sensor, pressure switch, or gas valve. Fortunately, an experienced technician should be able to figure out what the issue is fairly quickly and be able to fix it on the spot.
2. Burning Smell Coming From Furnace or Vents
It’s completely normal for a burning smell to come from your furnace when you turn it on for the first time each fall/winter. Dust collects on the burners and other components in a furnace over the summer, and it then smokes and burns once the heater finally gets turned back on. If you smell a burning odor at any other time, it’s essential that you shut off your furnace immediately. A burning odor often indicates the heating system is beginning to overheat, which can result in wiring or other components possibly melting and smoking. While furnaces have a safety mechanism that should shut them down when they overheat, there’s still a small risk of a fire occurring if you don’t manually shut off the furnace and then have a professional inspect it.
3. Carbon Monoxide Alarm Goes Off
If you have a gas furnace, you should have a carbon monoxide detector approximately 15 feet away from it as well as additional detectors throughout your house. That way you’ll know fairly quickly if carbon monoxide is leaking out of your furnace, so you can get everyone and all pets safely outside before anyone becomes at risk of developing serious or fatal carbon monoxide poisoning.
If any of your carbon monoxide detectors go off when your furnace is running, it’s a sign of one of two issues. The first is that there’s an issue with the exhaust flue and the combustion fumes are leaking out instead of flowing outside. The other is that there’s a crack or hole in the furnace’s heat exchanger, resulting in carbon monoxide leaking out and mixing with the hot air the furnace is producing.
Once you hear the alarm going off and get everyone safely outside, you’ll first need to contact your local emergency services so that they can safely go inside and make sure your furnace is shut off. After they’ve determined the carbon monoxide has dissipated and it’s safe to go back inside, you’ll need to have a technician determine why your furnace is leaking carbon monoxide.
4. Heating System Keeps Shutting Off Too Soon
Another issue you may occasionally encounter is that your heating system shuts off before your thermostat shows your house is at the right temperature. This is also considered an emergency situation since it could result in your house eventually becoming much too cold. It can also lead to your furnace almost continuously turning on and off, which will cause your energy bills to be higher and lead to more wear and tear on your furnace. This issue most commonly means your thermostat isn’t functioning properly or that the furnace’s flame sensor is dirty or wearing out.
5. House Is Frequently or Never Fully Hot
If your furnace often or always struggles to keep your house warm, you should get it inspected by a furnace maintenance technician as soon as you can. This issue can indicate your heater is mostly worn out and no longer capable of heating effectively enough. It can also be a sign of other issues, some of which could greatly shorten the lifespan of your furnace if you wait too long to have the problem fixed. The other concern is that your heating system will end up running far more than it should, which can cause a major spike in your heating costs.
With over 95 years of experience, R.J. Groner Inc. is the company to trust for all of your furnace repair services as well as your, cooling, and plumbing needs. We offer 24/7 emergency repair services and can fix any make and model of furnace, heat pump, or air conditioner. If you’re having issues with your heating system in Stroudsburg, PA, give us a call.
