Have you scheduled a furnace maintenance appointment in the last year? If you didn’t schedule one at the end of the last winter season, it’s important to prioritize the service now before we head back into winter again. Skipping out on maintenance can mean that you are left scheduling a furnace repair in Winnetka, IL.
Keep reading to learn more about some of the signs that can indicate you need to schedule furnace service and why now is such a crucial time for the appointment. Then give our team a call to get on the schedule and rest easy this winter season knowing that your furnace is in excellent condition.
Starter Problems
All furnaces have a pilot light or electrical ignition to offer a power boost at startup. This is because your furnace consumes more energy to get going initially before it balances out and steadies the need for power to maintain a cycle. In a gas furnace, this mechanism is the pilot light and in an electrical furnace, it’s the ignition.
Without this extra boost from the starter, your furnace may not turn on at all for a heating cycle. You may be worried that something major is wrong, but usually fixing the starter is a fairly simple task. Sometimes we have to clean around it and make some adjustments. Other times we have to completely replace the starter with a new mechanism. Either way, we can get your furnace working again.
Blower Motor Repairs
The blower motor is another component we have to fix because of the heavy-duty use it gets during operation. The blower motor has to be powerful enough to move airflow throughout all of the attached ductwork and heat your entire home. Sometimes the bearings go bad, and other times it’s the belt.
With the bearings, the most common problem we see is grinding due to a lack of lubrication. Dust can get in between these tiny parts and turn the lubrication into more of a grime. If we catch the problem early, we can simply clean out the bearings and relubricate them. However, if the problem goes on for longer and the bearings are damaged, we may have to replace them completely.
The belt is another component that we have to replace completely since it cannot be repaired. Over time it is completely normal for the belt to stretch out and warp. You may hear a squealing sound come from your furnace when this happens. You definitely want to replace the belt before it snaps and stops working completely.
Repairing the Limit Switch
All furnaces also come with a safety mechanism called the limit switch that is designed to sense when your furnace is getting too hot. Of course, your furnace is going to be very hot as a part of everyday operation to increase the temperature in your home.
Yet there comes a point when the temperature tips over into being dangerously hot, which points to operational problems. The limit switch senses this and turns your furnace off as a precaution. However, if the switch malfunctions, it may signal for your furnace to turn off when everything is fine and there are no issues.
Thermostat Calibration
It’s also possible that furnace problems are really thermostat problems instead. If your thermostat is not reading the indoor air temperature correctly, it may signal your furnace to turn on and off at the wrong times. Or maybe your thermostat has some kind of disruption to the connection between itself and your furnace so that communication is getting lost. No matter what the issue is, we can check your thermostat to figure out what is wrong and get it working again.
Contact Roberts Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. today to schedule your furnace appointment as soon as possible.