Thanksgiving is only a few days away, and if you’re hosting your family for dinner, you want to make sure everything is perfect. You’ve bought the turkey, have the ingredients for the pies, and all seems to be ready – but what about your furnace? As the temperature begins to dip in St. Charles, you want to be sure your heating system is ready for the winter, and the last thing you want is for your friends and relatives to walk into a cold, uncomfortable house. At G & R Heating and Air, we can inspect and repair your furnace to make sure it’s ready for the colder weather.
Common Winter Heating Problems
There are several reasons why your heater could malfunction this winter, and being proactive can help you avoid cold nights and costly repair bills. The first, and perhaps most obvious, reason that your furnace breaks down is a lack of maintenance. It doesn’t matter how old your furnace is, or if you had it installed last year, regular maintenance is key to proper operation. There are so many integral and moving parts in your furnace, and all it takes is one of them to stop working to put a halt to warm air being produced. Should a belt, bearing, or other component come loose, your home can get cold very quickly.
Another issue we see during the winter heating season is a problem with the pilot light or ignition control. The two most common types of furnace ignition systems are hot surface ignition and intermittent pilot, and there are things that can go wrong with both. The hot surface system is similar to the filament in a light bulb that ignites the gas burner, while the pilot light relies on an electric spark to get the heat going. If something is blocking the ignition system, it will be difficult for your furnace to produce adequate heat.
One other factor that should be checked is the thermostat. If the system doesn’t seem to be turning on when you adjust the thermostat, there could be something wrong with a sensor or relay. A faulty thermostat can also result in not enough warm air being produced, which means that certain rooms in your home will be warmer than others.
Schedule Furnace Maintenance Now
We know that you don’t want your furnace to shut down in the middle of a cold December night, and that’s why it’s important to schedule maintenance now. If the system seems to be cycling on and off too often, or it won’t shut off even after you adjust the thermostat, please contact us right away. We’ll investigate every possible cause of the malfunction, and won’t leave your home until we find and install a solution. We want your holiday season to be warm and comfortable, not cold and miserable while you rely on space heaters and the fireplace to heat your home.
Call G & R Heating and Air in St. Charles today for professional heating repair and furnace maintenance. We’re always ready to help!