My furnace won’t turn on, now what do I do?
My furnace won’t turn on, now what do I do?
Having a furnace that won’t turn on can be a huge issue in Central Ohio, and it can cause a variety of problems. In addition to your home being very cold, secondary problems may appear, such as condensation and frozen water lines. If you’re having issues with your furnace it may be beneficial to contact the professionals of H & H Plumbing, Heating, Cooling of Richland County, Ohio.
If you have some basic knowledge of the items below, you can do some basic furnace troubleshooting to see if you can get it back up and running before you contact a professional for a furnace repair.
There are a couple of steps that you can try beforehand, which are what any HVAC technician will do when arriving at your home. WARNING if you are not comfortable checking any of these below troubleshooting options, you should contact a professional and not put your safety at risk.
Check the Circuit Breakers
Furnaces running on propane or natural gas still need electricity to operate. The electrical igniters and thermostat require electricity and if the power isn’t getting through to your furnace, it just won’t start.
First, check if you have electricity in your house. If not, you will need to call the electrical company. Next, you should look at your breaker panel and verify that all the circuit breakers for your HVAC components and furnace are in the “on” position. Finally, check the circuit breaker on your furnace, if it has one. It should be in the “on” position too.
If a breaker has tripped, you may try resetting it once. If it keeps tripping again, you should call an HVAC repairman. Never hold it in the “on” position with tape, as it is extremely hazardous and can start a fire.
Check Your Thermostat
One of the simplest ways of troubleshooting a furnace is just verifying if the thermostat is working properly and set to the correct temperature. Some of the electronic ones will reset to default if they lose power.
To start, check if your thermostat is on and has power. Next, ensure it is set to “heating” and set the temperature slightly hotter than normal to see if the system comes back to life. If it works, just set the regular temperature. If it appears it is not working and it is battery operated, replace the batteries. Otherwise, move on to the next step.
Check the Furnace Condensate Pan
Like air conditioners, furnaces produce condensation and will have a drainage pan, together with a float switch and condensation pump. Under normal operation, this condensation should be drained or pumped into a collection pan. If your pan has water standing, there are things you can check to see if there’s something wrong with it.
If you have a pan with a drain, it should be unclogged by using special tablets available at a department store. If it has a pump, check the float switch. It should be in the “down” position. If it’s “up,” you need to clean it thoroughly and check that it moves right. Should it still not go down, there is likely an issue with your pump. You can verify this by pushing the float switch down for about half a minute, which should cause the furnace to start.
The team of H & H Plumbing, Heating, Cooling are standing by to answer your phone call and assist you with your furnace repair. Please contact us today!