The Top 5 Signs You Should Get a New Furnace

Here’s a scenario that’s certain to send chills up your spine: you wake up, first thing in the morning, and slowly but surely get out of bed to make coffee knowing that there’s heat. You slide your feet onto the floor and—eek! The floor is so cold! You realize you switched on the furnace before you went to bed, but then wonder why there’s no heat. Something’s wrong, and it looks like it could snow today. But there’s no heat.

No heat is one of the top telltale signs that a furnace is in dire straits and in need of a replacement. We’ll go further into why there can be no heat, however what we really wanted to illustrate from the scene above is that even if you ignore them, there are signs and they are not ones to be ignored. Without further ado, let’s go into these big signs you really should get a new furnace.

Sign 1: No Heat

There is more than one reason why the above scene can send shivers down your spine. No heat in the furnace can mean that your air filter is too dirty and needs to be either cleaned or replaced. What happens is if a filter gets too clogged up, the heat exchanger will overheat as a result and then shut off too fast, leading to a cold house. So, check the blower on your furnace, and if there’s no heat coming out, then replace or clean the filter. You can perform this task yourself, and we go into detail on how to do that here.

Other issues that can cause a lack of heat are more serious. Heat burners may have burnt out, or perhaps something has clogged the vents, or there’s a problem with the circuit breakers or fuses, or, even more serious, the thermostat may be malfunctioning. All of these are less of a DIY job, so your best bet is to call in your technician to come and check it out.

A lack of heat’s cause will also depend on the type of furnace you own. If it’s an electrical one, the issue could be coming from the duct system attached to it or an electrical problem in the components. If you own a gas furnace, the issue could lie with the fuel (or a lack thereof), or the pilot light, or the flame sensor. Again, these may require a more professional fix than a DIY one.

Sign 2: The Furnace is Making Noise

Just like the A/C, the last thing you want to hear your furnace making is a noise that sounds out of the ordinary. We’re talking mainly about grinding, thudding, crackling, or hissing to name just a few examples. Any one of these could mean something is seriously wrong and that there’s a component that needs to be fixed ASAP.

Sign 3: No Airflow

A lack of airflow, again, may have to do with a dirty filter. Other causes can include the circuit breaker being tripped, which if so can be reset, or the thermostat is set at too low of a temperature which you should adjust. If you’ve reset the circuit breaker and readjusted the thermostat already, but there’s still no airflow, the issue could lie with the furnace blower. To test the blower, simply turn the thermostat to “fan only”, wait a few minutes, and see if the fan starts. If you see it starting but the heat is still not on, the issue could be your furnace’s blower motor. If the fan doesn’t start, there’s either a wiring issue (the circuit breaker has tripped) or a motor problem (if the circuit breaker does not trip). After this point, you should leave any electrical fixes or motor problems to the professionals; they have the knowledge and tools needed to understand and fix these common problems.

Sign 4: What’s That Smell?

Anything that smells like burning is a red flag something’s wrong! If it’s not from burning toast in the kitchen, it could be from the furnace vents which are usually where something goes amiss. If your home is particularly dirty, it’s usually dirt and dust buildup causing the smell, but we’ve found some other gross causes in our time as technicians (we’ll spare you the details…).

Again, regular cleaning and maintenance, as well as inspecting the vents, can help prevent some burning smells from developing in the first place. However, some of the sources of the smell can be tricky to access (for example, if there’s something stuck inside the vents themselves), so if in doubt, it doesn’t hurt to tell your technician and let them handle the job. Like we said, they know what they’re doing.

Sign 5: It’s Costing You

An efficient furnace can actually cost you less money than an older system. Nowadays 60% of any building’s energy costs are directly related to heating; that percentage can rise to 78-97% if the furnace is energy efficient. If your heating bill is higher than per usual, and some other signs we’ve listed here are present, it’s a sign you should probably upgrade your furnace or install a brand new one for best results.

Is it time to get a new furnace? Let us know! At Rep-Air Heating And Cooling we provide our customers with many options that will best suit your needs from heating and cooling to refrigeration. Contact us today for your complimentary quote: 1-778-728-1476 or contact@repairheatingandcooling.com and don’t forget to take a look at our website: https://repairheatingandcooling.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for free giveaways!