How To Tell If Your Thermostat Is On The Fritz
There are a variety of thermostats on the market nowadays, but anything with a needle is definitely considered old.
Keep Your Air Quality Fresh By Replacing Your Furnace Filters
The best way to know if you need to replace your filter is to go look at it.
How To Trim Your Heating Costs
Upgrade your equipment
If you’re running an old furnace, chances are you’re burning more energy than you need to. According to the US Department Of Energy fuel efficiency ratings on newer high-efficiency heating systems can run from 90 to 98.5%, as opposed to older low-efficiency systems at 56 to 70%. With electricity prices getting more erratic recently, now might be the time to make the investment a priority.
You might also look into different ways that you can heat your home. We mentioned all-electric systems supported by solar panels above, but there are also heat pumps instead of furnaces. Heat pumps transfer heat from outside, so they tend to be a popular consideration in more temperate climates.
Turn down the thermostat
We’ve all likely heard this advice. However, it bears repeating since it’s the easiest and most direct way to save on energy costs. It might feel nice to keep the home toasty so you don’t have to bundle up as much. But the US Department Of Energy states that you could save as much as 10% annually on heating costs by turning down the thermostat to 7 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit for eight hours per day.
The beautiful part of turning down your thermostat is that you might do it while you’re not home during the day so you don’t even notice the difference. You might also consider lowering the thermostat at night. According to sleep experts sleeping in colder temperatures might even aid in our body’s natural temperature drops at night and lead to more restful sleep. You might want to try keeping your house cooler at night, and if you find you don’t mind it or even like it, you just found an easy way to save on heating costs this winter.
Today’s new smart thermostats even make it easier than ever. You simply set a prerecorded schedule for when you’d like the house to drop several degrees and when to rise several degrees. Set the heat to go up a bit before you tend to get up in the morning, and your house will be warm when you need to get out of bed.
Check your home for air leaks
An incredibly important part of making sure your home isn’t basically leaking money in the winter is to make sure your home has no air leaks. Call your Green Apple Mechanical professionals to check for any air leaks in your home; they’ll likely perform a blower door test.
You might also want to insulate and seal your home against energy or heat loss yourself.
Green Apple Mechanical are the experts you can trust. We have been serving the New Jersey area for years with professionalism and expertise. Customer service and care are always our number one priorities. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of your HVAC needs call Green Apple Today toll-free at 888-611-7191
Has Your Home Thermostat Aged out?
Proper installation is of the utmost importance in order for your thermostat and heating or cooling system to work together properly.
Why You Need To Keep An Eye On These Furnace Problems
When everything is going well with your home’s furnace, it is able to keep the temperature indoors at a comfortable, cozy level. You might not even notice it operating in the background when there are no issues. While your furnace is designed to have a long, useful life, there is a chance that something will go wrong with it. In a lot of instances, a furnace problem is relatively easy to fix. A well-trained Green Apple Mechanical technician can correct the problem quickly, or a homeowner might be able to do some troubleshooting on their own.
Understanding what some of the most common furnace problems in cold weather are can help you know what to look for and what to do to fix up your furnace.
Some furnace issues happen more often than others. In some cases, what seems to be a major problem with your furnace might actually be something that is easy to fix. Take a look at some of the most frequently-occurring furnace concerns.
1. Your Furnace Is Not Producing Heat
Your furnace really only has one job: to distribute warm air through your home, so that you and anyone else who lives there can be comfortable when it is cold outside. If a furnace is not producing heat, it is often a cause for alarm, but in many instances, it might not be that big of an issue. One of the reasons your furnace might be blowing air but not producing heat is if there is a fan setting on your thermostat. When the fan setting is turned on, the furnace will blow air through the home, but the air will not be warmed up.
Another reason your furnace might not produce heat is if the thermostat is not turned on or set to “heat,” or if the temperature setting on the thermostat is too low. If you are concerned about your furnace, one of the first things to do is take a look at the thermostat to make sure it is turned to the appropriate setting.
Your furnace’s air filter prevents dust and debris from traveling through the ducts and blowing into the rooms of your home. Ideally, you will replace the filter regularly, at least once during the winter season or monthly, if you have pets or a large family. When the filter does not get replaced often enough, it can become clogged. The buildup of dust and debris restricts the airflow from the furnace, making it seem as if the equipment is not producing any heat. Replacing the air filter might be enough to fix the issue.
One additional reason why a furnace might not produce heat is if there is no flame to ignite the fuel and warm the air. The pilot light in a furnace is responsible for igniting the fuel. Older models have a continuously lit pilot light, and there is a chance that the flame will go out. Newer furnaces often have electronic ignition, which ignites the pilot light when the furnace cycles on. If there is an issue with the ignition, the flame might not catch, and the furnace will not be able to produce warm air.
If you have ruled out a problem with the thermostat or air filter, the issue might be connected to the pilot light. In that case, your best option is to call in a Green Apple technician to look at the furnace and make the appropriate repairs.
2. Your Furnace Keeps Turning on and Off
As a furnace heats your home, it typically cycles on and off, trying to maintain the temperature set on the thermostat. Depending on the programmed temperature and the outdoor temperature, a furnace might cycle on, heat the room or home to the desired temperature, then cycle off again several times an hour.
If a furnace starts short cycling or turning on and off frequently, without ever reaching the set temperature, that is usually a sign that something is wrong. During a short cycle, the furnace will only run for a couple of minutes before it turns off again. Often, the cause of a short cycle is a lack of airflow in the furnace, which causes it to overheat. Furnaces have safety switches built-in that will shut down the system if the temperature gets too hot.
A clogged air filter can restrict airflow, leading to overheating and the safety switch going off. If you notice that your furnace is turning on and off frequently or is only running for a couple of minutes at a time, never heating up to the desired temperature, your first step might be to check and replace the air filter. If replacing the air filter does not resolve the issue, you will need to call a Green Apple Mechanical technician to take a closer look.
3. Your Furnace Is Not Turning on Automatically
When everything is working as it should be, your furnace will switch on and produce heat once it gets the signal from the thermostat. But if you have noticed that it is not turning on and it is getting a bit chilly in your home, there might be something wrong. As with other furnace issues, the problem might be a quick fix or it might be a sign of a larger concern with the heating equipment.
For example, your furnace is not going to turn on if the circuit breaker is turned off. If the equipment is not working, take a look at the breaker box and try to flip the switch labeled “furnace.” That might be all you need to do to get things started again.
Another thing that might keep your furnace from turning on is the thermostat. If the temperature on the thermostat is too low, your furnace will not kick on until it registers that lower temperature. If your thermostat is set to “off” or “cool,” the furnace is not going to turn on. Take a look at the thermostat and adjust it as needed to see if doing so gets your furnace to work.
Other reasons your furnace might not turn on automatically include:
- Clogged air filter
- Faulty ignition or pilot light
- No fuel
4. Your Furnace Stopped Working
Your furnace has recently started a cycle when it suddenly shut down before the room reached the set temperature. As with other furnace problems, a furnace might stop working because it tripped the circuit breaker, there was an issue with the pilot light or ignition, airflow was restricted or some issue triggered a safety switch that shut down the system. If your furnace has shut down and you cannot figure out why your best option is to call in a trained Green Apple Mechanical technician to take a look at it and diagnose the problem.
5. You Have a Noisy Furnace
Most furnaces make some noise as they operate. You might hear clicks when the thermostat reaches a certain temperature and sends a signal to the furnace, and you are likely to hear a “whooshing” noise as the air travels through your ductwork. The blower on some furnaces is louder than others.
But some noises can be a sign that something is up with your system and that the equipment needs to be inspected, repaired, or potentially replaced. For example, if your furnace is making a knocking noise or the furnace is making a rattling noise, that could be a sign that something has come loose and needs to be tightened or adjusted. If your furnace is making a loud rumbling noise, there might be fuel left in the combustion chamber after the system has shut off. In either case, you will want to turn off your furnace and call in a Green Apple technician to take a look at what is going on.
6. Your Furnace Is Leaking Water
Certain types of furnaces can develop condensation leaks, which cause water to pool around the base of the furnace. If you have a high-efficiency furnace that most likely has a cool exhaust feature. High-efficiency furnaces often have PVC exhaust pipes, rather than metal pipes. They also have condensation pipes, which route the water produced as the combustion fuel cools to a drain. If the condensation pipe becomes clogged or otherwise develops a leak, water can pool around the bottom of the furnace. If that happens, your best option is to call in a Green Apple Mechanical technician to investigate.
Troubleshooting Your Furnace Problems
Although there are instances when a furnace problem needs attention from an experienced Green Apple technician, in some cases the problem might be something you can solve on your own. If your furnace is not turning on or is not producing enough heat, you can run through a few simple oil or gas furnace troubleshooting steps to see if it is an issue you can fix on your own:
- Check the circuit breaker: Your furnace needs electricity to operate. There are cases when the circuit breaker will have tripped, turning off power to the heating system. Take a look at your breaker box to see if the furnace’s breaker is flipped in the opposite direction of the other switches in the box. If so, try switching it back on. If it stays and the furnace powers up again, you should be fine. If the switch will not stay on, do not try to force it. Instead, call in a Green Apple technician to take a look.
- Green Apple Mechanical are the experts you can trust. We have been serving the New Jersey area for years with professionalism and expertise. Customer service and care are always our number one priorities. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of your HVAC concerns call today toll-free at 888-611-7191
Is A New Home Thermostat Upgrade Worth It?
A smart thermostat enables you to have complete control over your home heating and air conditioning system no matter where you are in the world.
How To Care For Your HVAC System When The Seasons Change
The best way to save you money and keep your HVAC system working throughout the year is with annual check-ups on your heating and cooling systems.
When Is The Last Time You Checked On Your HVAC System?
A number of factors contribute to HVAC decline, including a decrease in the fluids, dirty vents, and degrading parts like the condenser coil.
Streamline Your Home Thermostat
As thermostats age and wear out, they begin to experience similar problems as older heaters or air conditioners.
Help Out Your HVAC System During Extreme Weather
Keep your thermostat set at a consistent setting until the weather warms back up to normal temperatures for this season.