Although we’re always glad to help our customers with heating repair in Greenville, SC whenever they’ve got a broken heater, we always want our customers to know what they can do for themselves in case they come across a heating emergency.
Let’s go through troubleshooting steps for when you’ve got a failed heater. It may turn out you only have a simple error to correct!
Go Through These Troubleshooting Steps
The heater isn’t working, people are cold, you’re worried … but just follow along with the steps below and maybe you’ll have your heat back on soon.
Check the thermostat.
Always look over the thermostat first to see if there’s an error with the settings. For modern Wi-Fi thermostats, multiple different settings may end up creating confusion and leading to an older, warmer weather setting getting activated. Or maybe someone else in the house changed the thermostat and you didn’t know about it.
Check the electrical panel for tripped breakers.
A common source for a heater that just shuts down and won’t turn on is a lack of electrical power because of a tripped circuit breaker. Yes, this also applies to gas furnaces: modern gas furnaces rely on multiple electrical components to operate, such as electronic ignition.
Reset any tripped breakers at the electrical panel and see if your heater works again. (If it continues to trip the breaker, you’ll need repair experts to look into the problem.)
Change the air filter.
Here’s another frequent cause of heater problems. Leaving a clogged air filter in place can lead to multiple malfunctions with a heating system, including the unit overheating because not enough cooler air is moving through it. Put in a clean filter, and continue to follow a filter change regimen every 1–3 months.
Make sure vents and registers are open and unblocked.
Homeowners sometimes make the mistake of thinking that closing or blocking room vents will help save money. It won’t! In fact, it may cause the heater to shut down due to increased air pressure in the HVAC system. Vents and registers may also become accidentally blocked from moved furniture or stored items.
Reset the heating system (if applicable).
Your heating system may have a reset button on it. If it does, now is the time to use it. Check with the system manual to ensure you’re following the right steps for your particular unit.
Still No Heat … What Now?
You’ve gone through all these steps, and still don’t have a working heater or a warm home. What’s the next step?
If you’re tempted to go grab some tools, find a tutorial video online, and open up your heater to attempt to find and fix the trouble yourself … please don’t! Making repairs to any kind of heating system needs to be left to trained and licensed technicians. Amateur work is not only unlikely to work (and will probably make the issue worse), it’s potentially dangerous. This is especially true with gas-powered heating systems like furnaces.
The next step is an easy one: call our team and arrange to have our professional HVAC technicians look over the heater, find what’s wrong, and then get it repaired accurately and safely.
Call on Carolina Climate Control for all your heating needs. The Moose Is Loose in Your Neighborhood!