4 Common Furnace Problems and Their Repairs

When your furnace isn’t heating your home as effectively as it once was, you may need a furnace repair or replacement. One of the first steps to solving furnace problems is to know how to identify the underlying issue. By knowing some of the primary issues furnaces face, you can quickly identify what sort of repair is needed to get it running effectively again. Review four of the most common furnace problems and their repairs below:

1. Dirty Furnace Filters

One of the most common furnace issues is clogged or dirty filters. Furnace filters ensure your air stays clean, but they can fill up with dirt, dust, and other contaminants. If you don’t change your filters regularly, your furnace filters can grow too dirty to allow air to pass through them. When air can’t flow through your filter, your furnace won’t be able to heat your home efficiently.

While dirty filters can significantly impact your furnace’s performance, they’re an easy fix. Usually, you’ll just need to replace your old filter with a clean one. To prevent this issue from occurring, remember to always swap out your filters on their recommended schedule. Most filters need replacement every one to two months, so it’s important to get in the habit of replacing them on schedule.

2. Damaged or Outdated Thermostats

If your furnace isn’t heating your home, it may be an issue with the thermostat instead of the furnace itself. When a thermostat malfunctions, it can think your home is at a different temperature than it actually is, leading to the thermostat not telling the furnace to heat your home. A thermostat could also simply be out of batteries or set to the wrong temperature.

Dead batteries are a simple fix, as you only have to replace them. In contrast, the repair for a malfunctioning, fully powered thermostat that’s set to the right temperature can be more complex. Due to the complexity of the repair, you’ll want to hire a trained HVAC technician to examine your thermostat. Based on their inspection, they’ll tell you if you’re having a hardware or software issue and fix or replace the thermostat for you. 

3. Blocked Vents or Dirty Ductwork

Your furnace’s heat exits via vents throughout your home. Sometimes, you’ll have closed your vents by accident, and you’ll only have to open them to receive warm air again. Your vents might also be blocked by furniture placed too close to them, and you’ll need to move the furniture approximately 18 inches away from the vent to allow for proper airflow.

If your vents aren’t obstructed or closed and you still aren’t receiving warm air, you may have dirty heating ducts. An HVAC professional can clean your ducts to ensure you receive warm air again. You’ll also likely want to sign up for a consistent maintenance plan, where an HVAC professional will routinely inspect and clean your system to stop the issue from happening again.

4. Cracked Heat Exchanger

Another common furnace problem is a cracked heat exchanger. Your furnace’s heat exchanger is made up of heated tubes placed in a coil, with these tubes responsible for warming your furnace’s air before it enters your home. As heat exchangers age, they can suffer from cracks and other damages. Since a crack allows heat to escape the tubes, your furnace won’t warm your home as effectively if the heat exchanger is cracked.

If your heat exchanger has a crack in it, it will either need to be repaired or replaced. Since repairing or replacing heat exchangers requires a great deal of know-how, you’ll likely want to hire an HVAC professional. This professional will perform the furnace repair or install a replacement and can give you recommendations about properly maintaining your heat exchanger in the future.

Choose Bonney for Furnace Repair or Replacement in Sacramento and Concord

At Bonney, we proudly offer various furnace services to our customers in the Concord and the Sacramento area. After hiring us to inspect your furnace, our technician can perform furnace repairs to get your system working appropriately again. When your system has extensive damage, we can also provide furnace replacement services, where we’ll install a new furnace fitting your home’s needs exactly. You can even sign up for furnace tune-ups, and one of our team members will perform regular maintenance services to keep your system running well.

Learn more about our heating and furnace services today. If you have any questions or want to request an appointment, please feel free to contact us.