With the weather warming, your heating system is going to be seeing less and less use in the next few weeks until you finally turn it off in favor of the air conditioner until next fall. That makes now an excellent time to check your system for problems, especially if your furnace is older. Once the warranty expires, the cost of repairs tends to rise since the original components are no longer required. Wear and tear will eventually take their toll as well, and if your older furnace needs repairs, the sooner you can spot the issue the better.
Consider Maintenance
One easily way to hunt down problems with an older furnace is to let a professional do it. In fact, we recommend a maintenance session for your furnace at least once a year at the end of heating season. That gives a technician a chance to check the system for any kind of problem, big or small. Littler issues can be dealt with as part of the maintenance session, and if larger problems are discovered, you have all summer to schedule a repair service to take care of them. Or, if the problem costs more than the heating system is worth, you can plan to replace it with a new furnace anytime in the next few months.
Either way, older furnaces benefit a great deal from maintenance sessions, which allow them to function more efficiently and reducing strain on worn parts. That can help lower the high cost of running the system every winter, as well as helping it last longer before requiring replacement.
Problems You Can Spot Yourself
Sometimes, you don’t need a maintenance session to be able to spot problems with your furnace, especially if it’s an older furnace. While diagnosing a given problem is best left to the professionals, you can still likely identify when your system isn’t running the way it should. More specifically, check for the following the next time you need to run your furnace:
- Cool Air, or even air that isn’t as warm as you’re expecting. This can be caused by anything from clogged burners to a breach in the ducts.
- Low Air Flow, which usually stems either from a blockage in the ducts or a problem with the fan mechanism. It’s a big problem because it leaves hot air in the furnace, which can cause key components to overheat.
- Short Cycling, which is when the heater turns on, runs for just a few minutes, and turns off again, only to repeat the process a short while later. Heaters use far more energy turning on and turning off than they do simply running, and the results of short cycling can be very hard on older furnaces.
- Strange Noises, which translate as any noise you don’t normally associate with your system’s running. In most cases they will start and stop with the starting and the stopping of the system.
For furnace repair services in Livingston, NJ, call the friendly professionals at MarGo Plumbing Heating Cooling Inc. today!