Staying warm in the winter is important to most Delaware families, and indoor heating from your furnace must be reliable to keep residents feeling comfortable when temperatures dip. Your home can’t reach a warm temperature when your furnace blows cold air, so finding the cause of this heating system malfunction is critical. By examining your furnace’s components, you can get a good idea why your unit is blowing cold air and then decide if the issue is an easy fix or needs the attention of an experienced HVAC technician.
Pilot Light
If you turn on your heat and your air feels cold instead of warm, be sure that you are giving your furnace enough time to heat the air. If the problem persists, inspect your furnace and see if the pilot light has gone out. If the light has extinguished, you may feel comfortable igniting it yourself, or you can contact an HVAC professional to light it. The technician can also do some maintenance on the call and see if there are any other issues that would cause your furnace to blow cold air.
Thermostat Setting
A furnace whose fan is set at the ON position will likely blow cold air. The reason for this is that the ON setting prompts the furnace blower to consistently run, even at times when the unit fails to heat the air. By turning the thermostat setting to AUTO, only warm air should blow from your furnace, heating your Delaware home to a cozy temperature.
Air Filter
When your furnace’s air filter gets dirty or clogged, it can restrict airflow from your furnace. This problem may cause your unit to overheat, shutting off its burners and keeping warm air from circulating throughout your residence. You can replace your filter if it is old, or you may decide to clean the filter by gently removing dust and debris from it with dishwashing soap. If you clean your filter, make sure that it has dried completely before reinstalling it in your furnace.
Condensate Pump
Dirt and dust can affect your furnace’s condensate pump over time. Debris can plug the condensate hose, which may prevent your furnace’s burners from lighting. If you have experience cleaning components of your furnace, you may wish to remove the dirt plug in the condensate hose yourself, making sure that you don’t loosen any other components in the furnace, which can cause more problems in the unit.
Flame Sensor
A resident may experience warm air coming from the furnace’s registers when the unit cycles on, but the air later becomes cold. This problem can indicate that the furnace’s flame sensor is dirty, which prevents the gas burner from staying lit. Cleaning the flame sensor can be tricky, so it is advisable to schedule a service call with an HVAC technician to get the flame sensor properly cleaned and running efficiently.
Gas Supply
When your furnace detects a problem, it may shut down for safety reasons. There are several explanations why issues with your gas supply can keep your furnace from functioning. The unit may not work because your gas line isn’t supplying an adequate amount of gas to your furnace, or your gas supply may have been turned off. Try contacting your energy company to find out if there is a problem with the gas in your neighborhood and, if there’s not, make an appointment with the company to determine if there is a gas supply problem that is causing cold air to blow from your furnace.
Some of the problems that can cause the furnace in your Delaware home to blow cold air involve components that have become dirty, which can put undue stress on your unit. A resident who feels comfortable cleaning the various parts of the furnace that need attention should take precautions when handling the parts and reference the furnace’s owner’s manual before undertaking the work. The individual may instead choose the services of an HVAC professional to clean dirty or clogged furnace components or to perform maintenance on the unit, including igniting the furnace pilot light or removing a stubborn clog in the condensate hose.
A quality heating system can keep your Delaware residence warm in winter and protect your home from dirty air that may circulate throughout your house. The experienced and courteous HVAC technicians of First Class HVAC have been providing great customer service to residents in Delaware and Maryland for more than 40 years. Contact us today to inquire about energy-saving furnaces or work with a technician to design a new heating solution that is cost-effective and keeps your home warm and inviting this winter.