How to Troubleshoot Your Heating Unit

We’ve all been there. The weather changes from comfortable to cold overnight and you need your heating unit to spring into action. But the furnace won’t turn on. Or the heat isn’t hot enough. Any number of issues can arise with your heating unit, many of which just take simple fixes while other may need professional service. Here’s a little cheat sheet on how to troubleshoot your heating unit.

Do It Yourself

Of course start with the obvious issues – make sure the unit is set to heat and that the batteries are still good in the thermostat, or make sure you’re getting electricity to the thermostat. You can check these by simply turning the fan from auto or off to on. If nothing happens, no power and maybe a non-furnace issue. Check the circuit breaker to make sure the circuit set to control the furnace is “on” and was not thrown to “off” in a recent outage. Sometimes furnaces also have an unlabeled switch nearby, which is often mistaken for a light switch. Make sure this is in the up/on position, as well.

Then check the filter. If you can’t remember the last time you changed it, replace it with a new, clean filter. Since the filter catches all the air before it’s heated, a dirty filter can limit airflow and keep your system from running efficiently. If your furnace runs on gas, check to see if other gas appliances are working. If not, you could have a gas problem rather than a furnace problem.

Professional Heating Service

If you’ve checked everything above and still no heat, it may be time to call in the pros. You could check the pilot light in older units or the gas cock near the furnace, but these are more advanced steps than a typical homeowner may be comfortable with. Bottom line, don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with! When all else fails and your family simply cannot be without heat, call Kingwood Air Repair at (281) 441-4500. We specialize in HVAC unit repair for both your air conditioner and your heating unit, as well as new system installations and regular maintenance to keep you comfortable year-round.