There are few things quite as soul-crushing as turning on your furnace during a cold day and getting no heat. There are a number of possible explanations for why this happens, none of which are things you can solve on your own. The good news is, though, that a professional should be able to take care of them without much trouble at all. Let’s take a look at why your furnace might not be heating.
Ignition Failure
If you use a gas furnace, as most people do, then your furnace relies on some type of ignition system in order to start up. Older furnaces use standing pilot lights, small gas flames that ignite the larger burner assemblies when the system is supposed to turn on. Newer models rely on more modern ignition systems, like intermittent electrodes or heating elements. All of these ignition systems can fail in all sorts of different ways, and if yours breaks your furnace will not be able to turn itself on.
Broken Air Handler
This tends to happen when the furnace has not been maintained in a while. If the bearings in the air handler motor fail, the friction on the system will mount until it overheats and burns out. Without a functioning air handler, your furnace has no way to actually circulate the heat it generates throughout the house. Your furnace is probably still producing heat, but it can’t actually get it to you. This can lead to a number of other issues, including short cycling, which can threaten the health of the furnace as a whole. You should call for repairs if it seems like your furnace is operating, but you still aren’t getting any warm air flow.
If your furnace seems like it needs repairs, call Sunset Air. We offer a full range of furnace repair services throughout Olympia, WA.
