Signs Your Heater Needs to Be Fixed
As the bitter cold starts to set in with winter, the last thing you need is for your heater to stop working. The energy crisis is bad enough as it is without your heater copping out at the last second and your entire heating system requiring replacement. Failure happens without warning when it comes to a heater in the home, as there are always early signs of something going wrong.
However, if you are unaware of the signs you should be looking out for, it can feel like there was never a problem, and it just came out of nowhere. You should be investing in HVAC maintenance at least twice a year because your AC or heating elements don’t crop out on you when you need them the most.
To that end, we’ve put together a list of signs that you should be on the lookout for your heater to ensure that you understand precisely when things are starting to go wrong. You need to know the signs of imminent failure, and we’ve listed them below.
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Strange noises
Before it completely drops out, it’s going to start making some odd noises. Heaters are unlikely to be completely noise-free, so any noise is not necessarily a sign of the problem. If there is any rattling, banging, scraping, or groaning, then a problem is happening.
It is even more important that you pay attention to this sign if those noises start to occur as it warms up. Sometimes it can be due to the motor blowing; other times it can be due to a part failing or coming loose. Either way, these are noises that you should be paying attention to.
A broken thermostat
A broken thermostat. When it’s cold outside, you may naturally react to warm things up. You can do that by turning up the heat a few notches on the thermostat, but if the thermostat is faulty, it will not work.
The thermostat is critical to the efficient function of a heating system, and it communicates with the heating system on the quantity of heat that needs to be produced. If it has come loose and is not working as it should, you’ll find that loose wiring, blown fuses, or tripped circuit breakers are the results.
Your energy bill is going through the roof
Most people are dealing with high energy bills, so you may not initially suspect that this is a sign your heating is having some issues. If your energy company has warned you about your energy bills going up, just keep an eye on how much they go up by.
You shouldn’t be paying so much money that you can’t afford to live to be able to heat your home, and if you notice your energy bills are starting to climb, then it may be a good idea to take a closer look at whether or not your heater is actually working.
The air seems to smell dusty
If the air in your rooms in your home starts to feel dusty or taste and smell musty, then there might be a problem with the air quality being pumped out by the heater. Your HVAC unit should be able to purify the air as it comes out, and the heater would have difficulty cleaning the air passing through it if you can smell that musty smell. Sometimes, all it takes is a filter change, but this won’t always resolve your problem. A more complex issue may happen, requiring an expert to come out and fix it.
Heater Needs to Be Fixed: Your heater is very slow to startup
A good sign that something is going wrong internally with your heater is that it takes ages to pump out anything. You may notice it takes time to cycle, and that makes you feel like you are spending more time dealing with the heater pumping up than you are doing anything else, and in the meantime, you are getting colder and uncomfortable. Thermostat complications often cause frequent cycling, but clogged filters and inefficient air circulation can also cause it.
You are much better off having a heater that works in your home so that you feel comfortable and happy all through the winter months. If you notice any of these signs happening in the heater in your home, then you had better call an engineer for help.
