My husband and I have spent a lot of time consulting with an architect. After living in our cramped, starter home for the past 11 years, we were finally ready to make some needed changes to it. We have added an extra 600 square feet of space onto our house. Before the construction began, we finalized the plans for our new heating and air conditioning unit with our HVAC contractor. Because our home was going to be substantially bigger than it is now, we purchased a larger HVAC system. We also installed a new, digital thermostat inside my home. On this blog, I hope you will discover the best types of HVAC units to buy for mid-size homes. Enjoy!
If you still have an older, conventional gas furnace — the type without any fancy options like a condensing chamber or a multi-phase fan — then it's time to be on the lookout for issues. After 15 or 20 years of use, these furnaces often start developing problems. The good thing is that these furnaces also tend to be pretty easy to repair. Keep reading for a look at common issues with older gas furnaces and a look at how each issue is dealt with.
Faulty Limit Switch
The fan component of an older furnace has a part called a limit switch, which is necessary for turning the fan on and off. If this part breaks, your fan may constantly run, whether or not the heat (or the fan setting on your thermostat) is actually turned on. Sometimes the limit switch may just need to be reset, and other times, it may need to be replaced completely. The switch is a small part and is fairly easy to replace, so there's often no sense in replacing the whole furnace if this is all that is wrong.
Broken Thermocouple
The thermocouple is basically a safety device. It stops the flow of gas into your furnace if there is no flame. This way, you don't end up with gas leaking all over (or with an explosion). If the pilot light goes out and it does not stay lit once you relight it, the thermocouple is likely to blame. Again, this is an easy part for an HVAC technician to replace. The part itself costs a couple of dollars, and the repair might take an hour or two.
Torn Fan Belt
The motors in older furnace fans have belts that go around and around, much like the belts in a car engine. They tend to slowly develop wear as they age. The first sign of this wear is often a squeaking when the furnace first starts blowing air. Many homeowners ignore the squeaking since the furnace is still producing heat at this point. But eventually, the squeaking becomes a squeal you can't ignore, and then if the belt tears all the way through, the heat stops coming out of your vents entirely. Replacing a torn fan belt is easy and inexpensive, and you should aim to do this before the sounds get too bothersome.
Keep an eye out for these common older furnace issues, and contact your local HVAC company to learn more about furnace repairs.
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