When a heater stops working in a place where temperatures are frequently below freezing during the winter, it’s an emergency situation. The best course of action is to call for HVAC professionals right away to get the trouble fixed before the deep freeze gets into the house.
Here in Florida, the situation with heaters is different. We don’t rely on them as often, and when one stops working during one of our colder days, it’s more of an inconvenience. That doesn’t mean you should ignore the problem and just hope it somehow “gets better.” It won’t, and you’ll have an unhappy household on your hands pretty soon. You can first take a few steps to check on what might be wrong with the heater before you call for professional heater service in New Port Richey, FL to fix it.
Some Basic Checks for a Failed Heater
Below are some actions you can take when you’ve got a broken heating system before calling for assistance from HVAC technicians:
- Check on power to the house: If the heater stops working during the middle of the day, your home may have had a full power outage and it’s not apparent yet. See if lights and other appliances are operating before deciding the heater has failed.
- Check the thermostat: This may seem obvious, but people sometimes overlook the obvious. The heater may have failed to turn on because someone made an adjustment to the thermostat or its programming without you knowing about it.
- See if a circuit breaker has tripped: A heating system can easily place enough strain on a circuit to cause it to overload and the breaker to trip. (Yes, this includes gas-powered heaters, which still need to use electrical blower fans.) Check the electrical panel for any tripped breaker and reset it. If the breaker continues to trip when the HVAC system comes on, you may have an electrical problem with the heater that will need professional repairs.
- Change out a clogged air filter: Any forced-air heater, such as a furnace or a heat pump, uses an air filter to prevent debris coming through the return air vents from entering the cabinet. If this filter becomes too clogged, it can cause an overload switch to trip that will shut off the system. Change the filter and see if the heater will work.
Now Call for Professionals—Don’t Tamper with the Heater
When you’ve exhausted the above possibilities, please don’t look for your toolbox and start to tinker with the heating system on your own. Only a licensed technician should do this service. Amateur work on a gas-powered heater like a furnace is potentially very dangerous. But even electric-powered systems are beyond what a non-trained person can do, and it may void the manufacturer’s warranty. An HVAC technician can rapidly diagnose the trouble and then provide the repairs necessary to get your heater working again—or else help you schedule a replacement if the system is beyond repair.
