Looking ahead in the forecast, you’ll see that we’re getting a bit of a warm weather bonus this September. Nights are cooling off, but we’ve got plenty of days in the high 70’s headed our way, with the 80’s making an appearance and maybe even a guest spot from the 90’s! That being said, looking ahead to October shows business as usual, and we are definitely on the tail end of the air conditioning season. That means that your heater is going to be stepping up to bat before long.
In our last post, we discussed why you may want to replace your heater moving into this fresh heating season. We’ll certainly be addressing the need for an annual heating tune-up before long. Today, though, we want to give you some pointers for spotting signs of trouble with your heater in Bolingbrook, IL. Even after your system is tuned up, there is no guarantee that it is going to make it through the season without issue. Prompt heating repairs are always in your best interest, so here are some tips to keep in mind.
Strange New Sounds (or Just Unusually Loud Ones)
As the owner and user of your heating system, you know better than anyone what it sounds like when it is running normally. The sound of heated air coming from a duct, perhaps the cycling up of a heat pump with an outdoor unit by a window — these are normal sounds. There are plenty that are not, though.
If you hear a metal on metal screeching, for instance, you could have a blower wheel that has loosened and is hitting the casing. There could also be a broken motor mount allowing the entire blower assembly to scrape against the housing.
Maybe you are hearing a loud booming coming from a gas furnace. This could mean that something is causing a delayed ignition in your system. These problems cannot be ignored because the system is still generating heat. They may not cause a breakdown immediately, but over time they are going to do real damage to your system.
Inconsistent Runtimes
We very much doubt that you are starting a stopwatch every time your heater cycles on just to see if it is running inconsistent heating cycles. However, you would probably notice if your heater was kicking on, running only briefly, and then cycling back down. Again the fact that heat is being forced from your air ducts does not mean that your heater is running properly.
This problem is called short cycling, and it can be quite serious. Sure, it could be as minor as the filter in a heat pump or furnace being in dire need of a change. However, it could also be the result of a refrigerant leak in a heat pump, or an overheating furnace. Whatever the case, having a professional technician inspect the system to determine precisely what has gone wrong is going to be your best bet for avoiding serious heating problems.
Schedule your heating repairs with DuAll Heating & Cooling.
