What’s the Issue, my Furnace or my Thermostat?
As the winter months approach, every homeowner’s nightmare is a problem with their home heating system. After all, who wants to be left out in the cold for the holidays? Everyone’s first guess is that there’s a problem with the furnace, but that isn’t always the case. Before making a service call it’s important to diagnose that the furnace is actually the problem. The one little appliance everyone seems to forget about is their thermostat, which can often be the root of the problem. We’re here to clarify the confusion, so what’s the issue, your furnace or thermostat?
1: Fiddle Fiddle!
Mess around with all the settings on your thermostat before going any further. Most households in this day and age have programmable thermostats, and as such, people tend to set it and forget it. Turn the temperature up and down to see if anything changes or kicks on. If that doesn’t work, some thermostats still operate off batteries, so try a fresh pair and once again fiddle with the settings! If this doesn’t work, move on to step 2.
2: Get a Buddy
Never underestimate the tried and true buddy system. Have one person stand by the furnace while you slowly raise the temperature on the thermostat. The individual standing next to the furnace should be listening for any noises or movement coming from the unit. If there are any noises, but they sound broken or inconsistent, then the problem likely lies within your furnace. If the unit doesn’t make any sounds, then that means the thermostat could still be the culprit.
3: Access the Wiring
First thing’s first, turn off the breaker for the furnace’s circuit. After this is done, open up your thermostat with a screwdriver and take a look at the wiring. Before you touch or reconfigure anything, just take a peek and make sure that everything is plugged in properly. Any wires that are dangling or appear unconnected could be the source of your problem. If everything looks properly connected, and you aren’t comfortable reconfiguring wiring, then it’s time to make a call.
4: Call a Professional
Unless you have experience in circuitry or wiring, you will want to call up a SameDay professional to have a look at your thermostat and furnace. In some rare instances, there can be issues with both the thermostat and furnace, in which case, only an experienced hand can help solve the problem. In any case, taking the extra steps to make sure the problem is with your furnace, and not the thermostat, can save you time and money from fixing a furnace that doesn’t need repairs.
One thing is for certain, you don’t want to get caught in the cold this winter. Enlist the help of SameDay to make sure all your HVAC systems are in tip-top shape! To learn more about our services and offers, give us a call at (801) 726-3329.
