Causes Of Furnace Overheating And Help From An AC Repair Company | Scottsdale, AZ
You should never ignore your overheating furnace. The problem will not go away by itself. Unfortunately, you could cause significant and particularly costly damage should you continue using your damaged furnace. Hence, call a heating and AC repair company to take a closer look whenever you see signs that your furnace is overheating. Continue reading to learn about the possible reasons your furnace is overheating and how air heating and air conditioning service providers can help.
Signs of an Overheating Furnace
A furnace should be able to warm your home effectively. However, it should have a size matching the load being warmed. If the furnace is less than the load, then it could overheat. When a furnace overheats, it may lose some of its functionality and even effectively stop working. You will likely realize something is out of place whenever your furnace overheats. Unfortunately, you might not know what is happening exactly. An overheating furnace will manifest signs such as a burning smell, strange humming sound, and shutting down before it finishes a heating cycle.
A humming sound means that the motor on your furnace is working hard. You should turn off the furnace whenever you hear this noise and immediately call a heating and AC repair company. Whenever the furnace shuts off too early before it finishes a heating cycle, that is a sign that its heat exchanger is overheating at seriously dangerous temperatures. Its high-limit switch might have shut off the system.
However, it is normal for your furnace to produce a burning smell when it is starting up, especially if it hasn’t been turning on for some time. In this case, your furnace burns off any dust in its components. But if the burning smell lasts longer than half an hour or you constantly notice it, it is most likely caused by overheating and melting wire insulation material. Whenever you realize either of these signs, your furnace is overheating. Call a heating and AC repair company to explore the potential causes of the problem and fix it.
Restricted Airflow
Poor air circulation is among the simplest and most common reasons or causes why your furnace unit might overheat. Whenever there’s no good airflow, various internal components of the furnace become too hot. This often arises when you fail or even forget to replace the air filters regularly. The air filters are a vital component of the HVAC system. They trap any pollen, dust, pet dander, hair, mold, and other contaminants to ensure that your furnace ventilation system is free of any clogs and you have high indoor air quality.
If the furnace filters and its ventilation systems are clogged, that impedes the airflow, making the furnace work harder and your Scottsdale, AZ, home hotter. The furnace filters should be regularly inspected and replaced. Otherwise, they can precipitate a problem that would need the attention of an AC repair company. Although it is recommended that your filters change every 1-3 months, you should do so every month if you have pets at your home.
Mechanical Failure
Your furnace may overheat if one or more mechanical parts in your system fail. Your furnace’s fan blower and electrical wiring are put under much strain. A poor airflow or short circuit could cause your furnace to overheat. The easiest way to ensure that your furnace unit’s mechanical components are in good working order is to schedule routine tune-ups by a heating and AC repair technician.
The ability to detect strain and premature wear is another benefit of routine tune-ups. The AC repair company can take the required measures to resolve the problem. Remember that replacing or repairing mechanical elements before they completely malfunction and harm other components of your furnace is safer and more cost-effective.
Dirty Internal Components
When the furnace air filter becomes blocked, your internal parts might become covered in dust and other contaminants. Your furnace’s coil may accumulate dirt, which would stop its heat exchanger from transferring heat. The blower motor can overheat if it becomes too unclean since it is particularly susceptible to dust and debris. Any of these issues require the prompt attention of a heating and AC repair company. A routine heating and air conditioning service can catch and address these issues early.
Short Cycling
Does your furnace turn off and on quickly and repeatedly? That phenomenon is referred to as short cycling. When your unit short cycles, the furnace motors are under stress. This also prevents your home from effectively being warmed up. But what could cause short cycling? Some reasons for this problem include overheating, a malfunctioning thermostat, and if the furnace is too big for your Scottsdale, AZ, home.
This is one of the reasons why it is recommended that you enlist experienced heating and an AC repair company to help you purchase the right-sized unit. Short cycling happens when the furnace overheats because it shuts down automatically to protect the motors. The furnace can be turned back on, but it will immediately overheat once more as soon as it does.
Your Vents Are the Problem
You might have shut several vents to regulate the temperature in different parts of the house. Your furnace may overheat if too many vents are closed. A lot of unnecessary strain will be placed on the furnace system because the warm air is trapped and has nowhere to go. Open the vents and lower the thermostat to set temperatures to avoid this. Your vents may occasionally be open, though there may still be anything blocking the passage. This may result in the furnace overheating and has the same impact as a closed vent. You should speak with a heating and AC repair company to investigate this issue further.
Is Your Furnace Overheating? Let Us Have a Look
If you have noticed that the furnace in your Scottsdale, AZ home is overheating, Contact us at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Phoenix, your reliable AC repair company.