Introduction
Are you wondering why your furnace just suddenly stopped working? Did it just stop working abruptly with no warning? If that’s the case, then maybe we can help point you in the right direction. In this month’s blog post, we’ll be talking about what causes a furnace to stop working, common reasons why a furnace may stop working, and what to do next if you can’t fix it. If this blog post helps you, feel free to leave a comment below! You can also leave a comment if you have any additional questions. Now, let’s get into the blog post.
Signs of a Broken Furnace
There are many of signs that your furnace isn’t working, with the most obvious one being that it won’t turn on. However, furnace issues are not always so black and white. In this section, we’ll cover five signs of a broken furnace.
Excessive Dust Buildup
If you notice excessive dust buildup in your home, your furnace may not be working properly. Excessive dust buildup can be caused by your HVAC system not being able to circulate air. You should check your furnace’s air filter and see if that is the cause of your problem. If you haven’t replaced your furnace filter in a while, it is likely that a clogged filter is the reason why your filter is not working.
No Warm Air
Another sign of a broken furnace is when there is no warm air blowing out of it, or when cold air is blowing out instead. You should first check on your filter and see if it is dirty. If you have a dirty air filter, replace it and see if there is a change. If there is a change, the issue might not have been with your furnace but specifically with your filter.
A clogged air filter prevents proper airflow. A way to make sure you don’t have a clogged filter is to replace your filter frequently, as recommended. Depending on the size of your filter depends on how often you should replace it. A rule of thumb is the thicker the filter is, the longer you can go without replacing it.
Strange Odors Coming from Furnace
If you smell something, such as rotten eggs or burning dust from your furnace, check it out right away. If you smell rotten eggs in your house for any reason, you likely have a gas leak. Evacuate your house and call the fire department.
If you smell burning dust from your furnace, check your furnace filter. If you haven’t used your heating system in a while, then it is likely just the cause of dust buildup from lack of use. The odor should clear out after a while and not cause any damage to you or your furnace in the process.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning is a silent killer that can happen because of a gas leak. It is produced in oil and gas furnaces. It is usually contained inside your furnace, but sometimes, a carbon monoxide leak happens. Your furnace will not work properly if there is a gas leak, and you and your family will be at risk.
If you suspect you have carbon monoxide poisoning, you should call poison control immediately and evacuate your house. Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas that can only be detected if you have a carbon monoxide detector. A carbon monoxide detector measures the amount of carbon monoxide in the air and warns you if it gets too high.
Signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning:
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Vomiting
- Confusion
- Shortness of breath
Explanations For Why Your Furnace Stopped Working
There are different reasons why your furnace may have stopped working. If you can narrow them down, you’ll be able to figure out how to fix it and get it back to normal again.
Old Age
A furnace typically lasts between 15 to 20 years, depending on the amount of care it receives, its type, and its model. For example, electric furnaces tend to last longer than gas furnaces. Old age comes for all furnaces eventually, but you can increase your furnace’s lifespan by taking care of it. In our blog post, “How to Take Care of Your Furnace”, we highlight some tips and tricks for maintaining your furnace.
Your Furnace Circuit Breaker Needs to Be Reset
Your furnace circuit breaker may be the issue with your furnace. All furnaces, even gas furnaces, use electricity. If your furnace isn’t working, try resetting your furnace circuit breaker. You should especially reset your furnace circuit breaker if your furnace just stopped working after a power surge.
Do NOT reset your furnace circuit breaker if it keeps getting tripped after you reset it, you smell something burning, your circuit breaker is damaged, or you don’t feel safe doing so in general. Instead, call a licensed electrician.
How To Safely Reset Your Furnace Circuit Breaker:
- Turn off all your lights and unplug everything.
- Locate your circuit panel. Open the front of it.
- You should see several circuit breakers with a label next to them. If there are no labels, it makes things a little more difficult, but you should still be able to reset your home circuit breaker. Proceed to step five.
- Circuit Breaker Panel is Labeled: If you can, try to locate the label that says “furnace.” Check to see if the circuit breaker is on. A circuit breaker is on if it is facing inward and lines up with the other on circuit breakers. If your furnace circuit breaker is tripped, push it to the other side until it is facing outward and you can go no further. Proceed to step six.
- Circuit Breaker Panel is Not Labeled: If you don’t see a label but you see a circuit breaker that is not faced inward and does not line up with the other circuit breakers, that is likely your tripped circuit breaker. Push it towards the other side until it is facing outward and you can go no further. Proceed to step six.
- Wait a little bit and then push the circuit breaker inward until it lining up with the other circuit breakers.
- Reset the main breaker on your circuit breaker by turning it off.
- Wait a few minutes, turn it on again, and see if that helps. If you only want to reset the circuit breaker used for your appliances, reset the double-pole breakers. You can read more about resetting your home circuit here.
Your Thermostat Malfunctioned
The reason your furnace may not be working is because of your thermostat. The first thing you should do is make sure your thermostat is on and set to heat. If your thermostat settings are correct, and your thermostat is electric, replace the battery. If you notice that your furnace starts working right after you replace your thermostat’s battery, the issue is with the thermostat and not your furnace.
Another troubleshooting step you can try is checking around your thermostat for any potential heat sources. For example, a lamp or open window can affect your thermostat’s ability to accurately gauge the temperature of a room. If you find any heat sources around your thermostat, try removing them and see if your furnace kicks on afterward.
Your Flame Sensor is Dirty
Your flame sensor is a part in your furnace that detects when your furnace is producing a flame and the gas is on. It is a crucial safety feature that helps prevent gas leaks and carbon monoxide poisoning by shutting off your furnace when it does not detect a flame. When your flame sensor is dirty, it’s unable to tell if your furnace is producing a flame or not and shuts off. Thankfully, it is easy to fix a dirty flame sensor. We talk about how to do so in our blog post “5 Common Furnace Problems and How to Troubleshoot Them” here.
Your Furnace Has a Dirty Filter
One of the most common issues why a furnace won’t work is because of a dirty air filter. As mentioned in the above section, your furnace might be struggling to produce heat because your air filter is clogged.
A clogged air filter occurs when enough particles get stuck in the filter, preventing air from passing through. The more buildup in your furnace’s filter, the less effectively it will be able to do its job. To keep your furnace working properly, change your filter as recommended.
What Can You Do?
If you have tried everything and still can’t figure out why your furnace isn’t working, you can call an HVAC company and discuss the issue with them. Sometimes your furnace can’t be fixed with a simple solution. You should tell the HVAC technician the troubleshooting steps you have already taken. This can help them narrow down the issue and may save you money on furnace repairs.
We do not recommend attempting to repair your furnace yourself unless you are an HVAC technician. Many HVAC companies will refuse to work on furnaces that have been clearly altered by homeowners or other companies. HVAC companies can potentially be held responsible if anything goes wrong after a homeowner or another company tries to fix a furnace. Save yourself the heartache. Make sure you research an HVAC company before letting them into your home and leave more complicated fixes to the professionals.
Conclusion
We hope we were able to help and answer your questions about what causes a furnace to stop working. Sometimes, the issue can be easily solved with routine maintenance or by simply resetting a thing or two. However, sometimes it can’t be, so it’s good to know what to do if the problem arises again in the future. If you need your furnace repaired and live in Jefferson County or the surrounding areas, contact us! We would be happy to assist you with all of your HVAC needs.