Why Is My Heater Blowing Cold Air?
6 Things to Try When Your Heater Blowing Cold Air
Baby, it’s cold outside — and you can’t wait to relax in the comforts of your toasty warm, Marmora, NJ home. Only, in an apocalyptic turn of events, your heater is blowing cold air and nowhere close to the tropical environment you’ve envisioned.
Before you resort to watching TV in your snowsuit (it’s really hard to work the remote in winter gloves), we recommend testing out a few of our tried-and-tried techniques first.
What to do when your furnace is blowing cold air in Marmora, New Jersey:
Give it a minute. When it’s cold, things take a little longer to heat up. So, if you’ve just turned your heater on and you’re hit with an icy blast, it’s likely your furnace and air ducts, which live in your freezing attic or basement, need some time to warm up before they can pump the heat. Once the furnace gets rollin’ and air ducts are warmed through, you can start peeling off those winter layers.
Set your thermostat correctly. If the air doesn’t warm up in about ten to 15 minutes, pack it up — it’s time to move. Just kidding. Your next, much easier step should be to check the thermostat. It’s very common to find that your thermostat is on the wrong setting. So make sure you’re asking your thermostat to do the right job by checking that it’s set to “Heat” and not “Cool.”
Another issue with the setting could be that the temperature you are trying to warm the house to is lower than the current temperature of the house. To signal the furnace to turn on and heat the air, set your desired temperature higher than the current temp.
Finally, set your thermostat to “Auto” vs “On.” The “On” setting means your fan is running at all times, whether your furnace is producing heat or not. Meanwhile, the “Auto” setting means that the fan only turns on when your system is actively heating or cooling your home. This saves energy and your confusion over why air is circulating but not at the temperature you want.
Read More: What is the Best Thermostat Setting for the Winter in Marmora, NJ?
Get to know your pilot light. If you have a gas furnace, the pilot light is a tiny, constant flame that ignites when exposed to gas, causing the furnace to heat up when turned on. If the light goes out, the furnace (or any gas appliance) won’t get hot and you’ll start to wish you kept all those gaudy fur coats your grandmother left you in her will. If you’ve still got cold air running through your vents, check if your pilot light has gone out and light that baby back up.
Change your filters. Furnace filters are designed to keep contaminants out of your furnace and, ultimately, your air. They start out much like a new pair of white sneakers. So fresh, so clean. But just like your favorite pair of crisp white Adidas, filters eventually collect so much dirt, dust and debris, they can turn black. If you don’t change your filter regularly, eventually it will become so clogged, not even air can pass through. This causes hot air to back up and overheat the furnace, which can lead to damage long-term. To protect itself, the furnace will turn itself off and switch to cool air. Pro tip: We recommend changing your air filters every three to four months.
Read More: Heater Air Filters: When to Change and How to Find Them
Clean your flame sensor. The flame sensor conducts a small electrical current to detect heat from a lit flame inside the furnace, to ensure that once the gas valve opens, it will safely begin the combustion process. If the sensor is covered in crud or residue and cannot detect a flame, it will shut the furnace down in order to prevent a buildup of gas, a gas leak, or explosion. Which, we can all agree, is quite considerate. However, this can lead to the furnace cooling off and blowing out cold air.
Call in the big guns (that’s us). If you’ve tried it all and still can’t find the source of your cold air conundrum, give us a call or shoot us an email. We go the extra mile to identify and fix your heater’s cold air issues, and won’t quit until the job is done (or the feeling in your toes comes back).
Read More: Do You Know Who’s Coming to Your Home to Service Your Appliances?
HVAC Repair, Service, And Installation In Marmora, NJ
At Broadley’s, we’ve been servicing the HVAC systems of homes in Marmora, NJ since 1911 — that’s over 100 years of proudly helping the members of our community live comfortably, all year long. Call us for all of your plumbing, heating and air conditioning needs.