Cool temperatures have arrived here in Portland, OR, which means that we’ll be using our heaters a lot more often these days. It behooves you to keep a close eye on yours for signs of trouble. That way, you can get it corrected before things get much colder, when you’ll need your heater even more and a breakdown could be far more catastrophic. Among the more common problems we encounter with furnace this time of year is short-cycling, where the system turns on and off rapidly multiple times, often without fully heating your home. The problem actually goes deeper than that, which is why if you spot the signs of short-cycling in your furnace, you need to get it addressed immediately.
Causes
The causes of short-cycling are numerous, and can include anything from a faulty fan motor to a poorly placed thermostat to a clog in the duct system. The most problematic reason is that the air flow isn’t moving with sufficient speed, which means the hot air remains stuck in the furnace. That could cause individual components to overheat, which is why most furnaces have a safety switch to turn the system off before it gets too hot. But unless the underlying problem is corrected, the system will continue to turn off and on repeatedly.
Why That’s a Problem
Your furnace uses far more power turning on and off than it does simply running, which means that short-cycling forces it to use exponentially more energy than it should. Not only does that raise your monthly heating bills tremendously, but the added strain increases the risk of breakdown, and can even shorten the life of your furnace if you don’t have it addressed.
The experts at Clean Air Act, Inc. can repair short-cycling in your furnace, so give us a call today!