Furnace Inspection Heating & Central Air Maintenance (HVAC) Share 

 A Guide to Maintaining Your Natural Gas Furnace

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Before you have a heating problem, call your heating contractor to perform a regular maintenance check of your natural gas furnace or boiler venting system:
  • Motorized equipment, like your heating system, requires regular adjustments, burner cleaning, parts replacement, repairs, venting inspection, and other checks. Licensed experts know your equipment and the necessary codes to follow.
  • Your contractor can help make your equipment operate with peak efficiency, last longer, and save you money year after year.

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Furnace Inspection Troubleshooting & Servicing

If you have a gas furnace and you smell gas:

Do not try to fix it yourself.

Open windows and get out of the house. Take children and pets with you.

Do not turn on lights or switches.

Call the gas company from a neighbor's house or a cell phone outside the house.

Do not return to the house until a professional has examined your home.


If there's no heat coming from your vents, check the following possibilities

Check the pilot light to make sure it's lit. You may need to relight it.

Make sure the thermostat is set to heat. Set the temperature higher than the actual room temperature. This will kick start your gas furnace on and will begin to warm your home. Also check the emergency switch to make sure that it is on.

Check your fuse box to see if any circuit breakers are flipped the wrong way or to make sure a fuse hasn't blown. Reset the circuit breaker or change the fuse if need be.

Make sure the furnace is turned on. Look for the power button.

Reset the blower motor. The motor may have overheated, so wait a few minutes and try resetting it again if the motor does not start up.

Check the thermostat to make sure it is on and is set for at least three degrees hotter than the registered room temperature.



If all these steps don't work, call a professional HVAC technician for a service check.

If heat is coming from the vent, but not enough heat, try the following

Check the thermostat to make sure it is set to the right temperature.

Check the heating registers - make sure they are open and nothing is obstructing them.

Check the filter. Change it if it's dirty.

If these steps don't help, call a professional HVAC technician and ask him or her to check the blower and the overall system.



If the motor is running, but you can't feel any air moving

The belt that connects the motor to the blower may be broken.

If you feel confident changing a belt yourself, you can do so (check your manufacturer's specifications in the owner's manual), but call a HVAC technician if you are not comfortable taking this on yourself.

If the furnace keeps cycling on and off repeatedly

Try cleaning the filter.

Call a technician to see if it's a thermostat or furnace problem.

Watch to see if the room temperature is vacillating significantly. This also indicates a thermostat or heat anticipator problem.

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If your furnace blower is constantly blowing air

Make sure the switch is not on "fan". Switch it to "auto" and see if that fixes the problem.
The limit switch may need adjusting. Your technician can show you how to adjust that.

If the furnace squeals

A belt that connects the motor to the fan may have slipped or may need to be repaired.

If the furnace is rattling

Check the registers and make sure the panels are screwed on tight.

Ask your HVAC technician to insert flexible, soft ductwork so the metal ducts won't make so much noise. Metal ducts can be very noisy.

Call a professional if the troubleshooting techniques don't work.

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What's checked in a furnace maintenance check?

Your licensed contractor typically inspects

  • Heat exchanger
  • Test for carbon monoxide
  • Visible gas pipes for leaks
  • Electronic ignition system
  • Fan, motor, bearings, belts, pumps
  • Air filter, electronic air cleaner
  • Burners, pilot
  • Pilot safety system
  • Furnace controls
  • Power exhaust
  • Flame pattern
  • Venting
  • Chimney
  • Heat rise
  • Thermostat

 

Four easy things you can do between checks

  1. Clean or replace the air filter on your forced-air furnace every one to two months. A dirty filter reduces airflow and makes your furnace run longer.
  2. Allow for unobstructed airflow near hot air registers, return air grills, radiators, and baseboard heaters.
  3. Brush and vacuum the heat exchanger surface.
  4. Check ducts for leaks and wrap with duct tape

     

Plug in a carbon monoxide / gas detector near your gas furnace.

Your heating contractor is your connection to answers

Ask your contractor

  • What regular maintenance your natural gas heating system needs and what it includes .
  • What maintenance or heating protection programs they offer .
  • How you can maximize your system's efficiency.

     

  Air Conditioning / Central Air

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Central air conditioners are made up of two separate components: the condenser unit,
located outside the house on a concrete slab, and the evaporator coil above the furnace

Most central air conditioners are connected to a home's furnace. Thus, the same motor, blower, and ductwork used for heating your home are used to distribute cool air from the air conditioning unit. When a central air conditioner is operating, hot air inside the house flows to the furnace through the return-air duct. The hot air is moved by the blower across the cooled evaporator coil in the furnace and is then delivered through ducts to cool the house.

The evaporator and the condenser are sealed. Therefore, a professional service person should be called for almost any maintenance other than routine cleaning. Central air conditioners should be professionally inspected and adjusted before the beginning of every cooling season. There are maintenance procedures you can follow to keep your system operating at peak efficiency and therefore saving money!

Caution: Before doing any work on an air conditioning system, make sure the power to the condenser and to the evaporator assembly is turned off.

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