Your furnace in West Berlin, NJ, depends on running appropriate heating cycles, lasting usually 10 to 15 minutes. However, you may have an overheating problem if it shuts off early and fails to heat your home effectively. Here are some of the signs your furnace is overheating and what you can do about it.
Clogged Air Filter
Your air filter captures most of the airborne contaminants in your air before they can cause internal furnace problems. As it does its job, the amount of air flowing through the filtering media slowly reduces.
Without the right amount of air flowing through, your furnace cannot transport the heat out to your home. This causes the unit to overheat and shut down to protect it from excessive heat damage.
Plan to change your air filter regularly to keep it passing air efficiently. This is usually about every 90 days for the common 1- and 2-inch filters. Check it monthly and gently vacuum it off to keep it more efficient between changes.
Mechanical Failure
Mechanical failures will also reduce the amount of air flowing through your furnace. This is especially true for the circulating fan motor. As it ages and nears failing, it may not spin as quickly, leading to an overheating situation.
Dirty Components
Some small particles flow right through your air filter and end up collecting on your heat exchanger and circulating fan. Just like a clogged air filter, this causes airflow restrictions and possible overheating. A service technician focuses on cleaning these areas as part of your routine furnace maintenance.
Oversized Unit
It’s important to match a furnace to the size space it will service. When the unit is too large, it produces more heat than it can cycle out effectively, leading to overheating. Getting the right size means both matching the square footage of your home and the variables of your home situation.
Don’t let overheating take years off the service life of your furnace. Call Comfortworks Cooling and Heating to schedule your furnace repair with our NATE-certified service technicians today.
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