Use These Tips to Prevent Furnace Overheating in Mount Vernon, IL
It’s December in Mount Vernon, Illinois, which means you’re probably running your furnace full-bore, trying to keep your home nice and toasty for the remainder of the season. However, you may not be taking into account all the hard work that your furnace is putting in. Day after day, hour after hour, the furnace fires up and creates the heat necessary for you and your family to live in a comfortable space. However, all this use may actually be causing damage to your system, causing it to overheat and shut off. In the text below, we’ll cover why this happens and what you can do to stop it!
Why does my furnace overheat?
Simply put, your furnace overheats because there’s too much stress being put on it. This could be due to any number of things, but when your furnace is running too often, it may cause the unit to overheat and shut off, leaving you with cold or lukewarm air that doesn’t heat your home as much as it makes it even colder. Below, read about what you can do to limit the overheating of your furnace.
Utilize the Thermostat
The first thing that you can do to limit furnace overheating is to properly utilize your thermostat and set it for the winter. While it may be in your nature to crank the heat up when you get home, this could be causing too much stress on your system. Turning the thermostat up more than a few degrees can cause it to run for too long, causing it to overheat and ultimately shut off. The ‘auto’ setting of your thermostat helps by warming your home to the proper temperature, gradually, and before you arrive home!
Eliminate Drafty Areas
Draft areas in your home make the furnace work harder because it must run to compensate for the warm air that you’re losing through poorly sealed doors and windows. This is especially true if there’s a drafty area near the thermostat, which could cause the unit to run when it doesn’t even need to. Seal doors and windows to eliminate problems of drafty air!
Change the Air Filter
A dirty furnace unit will overheat more frequently than a clean one. Some people neglect or forget to change their air filters. When that happens, dust and dirt get to blow through your system, coating the interior components. When dust builds up on the coils, it must work harder to heat air, ultimately causing your system to shut down if it’s not taken care of soon!
Proper Maintenance
Fortunately, overheating problems can usually be solved with one visit from a local heating specialist. With a seasonal tune-up, your unit will receive the care and maintenance it needs to run strong all season long. Contact Baer for details about seasonal tune-ups, maintenance plans, and other ways they can help keep your system running better, and longer!
