Oasis Heating, A/C & Refrigeration Blog : Posts Tagged ‘Troubleshooting’

Home Heating Problems FAQ: Guide For Troubleshooting Your Home Heating Systems

Wednesday, July 7th, 2021

You expect your heating system to provide you with heat. Just like a car or any other machine that uses engines to run, a heating system can overheat or suffer serious malfunctions that will eventually lead to a breakdown. We’ll look at some of the causes of heating system issues and what can be done to prevent it and repair the problems that it causes.

A furnace that overheats during the winter can turn into a very uncomfortable situation for you and your family, so call OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc. when you need fast and effective heating repair in northern Virginia.

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What to Do if Your Furnace Doesn’t Blow Air

Wednesday, June 30th, 2021

The purpose of a household heating furnace is to warm your living quarters on an as-needed basis. As such, a furnace that is not blowing air through vents across your heating system is indeed problematic. Likewise, a furnace that is not blowing air in one room is a confusing issue that could stem from various factors, all of which require immediate attention.

Is a Furnace Supposed to Blow Air?

A furnace consists of a motor fan that blows air across heating coils, thus warming the air. This warm air is dispersed through the ducts of a household heating system to bring occupied living areas to the desired temperature. The furnace runs until the preset maximum temperature — usually at an owner-programmed level, such as 70 degrees Fahrenheit — has permeated the household interior, at which point the furnace shuts off to save energy.

Therefore, a furnace is built to blow air, but only warm air. A furnace blowing cold air is indicative of a problem. Funny as it may sound, a system set to “on” will not necessarily blow warm air. This is due to the programmed settings of a furnace system, which gauge the temperature within a living quarter and only disperse heat until the preset temperature is reached.

For example, if you have your furnace set to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, the furnace will shut off the heating coils once the ducts sense an ambient room temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit, but the fan will continue to blow cold air if it is set to “on” instead of “auto.”

How to Tell If Your Furnace Is in Trouble

If your furnace is on but no heat is coming forth, the problem could stem from issues with your thermostat. If your furnace is not blowing heat or even seeming to activate, you have a more serious problem at hand. Watch for the following tell-tale signs of furnace trouble:

  1. Furnace Blows Nonstop

    As outside temperatures drop, the confusion that the furnace-or-fan issue can cause is liable to be quite frustrating. If you constantly hear the sound of a blowing fan yet do not feel the level of warmth that you would expect from a furnace, you literally do have a case of cold air. Simply put, if the settings on your furnace system are not properly coordinated with the fan, the latter will blow irrespective of whether you need or want actual heat.

  2. Furnace Not Blowing Hard Enough

    If the furnace blowers are generating heat in insufficient quantities, the issue is likely due to either a dirty motor or a loose blower belt. The motor can accumulate dirt over time and the gradual buildup can wear down the system. This impacts the ability of the furnace to deliver heat on a consistent basis. Likewise, a worn belt could deprive the furnace of its proper rhythm and cause the heating mechanisms to drag or work in fits and starts.

  3. Furnace Turns on but No Heat

    If you feel no heat in the minutes after you activate your furnace, something could be wrong with the belt, heating coils or furnace settings. If the blowing mechanisms are inconsistent or non-functioning, there is probably an issue with the blower belt. If the blowers are working as normal but you feel no heat, the issue is probably due to the temperature settings or heating coils. The settings can easily be adjusted if you need to test the performance of the furnace but an issue with the heating coils will necessitate a call to your nearby HVAC service specialist.

  4. Cold Spots in Home

    If it seems that your furnace is only blowing air in certain rooms despite a well-dispersed heating system, chances are the furnace has not been activating with the same consistency as before. Perhaps the furnace ducts sensed the wrong ambient temperature within your house and deactivated prematurely? Or perhaps the time/day settings are being misread by your furnace system. Either way, you are liable to experience inconsistent indoor temperatures if a misreading of any kind occurs in your furnace system.

Reasons Why Your Furnace May Not Be Blowing Air

An electric furnace that is not blowing air could be the result of various problems. With so many complex mechanisms involved in a heating system, any given number of issues could cause the furnace to malfunction. Furnace problems, from minor to severe, generally stem from one of the following 10 issues:

  1. The Temperature Is Incorrectly Set

    In a multi-person household, there are liable to be different views regarding desirable indoor temperatures. For example, one person’s “warm” could be another person’s “chilly.” Disagreements like these often go un-discussed, even between married couples. Consequently, a thermostat might be turned down at some point during a given day, yet the action remains unbeknownst to the rest of the occupants.

    If you live in a household of two or more people, call everyone together for a discussion about mutually agreeable indoor temperatures throughout each period of a typical day. Moreover, check the temperature settings of your thermostat to make sure that the numbers are what you intended, especially if you feel colder than expected and you suspect that the settings might have been altered without your knowledge.

  1. The Furnace Is Not in “Heat Mode”

    One of the more elementary oversights that homeowners make is to activate the furnace but leave the thermostat in air conditioning mode instead of heat mode. Thing is, a lot of homeowners overlook these setting options and go about not knowing that the mode is wrong. The confusion is due, in part, to the increasingly complex nature of today’s programmable thermostats, which offer an array of options that make it possible for users to confusingly misprogram their systems in various ways.

  2. Your DIY Thermostat Installation Went Awry

    If you have recently installed a new thermostat on your own, it is quite possible that the installation did not take as well as it appeared. Even if you followed the directions, there is a strong likelihood that certain adjustments are needed that can only be performed by an HVAC service specialist.

    Alternately, it is possible that the thermostat you chose is simply not compatible with your pre-existing heating system. Situations like these have become all-too-common as the market is flooded with fancy self-install thermostat kits that are incompatible with older household heating systems.

  3. The Date and Time Are Incorrect

    If you are not getting the temperatures you expect, the problem could be due to the day and time settings on your thermostat. Homeowners with programmable thermostats often go about not knowing that the hour and day settings are way off.

    For example, it might be 8 p.m. Sunday in your area, but your thermostat believes that the time is actually 1 p.m. Tuesday. Consequently, the thermostat thinks that you are at work instead of home reading a book. To save energy, the thermostat sets the temperature low. After all, you wouldn’t likely need the house warm during the afternoon of a typical workday.

  4. The Battery Is Dead

    When the date and time are improperly set, the issue often stems from dead batteries in the thermostat. Without battery power, the thermostat has to rely solely on the power supply of your house. Consequently, the thermostat settings will reset following a blackout or brownout, whereby the time and date default to 12 a.m. Sunday following a mid-week power outage. In some cases, a thermostat will dump its settings when the battery runs low.

    You could easily go several months not knowing that the time understood by your thermostat is four days and 18 hours behind the actual date and time in your area, all because of a dead battery. Meanwhile, that same period could see your heating bills increase as you crank the heat to overcompensate for the lack of warmth from your furnace.

  1. The Circuit Breaker Is off

    Some of the more complicated furnace issues involve the circuit breakers. A heating system will have one or possibly two or three different circuit breakers, any one of which could trip and cause the furnace to stop. For example, if the circuit breaker to the furnace is off, the furnace will not generate heat. Likewise, if the circuit breaker to the blower fan is off, warmth will not be spread from the heating coils.

    If tripped, circuit breakers should not be tested more than once. An issue of repeat tripping should be reported to an HVAC service person immediately.

  2. The Filter Is Clogged

    A clogged furnace air filter can cause two types of problems, one involving blocked airflow and the other concerning tripped shutoff functions. In some cases, the buildup of dust and debris can thicken to the point where the passage of warm air is blocked by the filter. Therefore, while it might seem as though the furnace is not blowing air, the only real problem is that the furnace needs a new filter.

    The second, more common problem that arises with clogged furnace filters is when the restricted airflow causes the furnace itself to overheat and trigger the system’s safety shutoff. Thus, while you are left with the impression that the furnace won’t blow heat, the furnace has actually overheated and stopped due to a clogged air filter.

  3. The Blower Fan Is Not Working

    If the furnace isn’t blowing air with any degree of warmth — and the thermostat settings, circuit breakers and air filter have all been ruled out as possible causes — the problem could stem from the blower fan itself. The function of the blower fan is to blow air across the furnace’s heating coils and disperse that warmth through the air ducts. If the blower fan stops working, you have a more serious problem at hand.

    You can test the blower fan by turning off the heat — or, depending on your system, setting the thermostat to “fan only” mode — and switching the fan from “auto” to “on.” Wait for a few minutes to see whether any fan breeze comes forth.

  4. The Limit Control Switch Is Damaged

    In a household heating system, the limit control switch — alternately known as the fan limit switch or furnace fan control switch — controls the automatic on/off functions of the heating coils and fan. If you turn your furnace off or the room becomes sufficiently heated to the point where there furnace halts automatically, the limit control switch shuts the blower off to save energy. Likewise, when the heating coils warm, the control switch kicks the blowers on to disperse the heat through your household air ducts.

    If your furnace does not seem to be working, the limit control switch could be responsible in one of two ways. If the furnace overheats, the control switch will shut off the system as a safety precaution. This could be due to an overheating issue but it could also stem from a misreading on the part of the limit control switch. In the latter scenario, you probably have a damaged limit control switch.

  5. The Heating Coils Aren’t Functioning

    Beyond any possible issues with the blower fan, the most serious problems with a furnace are those that stem from the heating coils. If the coils are faulty, no thermostat settings, clean filters or switch adjustments will do the trick. If you have ruled out all the previous possibilities and even replaced the limit control switch, only to find that the blower fan still switches off, there is something wrong with the heating coils.

    On the upside, your blower motor is working just fine, though the heating-coil problem will require maintenance from a professional HVAC service specialist.

What to Do If Your Furnace Doesn’t Blow Air

There are a few steps that homeowners can perform to determine the source of a furnace problem. If the issue is minor, it can sometimes be fixed singlehandedly. In other cases where serious problems are involved, professional service is necessary, especially when a gas furnace is not blowing air. In any event, check the following:

  1. Check the Thermostat

    Before you declare any serious problem with your furnace, check the settings on the thermostat to see whether everything is set to the desired modes and levels. Given the possibility that someone else in your household might have changed the thermostat setting, check to make sure that the thermostat is set to “heat” instead of “cool.”

    To test the quality of the heat itself, raise the thermostat temperature by five degrees and wait for the system to activate. Do you feel warm blowing air? If the batteries are old, replace them — remember, if the time or date settings are off, the battery is likely dead. Also, clear away dust from under the thermostat panel.

  2. Check the Air Filter

    The air filter is one of the more obvious parts to check since it is easy to see how a clogged filter would impede the flow of air from a furnace. In a sense, it is like the lint trap in a laundry dryer, which needs to be cleared between each usage cycle. With your furnace filter, do an inspection every three months and replace the filter if dirt buildup has taken hold.

    Prior to accessing the air filter, shut off the furnace and thermostat.

  3. Check the Gas Supply

    If you have a gas furnace, check the gas supply to see whether the fuel supply is sufficient. Also, check the gas valve to make sure that it is set to “on.” Every now and then, a gas valve is accidentally left off after a round of maintenance and others in the house are confused when the furnace does not work as expected.

    If you discover a gas leak, turn off the gas valve and all the switches to your heating system and report the issue immediately. Do not light any matches or lighters near the furnace. Gather everyone in your household and exit the premise until help arrives.

  4. Check the Pilot Light

    Pilot lights are used on older, pre-electronic ignition gas furnaces. If the pilot light fails to remain lit, the problem might stem from a clogged orifice, which can be poked clear with a small piece of wire. Before you try this step, turn off the furnace and shut off the circuit breaker.

    A failing pilot light could also result from a loose thermocouple, a weak flame setting or a faulty cutoff valve, all of which are problems that are best handled by an HVAC service professional.

  5. Call for Professional Service Maintenance

    Aside from simple remedies to minor furnace issues, the majority of problems involving a furnace are best handled by service professionals. At Oasis Heating, A/C & Refrigeration, we have been servicing furnaces in northern Virginia households since 1998. We perform furnace repairs and replacements on a variety of heating systems.

At Oasis Heating, A/C & Refrigeration, we offer our services with competitive pricing and guaranteed quality. We also offer emergency service 24/7. Contact us today for help with your HVAC needs.

“Great timely service. Knowledgable and neat techs. Good value.”

“Would absolutely use their services again. Arrived on schedule.”

-Springfield, VA

*Last Updated 06/30/2021

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Why Your Gas Furnace Won’t Work When the Power Goes Out

Friday, June 11th, 2021

Gas Furnace Power OutWhen the weather outside is cold and windy, there’s nothing as enjoyable as a nice warm furnace inside your home. After all, it’s much more reliable than a baseboard heater or other form of electric heat, right? If you lose power in a storm, those electric types of heat will falter and leave you with a cold house. Your natural gas furnace would never do that, right?

Unfortunately, that’s not entirely true. If you’ve ever asked yourself if a gas furnace works during a power outage, the answer is that it is just as susceptible to power outages as electric heaters. While it might seem counterintuitive and confusing, your gas furnace still depends on electricity to power itself and heat your home. If the power is out, the odds are good your furnace will be out as well.

There are plenty of reasons why your furnace works the way it does and how you can interpret what’s going on in your current situation. There are also many options you can try if it seems like the power has returned, but your furnace hasn’t. If you’re experiencing a gas furnace with no power and wondering what to do when the power’s out, we’ve compiled this quick and easy guide just for you.

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What Clicking Noises From Your AC May Mean

Friday, May 22nd, 2020

What-clicking-noises-from-your-ac-may-mean

Is your AC making noise? Generally speaking, any unusual sound coming from your air conditioning system is cause for concern.

Common Air Conditioner Noises

Here in Fairfax, VA, our air conditioning repair techs can handle your air conditioning problem. However, it does help if you, as the homeowner, have some idea of what specific sounds could indicate. When you can guess where the noises are coming from, you can point the repair professional in the right direction. Here are some of the most common air conditioning noises and what they may mean:

1. AC Making Clicking Noise

AC clicking noises can stem from fan blades that have been bent or are misaligned which causes the AC to sound like it’s clicking on and off. A stick or piece of detritus could have also gotten caught in the vent, causing the fan to click against the object. In these cases, the cause is apparent, and the repair technician can either properly align the fan or replace it with a new model.

More subtle clicking noises can be a part of the air conditioner’s normal operation. For example, these sounds could come from a relay or a contact performing as expected. In those cases, the clicking should stop shortly. If they repeat, however, it could mean a problem with your thermostat or compressor turning the relays on and off repeatedly and increasing wear and tear in the bargain. If you hear repeated clicking from your AC, you should call for a repair. Possible electric problems should never be ignored when an AC clicks on and off.

Buzzing sounds from ac system, ticking noise in ductwork with air conditioner clicking

2. Buzzing

If your air conditioner is making a buzzing sound, it is likely an electrical malfunction caused by loose or broken parts, leaks or compressor issues. If you suspect an electrical problem, turn off your system and contact a professional.

Buzzing could also be an indicator that your air conditioner’s “isolation feet” — the rubber legs at the base of your machine that support it — are wearing out. Buzzing might also mean a condenser coil, air filter or blower inside your system needs to be changed or replaced.

Hearing a clanking or rattling in ac system, air conditioner making clicking noises

3. Clanking or Rattling

If your air conditioner is making a lot of loud clanking or rattling noises, it could mean a part has come loose and fallen into a different component of the machine. Before you call a maintenance specialist, make sure you check that all visible screws and bolts are tightly secured, so you can eliminate that as a possibility.

If your air conditioner gets too cold, ice and excess moisture can also build up inside and cause a loud grinding noise, accompanied by rattling movements. If you think your air conditioner has frozen, turn it off and allow it time to thaw.

Dealing With a Noisy Air Conditioner? Oasis Can Help

If you live near Burke or Alexandria, VA, and are experiencing air conditioner problems, Oasis Heating, A/C & Refrigeration is here to help.

If you hear any noises that you aren’t accustomed to — even if they don’t seem to be affecting the performance of the air conditioner — turn the unit off and contact a qualified repair technician immediately instead of trying to fix the issue yourself. In addition to knowing what the noises from your air conditioner may mean, a good repair technician can also correct your machine safely and correctly.

Call Oasis today at 703-339-3877 to make an air conditioning repair appointment!

Contact our team in Northern Virginia to schedule your maintenance service.

“Great timely service. Knowledgable and neat techs. Good value.”

“Would absolutely use their services again. Arrived on schedule.”

-Springfield, VA

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There’s Ice on My Heat Pump—Is This a Bad Sign?

Thursday, December 28th, 2017

If you know even a little bit about the operation of the heat pump that keeps your household cool in summer and warm in winter, you’ll understand that the outside unit needs to absorb heat from the ambient air and carry it indoors in order for it to work in heating mode.

Should you notice that there is ice developing along the outdoor cabinet of the heat pump, it may worry you. Is this normal during the winter?

The answer is, confusingly, both yes and no. But we will quickly unconfuse you below:

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Some Signs That You Need Water Heater Repairs

Thursday, December 14th, 2017

Your home must have a working water heater throughout the year, but it’s especially inconvenient to have your water heater fail on you during the winter. Cold days without hot showers? That can feel pretty miserable.

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What Kind of Issues Lead to Subpar Furnace Performance?

Sunday, December 10th, 2017

Furnace problems always arise at the least convenient times. We need reliable heating to keep our Fairfax, VA homes toasty and comfortable when the snows start to fall. And they don’t always need to involve a full breakdown either. In some cases, problems can lead to subpar performance, where the furnace continues to function but requires a lot more time and energy to do its job. What kind of issues lead to subpar furnace performance?

Some of it comes down to plain old-fashioned dust and build up. If you don’t have your furnace routinely maintained, then dust and dirt will accumulate on it. That increases friction on moving parts, as well as coating the pilot light and other key components with grime that might affect the furnaces performance. It will thus work harder in order to do the same basic job, and your monthly costs will go up as a result.

Similarly, a leak in the ducts, or a problem with one of the burners or another component will slowly leech your furnace’s productivity. Say, for example, that your furnace uses six burners. If one of those burners is faulty, the remaining five should still be able to generate enough heat to cover your home. Only they will have to use more fuel to do so and will take longer to heat your home. Again, this will end up costing you more in terms of your monthly heating bills, and the issue will likely get worse the longer the faulty component is left unrepaired.

Finally, sometimes simple age is enough to create a subpar performance. An older furnace not only has years of wear and tear to deal with, but may not be able to take advantage of new advances in technology, leaving it less efficient than more contemporary models.

If you think you are getting sub-par performance from your furnace, the next step is to contact a qualified professional to address it.  Give OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Inc. a call to set up a Fairfax, VA  furnace service today!

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Problems with Your Electric Furnace? Let’s Look into It

Tuesday, December 5th, 2017

Not every house has a connection to a natural gas line, and some homeowners prefer the safety of only relying on electricity to power appliances. For these homes, an electric furnace is always a good alternative source for warmth. Along with their flexibility, electric furnaces tend to have longer service lives than gas furnaces and they cost less upfront to install.

No furnace can be 100% free of problems, however. In this post, we’re going to look at what you can do if your electric furnace begins to lose its heating ability—or it stops heating altogether.

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Why Your Furnace May Be Short-Cycling

Friday, December 1st, 2017

Short-cycling refers to a problem that may occur in both heating and air conditioning systems: the unit starts to heat/cool, but shuts off too soon and doesn’t complete its cycle. A short time later, the unit starts up again, only to shut off once more… and the process repeats and repeats.

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What Are the Risks of Delaying Heating Repair?

Saturday, November 25th, 2017

The winter is almost here in Virginia. That can mean some rough times outdoors and some cozy times indoors. However, you can be in for rough times indoors as well if you don’t schedule the necessary repairs for your heater right now. If your heater is currently developing troubles or is sending signals (like odd noises and uneven warmth) that something is amiss, you can’t hesitate and hope the problem will improve on its own.

If you need heating repair in Arlington, VA, call OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc. as soon as you can. We have 24-hour emergency service!

Here’s what you risk when you delay repairs:

A single malfunction in your heating system will cause the entire system to work harder. A broken fan belt in a furnace, a leaky refrigerant line in a heat pump—these will make the heater strain to reach its target temperature, and that means additional wear and tear that could lead to a full breakdown.

And you know when that full breakdown will occur? On the coldest day of the year. This isn’t a case of Murphy’s Law at work; it’s mechanical logic. Your heating system will have to work hardest for you on the coldest day of the year, and that’s when the strain from lack of repairs will cause it to break. You don’t want to be stuck with a frigid house on a day when HVAC specialists are already scrambling to answer other emergency calls. You may end up with a long wait.

Delaying repairs usually means the repairs will be more expensive further on. Malfunctions won’t fix themselves: they will get worse from the heavier wear. By the time you do get around to scheduling repairs, two other malfunctions may have also occurred because of neglect.

Putting off repairs will cost you in another way: elevated energy bills. If your heating system is straining to reach its regular temperature, it will drain additional power—and that will show up on your bills.

Prompt repairs—and regular maintenance—will fix this

You should do more than schedule repairs the moment you know you need them. You should also enroll in a regular preventive maintenance program. A dependable HVAC contractor like OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc. will offer programs that provide you two check-ups and tune-ups a year—one for your heater and one for your air conditioner. These visits will fend off repairs and breakdowns, as well as give you the most efficient heating performance possible.

When it’s time for maintenance or heating repair in Arlington, VA, contact OASIS Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc.

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