Your home can quickly become uncomfortably chilly if your HVAC is set to heat but there’s cold air coming from the registers. There are a few reasons why this might happen: it may be an easily-fixed mix-up in your thermostat’s HVAC settings, the need for some basic maintenance, or a potentially-serious electrical problem.
By learning what to look for, you can solve some issues on your own, and know when to get professional help:
Start at the Thermostat
Check for these problems with your thermostat first to see if you can restore the flow of warm air:
- See if the control was accidentally changed over from “heat” to “cool” mode and if so, put it back on heat.
- Make sure the fan is set to “auto” rather than “on,” so it cycles on and off with the furnace. In the “on” position, it runs non-stop and sends out cooler air in between heating cycles.
- Check whether your thermostat is exposed to direct sunlight or near a heat source. If so, it may not be signaling the furnace often enough to adequately heat other rooms.
Look for Airflow Restrictions
If your HVAC is starved of airflow, it can cause the furnace to overheat and trigger a system shutdown to prevent a potential fire. Common issues that impede airflow that you can easily correct include a badly clogged air filter, closed supply registers and/or obstructed return air grilles.
Check the Breaker
A power spike or surge or problems within the heating system, like faulty electrical wiring or an overloaded circuit, can trip the HVAC breaker in your home’s electrical panel. If you investigate why there’s no warm air wafting from the registers and discover that the breaker has tripped, you can try resetting it. If it trips a second time, don’t attempt to reset it again. An HVAC professional will need to thoroughly inspect the heating system instead to prevent equipment damage and avoid the risk of fire.
For expert help determining if a loss of warm air output at your registers is due to HVAC settings or another cause, contact us at Jackson & Sons.
Jackson & Sons, Inc.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Eastern North Carolina (including Wayne, Johnston, Greene, Lenoir, Pitt and Duplin Counties) about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).