Heating Gone Cold? Try These Furnace Troubleshooting Tips

The last thing you want to deal with in the middle of a Massachusetts winter is a broken furnace. When temperatures reach below zero, furnace repair quickly becomes an immediate issue. Try furnace troubleshooting to help solve the problem before you pick up the phone and call for emergency furnace repair.

Electric Furnace Troubleshooting Tips

When the heat goes out, it's time to get moving to restore it. HVAC expert John Gibson suggests these tips are worth a shot:

• Check the breaker panel: Cold weather can do wicked things to electricity, and what worked just fine at ten degrees higher now seems too much for the system to handle. If the breaker was flipped, flip it back. If you have fuses, look for those that might need to be replaced.
• Check for a reset button or switch on the furnace: Then, go to the thermostat and set it for five degrees higher than the current temperature. If your furnace kicks on, you're good to go.
• If you still have problems, give the furnace a quick, yet thorough, cleaning. Clean or replace the filter, clean the blower assembly, and make sure all the registers are in good working order.
• If the furnace comes on, but doesn't blow warm air, the heating element could be bad: Some furnaces have a panel that allows for easy access and replacement of the heating element. Most people don't have an extra heating element on hand, but repair shops will often have exactly what you need.

If these tips don't work, call for furnace repair. Don't wait to make that call--when Massachusetts temperatures are truly frigid, it is only a matter of hours before pipes begin to freeze.