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When you suddenly find yourself without heat in the middle of a Montana winter, you’re likely to feel alarmed, stressed, and frazzled—and, of course, very cold. You might think you should call right away to schedule an emergency heater repair in Kalispell, MT. But is that really necessary? Maybe… but maybe not!
The first thing to do in any emergency is to remind yourself to stay calm. It’s not easy, is it? But it’ll be much easier if you have a plan in place of what to do when such an emergency happens. Here’s our quick troubleshooting checklist for when your heat completely stops working. You might be able to sort it out yourself.
Step 1: Check the Power
Even a gas-powered furnace or boiler requires electricity to run. Without it, your heating system will simply shut off and not come on again. So if you wake up in the morning and your house feels cold, the first thing to do is try turning on a light. It may just be that you’re dealing with a power outage and need to start the generator, not call an HVAC technician.
Step 2: Check the Electrical Panel
If there’s power in your house, great. However, there might still be no power to the heating system! Sometimes, a problem causes the circuit breaker to trip. This might be an electrical issue with the furnace itself, or it may just be from plugging too many appliances into one circuit. Check for tripped circuit breakers and reset them if necessary. If they keep tripping, it does mean that repairs are needed.
Step 3: Check the Thermostat
Is the thermostat receiving power? This is easy to tell with a modern digital thermostat or smart thermostat: with no power, there will be no digital display. There could be an electrical issue between the thermostat and the heating system.
If the thermostat is receiving power, is it signaling for the heat to come on? Many thermostats are easily accidentally shut off, switched to “cool” mode, or even jostled into a vacation setting that allows the temperature to drop much lower than usual. It might have been a bump from an elbow, a curious paw or pet nose, or a mischievous child. Make sure the settings are correct.
Step 4: Check the Heating System
Only now do we come to the actual furnace or boiler. In some cases, a system won’t run if panel doors are open, so give those a quick check. A furnace may shut down if there’s not enough airflow, so clean the air filter, especially if it hasn’t been done in at least a few weeks. Finally, check for fuel issues if you have a combustion system. Is the pilot on, if it has one? Is the gas line intact? Is there fuel?
For pilot light issues, turn the gas supply off for at least fifteen minutes to give any leaked gas a chance to dissipate. Then, consult your owner’s manual for instructions on re-lighting it. But it may also be that you’ve run out of fuel, if you use a tank, or your gas company’s service has been interrupted for some reason.
Step 5: Call for Help
If you can’t get your heat running again, it’s time to give us a call. We’re happy to help! And you’ll be glad to know the technician is actually necessary, and it wasn’t something you could have resolved yourself.
For all of your HVAC needs, contact Bill’s Superheat, Inc. today! Here to Save the Day!