My Furnace Overheating

Living in Canada, we experience cold and frigid winters every year, so, your furnace has to work extra hard to heat your home and with this comes the chance of your furnace overheating.

Most furnaces have a built-in safety feature which will turn off the furnace when the unit reaches a high temperature. Although these safety precautions are there, an overheated furnace being in your home is still not ideal for your family or your home. You may be wondering, how can I tell that my furnace is overheating? Below you will read all you need to know about your furnace overheating and how you can fix the problem.

 

Signs That Your Furnace is Overheating

• Strange noises or humming being produced by the furnace. These sounds are a sign that the blower motor is trying to start but there is something stopping it from doing so. When the motor is trying to work but is unable to, it creates an excess of heat which results in the noises that you hear.
• A burning smell coming from the vents. This smell can often be confused with the smell that is produced when you haven’t used your furnace in a long time, like when you turn on your furnace for the first time in the winter season. Although, when the smell is to do with your furnace overheating it will be followed by the furnace turning off on its own.
• Furnace cycling off without starting up again. As previously stated, most modern furnaces have a built-in feature which allows them to shut off on their own when they get too hot. If your furnace doesn’t restart after doing this and requires you to reset before it operates again, this is a likely sign of constant furnace overheating.

 

How to Fix the Problem

We do not recommend for you to try and fix your overheating furnace on your own as with its many electrical and mechanical components it would be very easy to make a mistake which could end up being both dangerous and detrimental to your home and HVAC system. If you’re experiencing a problem with your furnace overheating, or have a broken down furnace, it would be in your best interest to call a professional HVAC technician to assess and fix the problem instead of you trying on your own. An HVAC technician will be able to find the problem and provide the most simple solution with ease. What you can do when you’re noticing a problem regarding your furnace overheating is to simply turn off the power to the unit and make a call to a furnace repair company to handle the rest for you.

Reasons For Your Furnace Overheating

There are many possible reasons behind why your furnace is overheating. Many of these causes can be avoided with regular furnace maintenance.

Short cycling: Short cycling is when your furnace turns off early into its heating cycle and has to turn on and off repeatedly. A short cycling furnace system puts stress on the motors and may result in the system breaking down. If you have a short cycling furnace system, contact a professional to evaluate the issue before the system burns out.

Mechanical Failure: The furnace’s fan motors and wiring can become stressed and result in failure and overheating. The moving parts of your furnace need to be well maintained to prevent early failure.

Restricted airflow: When the air flowing through your ducts is blocked from moving freely, it stays trapped in the system and causes the system to overheat. This problem can be fixed by simply changing your furnace filter regularly and by ensuring that there is nothing blocking the air vents around your home such as furniture or rugs to allow the air to circulate without any obstructions.

Dirt buildup: When a furnace filter is riddled with dirt it can cause many problems such as restricted airflow and allows for dirt to build up on other furnace components. This can be especially harmful to your HVAC system when there is a dirt buildup on the blower motor. If the blower motor can’t vent itself, it will overheat.

Outdated/Old age: Old furnace components are prone to wearing out and lead to furnace failures and overheating. An older furnace unit may not include the safety shut-off feature which was mentioned previously, so you will need to be especially careful with units using older technology. Older furnaces are not nearly as energy efficient as their modern counterparts are, which mean that installing a brand new unit to replace your old one can actually save you money on your utility bills. When your furnace is around the 15-20 year old range you should consider a replacement because if it hasn’t experienced failure yet, it will in the near future.

Get A Quote

 

An overheating furnace is more than just a minor inconvenience to your home, it can be dangerous to you and your family. Contact a professional to evaluate the problem and provide you with a simple solution before it’s too late. DeMark Home Ontario is here to assist you with all your heating and cooling needs. If you’re having problems with an overheating furnace, call us today at 647-847-2998 or fill out online request form and one of our friendly staff will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

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Why My Air Conditioner Smell Bad?

When you turn on your air conditioner, you expect to be greeted by nice, cool air. However, if the air coming from your AC vent is smelly, you might have a serious problem. Some air conditioner smell are merely irritating while others are hazardous.

This unpleasant air conditioner smell is actually called “dirty sock syndrome” and can be caused by several factors: dirty coils, improperly sized unit, clogged drain, and problem with air filtration system. Most of the time, the main cause of an air conditioner smell is lack of proper cleaning and maintenance. Dirty sock syndrome is caused by mold and mildew buildup in your air conditioner, especially on the evaporator coil.

Dirty Coils

The coils in your air conditioner will collect dust and dirt over time, but dusty coils alone shouldn’t cause air conditioner smell. If mold and bacteria have grown on the coils, you will notice an odor because the air blows directly over the coils as it enters your home.

Improperly sized air conditioner

Everyone knows that an air conditioner is used to cool your home, but many people don’t realize that it also performs a second function: dehumidification. Air conditioner that is too large for a home will perform a cooling cycle quickly, not running long enough to sufficiently remove moisture from the air. On the hot summer days, when humidity builds up, mold and mildew can develop and distribute the unpleasant air conditioner smell throughout the whole house.

Clogged drain

The condensate drain line runs from the coils to the outside of the AC unit. It is designed to catch and drain away condensation that drips off your evaporator coils. But if this system gets clogged, the standing water that’s trapped can quickly lead to mold and bacteria growth.

Air filtration system problem

Your air filtration system removes contaminants from your home’s air. Whole house air cleaners and ultraviolet lights are especially good for removing contaminants that can produce odors in your home. If something is wrong with your air conditioner air filtration system, those contaminants will not be properly removed and your home’s air can begin to smell.

The most important factor in preventing dirty sock syndrome is to make sure that you choose a high-quality air conditioning filter.  Mold, mildew and bacteria need dust and other porous substances to thrive.  Removing these from the air before they get into your coils is one of the key ways to prevent dirty sock syndrome.

Get A Quote

 

Be sure to have regular maintenance performed on your central air conditioner by a licensed HVAC contractor as a preventative measure. If you are having central air conditioner problem and in need of service or replacement call us today at 647-847-2998 or fill out online request form and one of our friendly staff will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

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