A furnace is standard equipment for a new house, but after the home has aged for several years, the original equipment usually won’t work as well as it once did. Eventually, age takes its toll and malfunctions will begin to occur. That’s when furnace repair will be needed.
The types of repairs a furnace needs will vary, but typically, there are a few main points of failure. One is the safety devices that are included in almost all units. These devices are meant to determine whether the gas going into the unit is being burned, check the heat level inside the unit, and monitor other essential functions. If the device can’t detect what it’s supposed to, the flow of gas is stopped to prevent fire or explosion. This makes them necessary, but there’s a downside: If one of these devices fail, it’ll report that it is not detecting what it’s supposed to and close the internal gas valve. Therefore, you end up with no heat if a safety device fails. In most cases, device-related shutdowns indicate problems with the safety devices themselves rather than a larger issue.
Burner problems are another issue with older gas furnaces. Some models have burners that can get clogged with soot or other debris over time. Luckily, all it takes to fix most of these issues is professional cleaning.
Old furnaces have pilot lights instead of using electronic ignition systems. These lights can blow out if hit with a draft from the right angle. As the furnace gets older, it becomes easier and easier for this to occur. Therefore, you may want to call a company like Service 1 Heating & AC, Inc. to have your furnace tuned up if blown-out pilot lights have become a common annoyance. You may also want to make sure it can never happen again by upgrading to a new, igniter-activated furnace. These electronic-ignition furnaces have no pilot lights, so you can rest easy even on the windiest of days.
In most cases, it’s best to get furnace repair instead of giving up on your current unit. Furnaces can last for decades with regular maintenance and the occasional fix, and fixing them is far less expensive than buying a new one.
