Furnace Problems Caused by Your Thermostat

The thermostat is a small object, but it performs a big job: it’s your means of communicating with the furnace in your home. If the thermostat develops malfunctions, it can threaten the comfort of your home.

When a thermostat starts to go awry, it can first appear as if something is wrong within the furnace cabinet or the ducts. This is one reason you should always rely on assistance from HVAC professionals when you have problems with your heating; attempting repairs on your own can lead to worse trouble if you are trying to fix something that isn’t broken. Call in experts like the ones on staff at Boehmer Heating & Cooling and let them locate the source of the trouble with your furnace in Pittsburgh, PA and find the best way to repair it.

Here are a few of the troubles you can experience with your furnace because of a faulty thermostat:

• Furnace won’t come on: If the furnace won’t start up when the temperature drops, you should check the thermostat first to make sure you have it set correctly. If the thermostat has lost its connection to the furnace, it won’t activate the igniter. The thermostat might also be miscalibrated, so it senses incorrect indoor temperatures and registers the house as warmer than it actually is.
• Furnace won’t stop running: A broken thermostat can also mean the furnace will continue to run, overworking its parts and making your home too hot. As with a furnace that won’t come on, this might indicate a thermostat miscalibration. Or it could be electrical trouble with the wire from the thermostat that switches the furnace on and off.
• Furnace short-cycles: “Short cycling” is when the furnace comes on for only a brief period and then shuts off before completing its heating cycle. Again, this might be a thermostat miscalibration: the thermostat registers prematurely that the furnace has reached its target temperature and shuts it off. This will damage your furnace, drain power, and leave parts of your home cold.

Here’s something to keep in mind about thermostat operation: a thermostat is a switch, not a throttle. It turns your furnace on and off; it doesn’t increase the amount of heat it produces or speed it up. Turning the thermostat up to 90°F won’t heat up your home faster; it will just keep the furnace running until it reaches that point.

Get in touch with Boehmer Heating & Cooling when you need repairs for your furnace in Pittsburgh, PA. You don’t want a malfunctioning thermostat to leave you a deep freeze this winter. We have 24-hour emergency service to make sure you won’t stay cold for long.