Is Your Gas Furnace Not Heating Up Your Home Enough?

Amanda Brown • January 24, 2022

When the serious cold weather settles in for the new year, the furnace in your house will undergo its biggest test. Is it passing that test? You might notice that your gas furnace, which has previously kept your family comfortable, isn’t performing as well as it used to. What’s happening, and what can you do about it?

We have long experience working with gas furnaces, and we’ve seen the many ways they can start to fall behind. We’ll guide you through some of the possibilities behind your furnace’s struggle to heat the house and help you find the best solution.

The furnace filter is dirty

This is a simple source of the problem, and one people often overlook. The furnace filter needs to be clean to allow for sufficient airflow into the furnace and around the heat exchanger to pick up heat. When the filter becomes clogged (which will take about 1 to 3 months) not enough air will receive heat and the airflow to the rooms will also drop. You only need to put in a clean filter to remedy this. Make changing the filter a regular job and you’ll avoid this problem in the future.

The burners aren’t staying lit

Gas burners that turn off too early will mean a heater that doesn’t stay on long enough to warm up your house. There are several potential causes of the burners going out: a faulty flame sensor, dirt and grime across the burners, airflow troubles from a malfunctioning blower fan, or wiring issues in the control board. All of these problems require a professional fix.

Gas flow problems

The furnace may not be receiving enough natural gas to keep the burners going to provide enough heating power. This can occur because of blockage in the gas lines, stuck gas valves, or even gas leaks. Anything connected to the gas power of the heater must be left to professionals because of the potential safety concerns with amateur work. Turn the furnace off first, then call for repairs.

Malfunctioning thermostat

The trouble may come not from inside the furnace but from the controls outside it. Your thermostat may be misreading the temperatures in the house, sensing they’re warmer than they are, so it will mistakenly shut off the furnace before it reaches the set temperature. Please don’t try to overcome this by just setting the thermostat higher than usual, as this can lead to damage to the furnace. Our technicians can recalibrate the thermostat so it makes accurate readings.

The furnace is too old

This is the extreme case, but it’s also a common one—all furnaces will eventually reach an age where wear and tear take a toll and restrict how well they perform. The average service life of a gas furnace is around 15 years (if it receives routine maintenance). Once a system is older than this, the chance of it declining and losing its heating capacity increases. If your furnace is above the 15-year range, we strongly recommend working with us for a new heater install in Kingston Springs, TN.