When you think about a furnace breaking or failing, you usually think about a situation in which the homeowner does not have heat. But sometimes, a furnace may break without failing completely. It will keep running and heating your home to a certain extent, but your energy bills will shoot up. What kinds of furnace problems can lead to these issues? Here's a look at some top possibilities.
Worn Bearings in the Motor
Your furnace has a component called the blower motor, or fan, that pushes air through the home. Like any motor, this one has a number of ball bearings that can start to wear out as it ages. If a ball bearing gets worn, the furnace will often keep working. However, there will be a lot of friction in the motor, which will greatly reduce its efficiency. Your heat may sometimes turn off before the heating cycle is over because the blower motor has grown too hot and has triggered a safety sensor. If this is what's going on, you might hear a whirring or grinding sound when the motor runs.
Thankfully, repairing a worn bearing is not a major issue. The furnace repair company can just remove the old bearing and put a new one in its place. Just make sure you do this sooner rather than later so that you don't cause any additional damage to the furnace.
A Torn Belt
The blower motor also has a belt that keeps it running. This belt can start to fray as it ages, just like the timing belt in a car. Usually, when this happens, your furnace starts making a squealing or squeaking noise. It may be most prominent when the furnace first turns on. The furnace may short-cycle, which means it turns on and off in shorter bursts than normal. This occurs because the torn belt is producing friction, which causes the motor to overheat.
Repairing a torn belt is a bit more extensive than replacing a ball bearing, but it is not too terribly difficult for a skilled HVAC repair tech. If your furnace is on the older side, however, they may recommend just replacing the furnace rather than putting your money into repairs only to have something else fail months down the road.
Just because your furnace is still blowing warm air does not mean something is not wrong. If your energy bills have shot up, look into the ball bearings and belt. To learn more, contact your local heating repair service today.
Share21 November 2019
While sitting in my living room on a hot summer day, I could feel the heat coming through the ceiling out of my attic and making the house warm up more than it should. I crawled up into the attic one evening to find out that the roof vents weren't working any longer because they were clogged with all sorts of debris. Did you know that when this happens, your home's temperature can rise to very uncomfortable levels? Did you know that your home could actually be damaged if the attic isn't well vented? This blog will show you all about attic ventilation.