Furnace Blowing Cold Air? 7 Steps to Take Before Calling for Furnace Repair

Daylight is short this time of year and the air is cold. Worse, a stiff wind is blowing, making it miserable outside. Well, the workday is done, and it is time to go home, curl up with a good book, and enjoy the toasty comfort of a warm home. However, when you arrive at home, something is terribly wrong: the furnace is running, but the air it is blowing is cold air, not nearly as warm and comfortable as expected.

Before you panic, here is a furnace repair checklist of actions to take to get to the root of the problem of a furnace blowing cold air.

1. 1. Depending on the day of the week and the time of day, it might be prudent to call your furnace repair contractor right away. It may take time to schedule an emergency repair, so be prepared to act fast.
   2. If the furnace is running, you know that it is receiving power, so the circuit breaker is not tripped. However, most furnaces will have a circuit breaker on the air handler cabinet that allows technicians to disconnect power while working on the unit. Check this breaker. If it has been tripped, try to reset it. This may or may not work. If it has tripped, something malfunctioned within the system and will need to be addressed, so call your HVAC technician.
   3. While there, check the air filter (a frequent story is forgetting to change the air filter). A clogged filter severely restricts airflow and can reduce heating throughout the home. If the filter needs to be changed, replace it with a fresh filter. Wait about 10 minutes to see whether changing the filter makes a difference in the air temperature.
   4. Check the thermostat settings. It is not unusual for someone to change a setting and forget to change it back. The thermostat should be on the HEAT setting, and the temperature setting should be several degrees warmer than the inside temperature indicator. Look for a flashing light that indicates a low battery signal and change the batteries as needed. If an adjustment is made to the thermostat, wait a few minutes to see if your actions create a change.
   5. If you have a natural gas-powered furnace, check the burner assembly for an active flame. If the blower motor is running but the burner is not lit, it can indicate several problems. Make sure that the gas valve is open. Look for black soot, a carbon buildup, around the ignition system. If the system is old, it might have a pilot light. Is the pilot light lit? Is there evidence of heavy, rusty, or broken pieces on the burner assembly?
   6. If you have a heat pump system, there are a couple of problems to check. A heat pump collects heat from outdoors. If the outdoor temperature drops below 320, the system will struggle to collect heat. This is especially true if the system is old and has lost efficiency. Turn the thermostat setting to Emergency or Auxiliary Heat. This engages the electric heating element to produce heat rather than relying upon the heat pump. If the temperature is well above 320, feel the copper tubes that run from the outdoor condenser unit inside. Be careful not to damage the pipe insulation on the tubes, but feel both tubes. One of the tubes should be warm to the touch. If the heat pump is running and both tubes are cold, the system might have lost refrigerant, the gas responsible for collecting and moving the heat.
   7. Check the supply vents and returns. A power blower motor is pulling air from the house, bringing it through the air handler to be warmed, and pushing the air back into the home. If one or more vent openings are covered, it will restrict airflow in that area and make the whole system work harder.

   When to Call a Professional for Expert Furnace Repair

   There could be several other reasons for the furnace to blow cold air when it should blow warm air. That is why you begin by calling a furnace repair technician at DoctorCool. If one of your solutions fixes the problem, you may want to call and cancel the emergency visit and reschedule for a regular visit during normal business hours. Or, your investigation might have uncovered a problem that only a furnace repair technician will be able to repair.

   Expert Furnace Repair to Restore Your Home’s Warmth

   When basic troubleshooting isn’t enough to get your heater blowing warm again, you need a professional furnace repair partner to diagnose the deeper electrical or mechanical issues. A malfunctioning burner or a refrigerant leak can quickly escalate into a total system failure if left unaddressed by a specialist. Our experienced furnace repair team is standing by to ensure your heating system operates safely and efficiently all winter long. Call Doctor Cool & Professor Heat at 281-516-5966 today to schedule your furnace repair appointment and bring the toasty comfort back to your home.