A warm home during the winter is essential for comfort and health, especially if you have young children or an elderly person in your home. If your heater breaks, you may want to try to fix it yourself, but it’s advisable not to do so.  If you have properly been maintaining your heater and there are no noticeable damages on the outside of your heater, your heater malfunction is most likely caused be an electrical problem. If you attempt to discover and repair this electrical problem, you risk hurting yourself, your home and further damaging the unit.

Is Warm Air Escaping?

Before you begin to worry that your heating system is malfunctioning, you need to assess your home and make sure that no warm air is escaping. If you have doors open to the attic, garage or basement, warm air could be escaping through these exit points. Additionally, windows could have small holes that are allowing cold air in and letting the warm air out. Some homeowners need to cover their windows with plastic wrap during the winter to prevent this problem.

Also, do not forget to check your thermostat before assuming that your system is malfunctioning. If you had guests over recently they may have changed it and forgot to change it back. Additionally, someone in your home may have adjusted it without telling you, so it’s always best to check.

Proper Maintenance

Proper maintenance is imperative to the longevity of your heating system. One of the most important parts of maintenance is filter cleaning. Regardless of the heating system that you have in your home, the system most likely utilizes ducts and vents. There are filters within this system. These filters help to keep the home in your air clean by blocking any debris in the air that travels through the vents. Over time these filters become clogged. If they are not clean, warm air cannot pass through and heat your home. This backed up air can also cause damage to the overall unit.

Calling a Repair Technician

After you have established that your heating system is indeed malfunctioning, call a repair technician immediately. If your heating system malfunctions during the colder months, you may have to wait a few hours or days before a repair technician can come. Therefore, you must call right away!

When choosing a repair technician, you need to make sure that you choose a technician who is familiar with your particular type of heating system. For example, solar heating is a newer form of heating and requires a specialized technician from a company that specializes in solar heating, such as Energy Efficiency Pros.

Having your heating system break down during the winter can be uncomfortable and even dangerous. Therefore, you must take proper care of your system to ensure you are doing everything you can to prevent malfunctioning. If your system does malfunction, it’s important that you call a repair technician who specializes in your heating system right away and not attempt to fix your system yourself. Calling at the earliest sign of malfunction will save you valuable time and money.