If your furnace is on and off repeatedly, this is known as short cycling, and it’s very dangerous. A unit that turns on and off, generating heat then shutting down, over and over again, may break down quickly. It may also need frequent repairs and could even have a decreased life span. Worse, short cycling can cause your energy bills to spike during cold weather. Here are the top signs that your furnace may be short cycling.
1. Thermostat Is Malfunctioning
If your thermostat is malfunctioning, it will give incorrect readings to your furnace. If your thermostat seems poorly calibrated, or like it doesn’t respond to your commands, a technician may need to repair it. When a thermostat sends incorrect signals to the furnace, the unit may turn on and off quickly, confused by the signals it’s receiving. This is known as short cycling.
2. The Area Around the Furnace Is Hot
A furnace generates heat, so warmth around the unit is to be expected, but if it’s unusually hot near your furnace, the unit may be overheating. Overheating for any reason, like clogged filters or buildup inside the machine, can make a furnace short cycle.
3. Short Bursts of Heat
You may not notice the furnace itself turning on and off repeatedly, but you may be able to tell if it’s releasing short bursts of warm air indoors. Do your vents seem to expel short-lived gusts of warm air, shut off quickly, and repeat multiple times? The furnace should release a steady stream of heat, otherwise it may be short cycling.
Is your furnace in need of repairs? If so, turn to the expert technicians at Shriver Mechanical, Inc., serving commercial and residential systems throughout,
- Acworth
- Kennesaw
- Marietta
- Powder Springs
- Cartersville
- Smyrna
- Sandy Springs
- and the Atlanta Metro area.
Our highly trained and courteous staff of technicians are experts at identifying furnace issues and repairing them with ease. So when you need to know how to tell if your furnace is short cycling, we are available 24 hours a day, because we know that heating and cooling issues can’t always wait until normal business hours for attention.
Call us any time, day or night, to get a quote or request our services. All of us at Shriver Mechanical, Inc., look forward to hearing from you.