Troubleshooting Common Winter Heating Issues

To stay warm and cozy all winter in Milford, MA, it’s essential to have a properly functioning heating system. It’s common for issues to occur with your heating system, especially as your equipment ages and experiences wear and tear. Being able to troubleshoot common winter heating problems will ensure you can communicate important details to our team at Tingley Home Services. We can provide fast assistance and repairs to get your system back up and running.

Heat Pump Issues

Many homes in Milford utilize a heat pump or mini-split for efficient heating. It’s common for a heat pump to experience problems like the coil or pump becoming frozen over with ice. It’s essential this problem is addressed to prevent permanent equipment damage. Most heat pumps come equipped with a defrost cycle that will prevent ice buildup throughout the course of the winter, so visible ice can indicate a defrost cycle problem that we need to address.

You should never use extremely hot water or sharp objects to remove the ice from your heat pump. Rather, you can attempt to thaw some of the ice using a garden hose. This may be all that’s needed. If the ice forms again in a short amount of time, then it’s necessary for our team to inspect the interior components of your heat pump.

You can also look around the location of your heat pump to see if there are excessive amounts of moisture coming from a gutter, downspout, and so on. You may want to reroute these things, so water moves away from your heat pump. Also, keep leaves and debris away from your unit.

Indoor Temperature Problems

There are several issues that can occur with the temperature in your home. Upon looking at your thermostat throughout the day, you may realize that your heating equipment is having a hard time bringing your home’s temperature to what your thermostat is set to. If you have your thermostat set to 68 degrees but the temperature inside never exceeds 66, it’s time to bring in our team. If you have your thermostat set very high, the extreme temperature outside could be to blame. However, there may be other issues that are occurring with your heating setup, such as a clogged air filter, a broken blower motor, or leaky ductwork.

If your heating system is having trouble keeping up with the bitter cold temperatures of winter, we recommend that you consider upgrading the insulation in your home. This can help keep the cold air outside where it belongs and warm air indoors. You can use insulation to reduce your energy consumption, which reduces your monthly utility bills. It can also protect the integrity of your heating equipment.

If you are experiencing an inconsistent temperature throughout your home, your heating equipment may be to blame. However, there are other issues that can cause this problem. Make sure all the vents and registers in your home are open. This will promote enough conditioned air circulating through all your living spaces. You can also adjust some of your dampers to redirect airflow to where you need it most. Just make sure you don’t close any sections of your ductwork completely. There may also be damage to your ducting that is allowing conditioned air to escape before it can reach the various rooms in your home.

Short Cycling

Rather than running a normal, full heating cycle, you may notice that your heating equipment is turning on and off very frequently. This is considered short cycling, which isn’t a normal process. This can lead to inefficient heating as well as wear and tear on your system. This problem can be caused by things such as a malfunctioning thermostat, bad flame sensors, your equipment overheating, inadequate airflow through your ductwork and system, an incorrectly sized heat pump, and more.

You could also experience heating equipment that keeps running and doesn’t turn off when it normally would. This can result in a substantial spike in your energy consumption. It’s common for this to happen in the winter months when your equipment is working hard to keep your home warm and safe. Make sure that your thermostat is set to an appropriate temperature and setting. Check your air filter to make sure that it’s clean and allowing enough air to flow through the system. We can check your heating equipment for bad valves, a damaged compressor, or damaged electrical connections.

Lack of Airflow

If it seems like less air is coming out of your vents, you’re likely experiencing a change in airflow that can be caused by several issues. You may have a dirty filter that’s restricting airflow. You could also have dirty ducts that impede the proper flow of air. We recommend that you have your ducts cleaned once every three to five years as part of your heating maintenance routine. You may want to schedule duct cleaning more often if you or someone in your household is susceptible to allergies or asthma symptoms.

There may be substantial damage to your ductwork that is allowing air to escape. This can occur because of normal wear and tear, pest infestations, or recent construction work in your home. This damage can usually be repaired. We can also replace whole sections of your ductwork if materials like mastic tape and sealants aren’t going to be effective enough.

Heater Doesn’t Turn On at All

If your heating equipment isn’t turning on at all, check your thermostat to ensure that you have it set to the proper heating function. You may also want to check your breaker panel to ensure that your heating equipment didn’t cause a breaker to trip. Damaged electrical connections to both your thermostat and heating equipment may be to blame. The access panel on your heating equipment may be loose. These units are often designed not to turn on if anything is loose or disconnected.

No Pilot Light

If you have a traditional gas-fueled furnace, there may be a pilot light malfunction occurring. If the pilot light isn’t on at all, reigniting it may fix the problem. If the light keeps going on repeatedly, there may be damaged components that need to be replaced, such as the gas regulator. Make sure there aren’t any drafts in the area that could be extinguishing the pilot light periodically. Other potential problems include a dirty ignition, a crack or damage to the surface of the ignitor, or a faulty limit switch.

If you need assistance with your heating system this winter, reach out to our experienced team here at Tingley Home Services. We can provide routine maintenance and heating repairs that can get you back on track. We also offer the installation of new heating and cooling equipment, ductwork installation, commercial services, and more. Our electrical services include installation, repair, generator installation, and electric vehicle charging stations.

Contact Tingley Home Services in Milford today for heating system assistance and more.