6 Reasons Why Your Furnace Turns On and Off Repeatedly.
Furnaces are built with a protection mechanism that avoids unsafe situations such as a fire or a gas leakage. Please note, that most of the issues with the furnace come from inappropriate furnace installation. Sometimes, your furnace may quickly turn off without providing enough heat to warm up your home. This is called short cycling, i.e., short run times and short off times when the furnace turns off and on very often. It means if you set your thermostat to 72 degrees and the furnace shuts down at 65 or 68, any temperature range before reaching that.
Why My Furnace Is Turning On and Off Repeatedly?
This may occur somewhere between three to eight times per hour, depending on the state of the furnace and the temperature outside. If it runs too much or just for a minute or two before shutting down, there might be a furnace issue. But we must not be concerned with the frequency with which it turns off and on, but with the cause behind that. If your furnace is short cycling, it may be some of those issues.
1. Low airflow
Low airflow may be one of the top reasons for short furnace cycling and continuous turning on and off of the furnace. Different reasons cause low airflow:
- Unclean Air Filters – If the air filters are not often changed, they become dirty and clogged, and the heat exchanger retains heat and causes it to overheat. It is crucial to change air filters every ninety days. You may also need to change the air filters if you have any allergies.
- Dirty Blower Wheel – A dirty blower wheel also causes rapid on and off of a furnace. The blades of the blower wheel may not work correctly if it has dirt on them. Changing air filters appropriately helps you keep your Furnace’s blower wheel clean, increasing your furnace life. Otherwise, it may be expensive enough to fix if left untreated at the early stages.
- Closed Air Vents – It is compulsory to keep your air vents open, even in the room you don’t use because the heat exchanger does not get enough air, it will heat up and cause short cycling.
2. Faulty Thermostat
The thermostat controls your complete heating system. Breakage or faulty thermostat may also cause short cycling of a furnace. Several reasons cause a thermostat to function poorly:
- Old wiring and batteries – You may need to replace your old wiring and batteries with new ones, which will help them work properly.
- Location of your thermostat – The location of a thermostat may also cause it to work poorly if your thermostat is placed directly in sunlight or near to any heat source, it will tilt the temperature reading. It is appropriate to contact an expert to replace any old wiring, or batteries, usually after six months, or even relocate your thermostat.
3. Fire Sensor
The flame sensor lets you know if there is any flame when the gas valve is open and allows natural gas flow. If there is no flame, the sensor shuts off the gas valve to prevent the gas from entering your home. But if the flame sensor is rusted or dirty, it may not work correctly and will shut down your system. It is recommended to contact an expert, especially if your furnace turns off and on too quickly.
4. Blower Motor
The blower motor circulates the air throughout your house. In rare conditions, the furnace may run even if the blower motor is off. And if it happens, there would be no airflow over the heat exchangers, which may cause your furnace to go off. To make sure that the blower motor is not the reason behind short cycling, hold your hand near the vents to make sure there is any air coming. If there is weak airflow or no flow, the blower motor may be the cause of your short furnace cycling.
5. Flue Pipe
The flue pipe, also known as the exhaust vent, is located on your roof and can also cause your furnace to short cycle. A damaged vent pipe or any blockage, such as a bird nest in the summer, causes your furnace to overheat by building up hot gas in it. The flue sensor will shut down your Furnace to keep you safe from carbon monoxide or any hazardous gas on heating up. When your air furnace shuts down for anything small, such as a clogged air filter, it can be unpleasant; such safety features avoid harming your family and your house.
6. Over-sized Furnace
It will cycle on and off regularly if your furnace is too big for your home. This is not a dangerous condition but it can lead to higher utility bills due to the increased energy usage. In this choice, it is appropriate for you to change your furnace if you want to eliminate this issue. If you just got your furnace built up and are short cycling, it means that the technicians did not conduct a manual J heat load. Short cycling is not a factor that should be ignored. To examine your device, contact a competent HVAC contractor as soon as you realize there’s a problem. If you don’t, you may be looking at substantial repairs or even replacing the whole system. Another perfect way to avoid costly furnace repairs or replacements is by conducting routine maintenance and scheduling a tune-up at least once a year.
What to do if the Furnace is still not working correctly?
It must be your top priority to fix your Furnace, especially in winter, when the furnace is necessary to have a comfortable and warm life. Try to find out the reason behind short cycling and then try to sort it out. It is better to maintain your Furnace; otherwise, it may get expensive enough to fix if left untreated.
Call Smile HVAC for Furnace Maintenance Services
It is essential to contact Smile HVAC to fix the device if you believe there is some reason for short cycling. We make sure to provide you with the highest quality services, and you can trust our experts for absolute peace of mind. We are proud to be able to get to know their clients and their individual needs. We offer numerous HVAC-related services to individuals and work hard to get to a position where they can predict the needs of their clients and meet their standards. Call Smile HVAC for furnace maintenance in Toronto and GTA.
