Professional Heating & Air Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Heating Repair’

What Happens When Furnace Burners Won’t Work?

Monday, January 2nd, 2017

Most homes in the Walker, LA area use gas forced-air furnaces to heat their homes in the winter. They’re simple and effective, and they make a great fit for our warm Southern climate. Furnaces depend on burners for their heat, and when the burners don’t work, there’s a big problem. The good news is that a trained repair services can usually take care of the problem quickly and effectively.

How Burners Work

Burners in gas furnaces rely on natural gas for fuel. They burn it below a heat exchanger – a shaped piece of metal that effectively transfers the heat to the air (which can then be blown into the ducts of your home with a fan). That’s more energy efficient than just letting the gas burn in the air. But that also means that any problems with the burners need to be addressed quickly. At best, a few burners knocked out of commission will lower the efficiency of the heater a great deal: increasing wear and tear on the rest of the unit and raising your monthly energy bills to boot. At worst, they can shut the entire system down completely.

What Causes Burners to Fail

Sometimes, burners will shut off automatically, to prevent a gas leak or present a similar type of hazard. In these cases, the problem usually lies elsewhere, such as a leak in the gas lines or a faulty ignition system. Burners can often become clogged with dirt and gunk as well, preventing them from running. And in some cases, wear and tear, can take their toll, or they may suffer damage from misadventure or something similar.

Regardless, you need a qualified repair service to diagnose the issue and find a solution. The friendly professionals at A Professional Heating and Air are on the job for you!

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What Kinds of Things Reduce the Air Flow in Your Heater?

Monday, December 12th, 2016

Furnaces in the Springfield, LA area usually follow the centralized forced-air model: heating the air via burners and a heat exchanger, then blowing it through the ducts to the various corners of your house. (The same ducts are used to carry cool air from your air conditioner in the summer.) The ducts are often hidden from sight, but they — and more specifically, the vents where the air emerges — can alert you to a potential problem with the system. For example, if the air flow from your vents drops down below the level you expect, it’s usually a sign of a more serious problem inside the system.

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Early Signs of Heating Problems

Monday, November 7th, 2016

Heating season arrives late and leaves early here in Mandevilla, LA, and while people elsewhere in the country have been bundling up for weeks, we’re only just now getting around to using our heating systems on a regular basis. Now is an excellent time to check your system for any potential problems. Temperatures are still warm enough to keep strain on the system to a minimum, and if problems exist, you still have time to treat them before the winter formally arrives and your heater will be under a lot more pressure to perform.

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What Constitutes an HVAC Emergency?

Monday, October 10th, 2016

In towns like Springfield, LA, good heating and air conditioning service is vital to a happy household. It goes beyond simple comfort into questions of actual safety. Extremes in temperature — whether high or low — can constitute a danger to your family members, leading to heat stroke, vulnerability to flu bugs and the like. When your HVAC system goes down, you may need it repaired much more quickly than you expect. And if that breakdown occurs after hours or over the weekend, an emergency repair call may be in order.

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What Causes Your Furnace to Short Cycle?

Monday, November 9th, 2015

Short cycling is the tendency of your home furnace to turn on and off rapidly numerous times throughout the day, often without adequately cooling your home first. It’s a big problem because furnaces use far more energy starting up than they do simply running. A short cycling furnace is wasting energy – costing you more in monthly heating bills – as well as elevating the chances of a serious breakdown occurring in the near future. Hammond, LA features mild winters, but our nights can still get pretty cold and the last thing you want is your heater suffering a repair call just when you need it the most. The good news is that a repair technician can usually solve the problem. But what causes your furnace to short cycle in the first place?

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Some Common Furnace Repairs

Wednesday, February 25th, 2015

Being the most common kind of heating system on the market has given furnaces a couple of advantages. Their parts are the easiest, and often cheapest, to find and install. It’s easy to find a company that provides heating repair for them, and most homes are outfitted with the proper equipment to use them. Being the most common also means that furnace problems are the most common type of HVAC problem in the industry. Since it’s always a good idea to have at least a little bit of knowledge about how your home heating system works, let’s explore some of the most common furnace repairs.

Dirty Air Filter

Technically, this isn’t even a “repair” so much as it is a maintenance issue. It still causes a great deal of repairs every year, though, so it’s worth examining. The air filter is a part installed in the air return duct of your furnace’s air handler. It is designed to protect the furnace from any dust or other particles that might blow in from the home’s ducts and damage the system. Though it’s very good at this job, the air filter is unfortunately incapable of getting rid of these particulates once it captures them. If not cleaned or replaced every 1-3 months, the air filter can become so clogged that it restricts the flow of air into the furnace. That can cause all sorts of problems, including overheating and cracks in the heat exchanger. So, if you don’t know how to change your furnace air filter, call an HVAC technician to show you how to do it. Then, change or clean it every few months.

Ignition Failure

Failing to start is a really common problem among all heating systems, not just furnaces. In the furnace’s case, however, the problem is likely with the ignition device. Some furnaces still use the old gas-powered pilot lights as ignition systems, in which case you’ll want to check and see if the flame is still burning. Otherwise, it is possible that a heating element or electrode has burned out, removing the only method the furnace has for lighting the burner assembly.

If your furnace is experiencing issues, call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning and make an appointment with us. We provide professional heating repair in the Mandeville, LA area.

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3 Signs You Need to Schedule Heating Repairs

Friday, October 10th, 2014

In Mandeville, LA, there are only a few months out of the year that you get a lot of use out of your heating system. Because of this, it may be difficult to recognize the signs that your heating system is damaged. Of course, you know to call a professional when your heating system breaks down entirely. But what if there is only a small problem? Can you wait to call for heating repairs?

In general, any problem with your system requires immediate heating repairs. An issue with your heating system may only be a nuisance to you, but the extra wear and tear on your system that goes along with a damaged heater may cause your unit to fail eventually.

Here are some of the signs to look out for.

Reduced Heating: If you’ve had your unit for a while, you likely know how long it takes to heat your home. If it suddenly takes hours to get your home to the proper temperature, or if there never seems to be enough heat coming from the vents, it may be time to call for repairs. This could be a problem with the blower motor, dirty filters, a clogged burner in a gas furnace, or low refrigerant in a heat pump. No matter what the problem, be sure to get it fixed quickly so that other parts don’t suffer as a result.
Strange Sounds: Sometimes, unusual noises don’t seem like a particularly pressing issue, especially if you do not use your heater very often. However, noises can indicate that a fan or the motor is not working properly, and without the proper amount of airflow, components of your system may begin to malfunction. With a heat pump, strange noises could indicate compressor damage among other major complications.
High Bills: High utility bills may also indicate damages. If something inside of your unit has failed, other components may be working overtime to keep up, using a large amount of energy to do so.

When you need heating repairs in Mandeville, LA, you want dependable experts with years of experience in the field. For exceptional service, call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning at the first sign of problems.

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What to Check Before You Call for Heating Repair

Friday, October 3rd, 2014

Waking up in a freezing cold house is not the way anyone wants to start their morning. Your first impulse may be to call your technician for help, but there are a few things you’ll want to check before making that call. Why? There are some situations that may not require the help of a technician, and you want to rule out these options first. This does not mean that you should take on a repair yourself; any repairs to your heating system in Hammond, LA should always be handled by an expert. However, there is a small checklist of items to go over before calling for your A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning experts.

Checklist Before Calling for Repair

Following are some basic things to check for before scheduling a heating repair appointment:

Check the Thermostat

A thermostat can cause your heating system to turn off for a few reasons:

Batteries have died (for those that use them)
System has been switched to “off”
Program has been changed (for those thermostats that are programmable)

Check the Air Filter

When was the last time you changed your air filter? A dirty air filter can wreak havoc on a system, sometimes leading to breakdown. It’s recommended that you change your air filter every 3 months to ensure it works properly.

Check the Circuit Breaker and Switches

Sometimes weather events or other minor issues can cause the circuit breakers in your electrical box to trip. If you see that the breaker has turned off, you can turn it back on – however, if you encounter resistance, don’t force the breaker. Switches, like your furnace switch, can be accidentally turned off, so check all switches that are part of your heating system to make sure they are on.

Blocked Vents

Furniture, clothes, drapes or anything else directly in front of a vent can block it, creating issues with your system’s air flow. Make sure all vents and registers are open and clear of objects.

Make Sure There’s Fuel

Systems that use propane or oil will have separate holding tanks – make sure there is fuel in the tanks before calling for help.

Following this simple checklist can help you rule out some repair possibilities. If you find that you need to schedule heating repair service in Hammond, LA, call the people you can trust: A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning.

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What Is AFUE and How Does It Affect Heating Repair?

Monday, January 20th, 2014

If you’ve spent any time shopping for a new heating system, or if you’ve taken time to inspect the furnace or boiler in your home, you may have come across the letters AFUE. What do they stand for, and do they have any effect on heating repair?

Understanding AFUE is important, and we’ll explain what those letters mean in this post. If you have more questions, contact A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning. We are available 24-hours a day with emergency heating repair in Hammond, LA.

AFUE = “annual fuel utilization efficiency”

The acronym AFUE stands for “annual fuel utilization efficiency.” It measures how efficiently a heating system burns fuel to create heat. It is expressed as a percentage measuring the amount of units of heat produced for every 100 units of fuel burned. So a gas furnace with an AFUE rating of 85% returns 85 units of heat (measured in BTUs) for every 100 units of natural gas it burns. The higher the AFUE rating, the less fuel the heater wastes.

For the sake of comparison, the AFUE rating of burning wood is 45%-55%. Mid-efficiency natural gas heaters score between 78% and 85%, while high-efficiency models can score from 90% all the way to 98%. For a gas furnace to receive the U.S. Energy Star label, it must have AFUE of 90% or greater.

(AFUE only applies to furnaces and boilers. Heat pumps use a different set of efficiency ratings.)

How does AFUE affect heating repair?

AFUE does not have a direct effect on heating repair, but it can indicate some of what you might expect from a heater. As a general rule, the higher the AFUE is on a heating system, the more complex the system. For example, a high-efficiency condensing furnace, which can achieve an AFUE rating of 98%, contains more components and mechanisms than a standard furnace. High-efficiency furnaces need to have more stringent maintenance and repairs to keep them running at their best.

However, this doesn’t mean that if you have a lower-efficiency heater with an AFUE rating in the 80%-90% range that you can go slack with getting repairs or scheduling maintenance. Make certain you have signed up for a regular maintenance program so your heater receives annual check-ups and tune-ups, and that you never let a repair need go without immediate professional attention.

Whatever the AFUE of your heater, A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning can handle your heating repair in Hammond, LA. Call us any time of the day or night for repairs, and look into the benefits of our maintenance program.

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Signs of Problems with Your Boiler

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

If you have taken good care of your boiler with regular annual maintenance visits, then you probably haven’t had much worries with it; boilers are well-known for their few repair needs and their longevity. However, no system can run perfectly, and a time may come when your boiler develops problems that can put your heating in jeopardy.

Here are some signs to watch for in your boiler that will warn you it’s time to call for professional heating repair service in Hammond, LA. Make your first call to A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning, where we have 24-hour emergency service to take care of your needs.

Signs your boiler needs help:

Rumbling sounds from the tank: Boilers run quietly, much more so than furnaces or heat pumps. When a boiler starts making a loud noise, you will notice it. If the tank of your boiler begins making a rumbling sound, it could mean a number of things. A broken valve might be permitting too much cold water to enter the tank, and the mixing of hot and cold water is creating the rumbling. Or the noise might indicate the water is overheating, which could be due to sediment in the tank, limescale, or corrosion. All these troubles need immediate professional attention.
Leaking: Any time you see leaks occurring from your boiler system, whether from the tank, the connections, or the pipes, you have to call for repairs right away. Leaks can mean a spike in water pressure, deteriorating connections, corrosion, or damage. Professionals can seal the leaks and find out what is causing them.
Corrosion developing: Boilers are designed to resist corrosion and rust, but the problem can still happen—especially in an older boiler or one that hasn’t received proper maintenance. If you notice rust appearing anywhere on the tank or its components, you need to call for assistance. Too much corrosion on the boiler tank often means it must be replaced.

Have your boiler repaired right away

Even problems that seem small, like a tiny leak, can threaten to ruin your boiler if they are allowed to continue. If you catch the trouble early enough, a heating specialist can usually fix the problem fast and thoroughly… so make sure you don’t hesitate to summon experts when you think your boiler is acting (or looking) strange.

A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning works hard to give our customers complete satisfaction. For your heating repair in Hammond, LA, for a boiler or any other system, call on our skilled technicians.

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