There are so many reasons to love your electric furnace. It doesn’t require you to connect to a natural gas line, which can be very expensive if your home has never been connected. It is perfectly efficient, converting all the energy it uses into heat for your home. It will never cause you concern about carbon monoxide or fuel leaks.
Another major benefit of electric furnaces is that they require fewer repairs than gas furnaces. However, everything requires repair occasionally. We’ll be covering some of the main problems that can occur with electric furnaces as well as some tips for decreasing the likelihood that repairs will be needed.
Electrical Issues
Modern gas furnaces do have some electrical components, but your electric furnace has more. So while you’ll never have a gas line problem, you might encounter things like wiring coming loose or becoming corroded, a broken electrical relay, or a failure in the connection between the furnace and the thermostat which controls it. If you suspect electrical issues, get prompt heating repair in Boerne, TX.
Heating Element Failure
Electric furnaces have more than one heating element. If one burns out or for any reason stops working, your furnace won’t completely stop producing heat. It will definitely not produce the amount of heat you’re accustomed to, so if you notice a drop in temperature, this might be the reason. Although this sounds like a major equipment failure, don’t worry—it’s not time to replace your furnace. Heating elements can be replaced by a qualified professional.
Sequencer Not Sequencing
The amount of power needed for an electric furnace is significant. If it suddenly called for the full amount of power all at once, it would likely trip your circuit breaker. That’s where the sequencer comes in: it makes sure the elements take turns properly, so they all get power without crashing the system. If your furnace trips your circuit breaker, the sequencer is probably the culprit.
Blower Motor Burnout
Too little lubrication or too much dust can cause a failure in the motor that pushes the hot air from your furnace to the rest of your home. If your furnace is running but the fan has stopped, this might be your issue.
Limit Control Out of Control
The limit control switch is there for safety. It will trigger a shutdown if your furnace overheats. However, if it’s having problems, it might shut your furnace down even when it hasn’t gotten hot at all yet. Worse, it could fail to shut down a wildly overheating furnace. Because of the safety concerns, this problem must be addressed immediately.
Avoiding Repairs
Regular maintenance can catch these problems before they damage other components in your furnace and lead to more costly repairs. Your maintenance technician will also clean and lubricate your furnace so that overheating and burnout won’t be such big risks. And maintenance will help your furnace last as long as possible, which could mean having a functional furnace for up to thirty years before you have to replace it!
Contact D’Spain Sales & Service for electric furnace maintenance or repair.
