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What’s Causing My Furnace To Short Cycle?

Having a working furnace is essential what with the weather brewing colder temperatures outdoors. However, sometimes furnaces can falter when they’ve been inactive during the summer. This is especially true if they haven’t been tuned up efficiently for the colder weather.

One of the most common problems homeowners often face with their furnace is called short cycling. Short cycling is when the furnace turns on for a short period of time but then turns off. This start-and-stop cycle can keep your home from properly warming up and may also damage your furnace itself.

But what causes your furnace to short cycle? The following are some of the key problems behind the short cycling of furnaces and how you can fix them.

Your furnace is too big

Short cycling that happens as soon as the furnace is installed may be caused by the furnace itself rather than a problem with the furnace. That is, the furnace may be too big or too strong for the space in which you’ve installed it.

An oversized heater will use a lot of energy to heat your space, which can cause the distribution of warm air in your home to be uneven. Uneven heat distribution causes the furnace to turn on and off again in order to compensate.

Contact your furnace repair service before assuming the problem with your furnace is its size. While it may be the cause, there could be another problem with the device.

Your furnace is overheating

Another common cause of a short cycling furnace is that the furnace itself is overheating and it’s turning itself off to prevent damage. An overheating furnace can be caused by restricted airflow. This causes the hot air in the furnace to become trapped. Restricted airflow is often the result of interior vents being blocked, a blocked exhaust vent, or a dirty air filter.

If your furnace is overheating, it’s essential for you to contact your furnace repair service immediately. This is because cracks can occur in the heat exchanger of the furnace when the machine overheats. Heat exchanger cracks can result in carbon monoxide leaks, which are life-threatening to both you and your family. For this reason, the carbon monoxide alarms in your home should be tested at least once a month.

Your thermostat is malfunctioning

Finally, another common cause of a short cycling furnace isn’t your furnace at all. When your thermostat malfunctions, it can signal to your furnace that the set temperature in the room has been met, causing the furnace to prematurely turn off.

A short cycling furnace can cause your home heating system to break down prematurely, which can be a big problem during the winter months. If your furnace is short cycling and you can’t seem to get the problem under control, contact Pioneer Heating and Air today at (865) 351-0787 .

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