Troubleshooting Tips For Your Furnace or Boiler

Like any electrical appliance or piece of machinery, furnaces and boilers can malfunction and, in the worst-case scenarios, stop working completely.

So the bad news is that the furnace or boiler that is supposed to keep your New England home warm throughout the cold winter season can suddenly stop doing its job. The good news is that you don’t need to panic. Even if you are not an expert when it comes to heating systems, there are some things you can do to troubleshoot and potentially get your heat up and running again all on your own.

How To Troubleshoot Your Heating System

Before you pick up the phone and call for any sort of professional to come take a look at your heating system, follow the below tips to see if you can fix the issue yourself:

Make sure your heating oil or propane supply isn’t too low. Your tank should be at least 1/8th full. If it’s not, contact W.H. Riley & Son for a heating oil delivery.
Check to see that all power switches on your heating equipment are turned to “on” or “start”. Additionally, check to make sure that your system is in ‘heat’ mode.
Set the temperature on your home’s thermostat to be at least five degrees above the current room temperature.
See if the pilot light actually lights up when the heating system is on.
Find your home’s circuit breaker box and make sure all circuit breakers are in the right position.
If your home has vents, clear anything that may be blocking these vents such as dust, curtains or furniture. Make sure air is actually flowing out of the vents.
If your heating system is fueled by oil, reset the red burner switch by pressing and holding it for three seconds. To avoid flooding your system with oil, do not reset this switch more than once. If your heat doesn’t start working after a little while, contact us.

The Importance Of Heating System Maintenance

No matter what kind of heating system your home has, it’s important to make sure that system is working and that it’s working efficiently. And you don’t want to wait until a cold winter day to do so. In fact, the best time to schedule a tune-up for your boiler or furnace is the fall. Here’s why:

A fall tune-up gives you peace of mind – you will know that your system will be able to do its job come winter. The dead of winter is not a good time to realize your heat needs a major repair that is going to be very costly and take days to fix.
Routine tune-ups actually help save you money. Without them, your heating system can lose up to 5% of its efficiency every year. If you go into winter with an efficient heating system, you will save on energy bills.
As more and more people start using their heat, chances are that more heating system problems will arise. You can avoid any scheduling conflicts that may arise when trying to book a repair and delivery challenges by booking a maintenance appointment before the weather starts to cool down.

Let W.H. Riley & Son Keep Your Home Warm All Winter Long

The certified service technicians at W.H. Riley & Son are trained to help with boiler and furnace installation as well as boiler and furnace repairs. We can also upgrade your heating system if necessary.

Don’t wait until the winter to make sure your heat is good to go – contact us today to learn more about our southeastern Massachusetts heating system services.