Frigid temperatures put a lot of strain on home heating systems, and homeowners need to know what to do if their system 鈥� whether a furnace or heat pump 鈥� stops working in the cold.
Kevin Brasler, the executive editor with , told 草莓传媒 that with air conditioning systems, you鈥檒l often get a heads up that something鈥檚 wrong: they just won鈥檛 keep your home as cool on hot days.
But with home heating systems, Brasler said, 鈥淭hey鈥檒l just go kaput suddenly,鈥� and when that happens during cold snaps, that leaves consumers in a bind. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not really sure what鈥檚 going on with it, you just know it鈥檚 not working.鈥�
So, consumers call HVAC service providers, hoping for a simple fix.
The first thing any consumer should do, Brasler said, is make sure they are dealing with a qualified service provider.
Homeowners who have gas heating systems want to take special care, according to Brasler. In that case, he said, 鈥淵ou only want to deal with a licensed contractor. There鈥檚 just too many things that can go wrong, and there鈥檚 too many dangers you can pose to yourself and other people in your family if it鈥檚 not repaired correctly.鈥�
If you鈥檙e told that the unit in your home is no longer able to do the job, 鈥淵ou need to bring in other services to look at it to give their opinion also,鈥� Brasler said.
That鈥檚 not always a choice that a homeowner who鈥檚 been suffering through heat loss feels able to do, said Brasler. When you and your family are shivering in the cold inside your home, 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 give you a lot of time to shop around,鈥� but he said it鈥檚 important to make sure you get the right fix for the right problem.
Among the common complaints consumers report to Washington Consumer鈥檚 Checkbook are those dealing with contractors not showing up, or that the issue wasn鈥檛 fixed correctly the first time.
But by far the biggest and most serious complaint they get, Brasler said, is that a consumer was 鈥渙versold” or told they needed an entirely new system when that wasn鈥檛 the case.
鈥淲e found that some companies, especially for new installations, charge thousands of dollars more than what others do for the exact same equipment,鈥� Brasler said.
So, he advises, get that second or even third quote. 鈥淵ou really do, if you can, need to shop around and make sure that you鈥檙e not overpaying.鈥�
While many HVAC or other home repair firms may take cash or checks only, Brasler advises paying by credit card. 鈥淲hen you pay with a credit card, you get really strong consumer protections that you don鈥檛 get when you pay via cash or check,鈥� he said.
Not every call, even for an emergency repair, means there鈥檚 a catastrophic problem with your heating system.
Brasler said: 鈥淥ften, furnaces can be repaired quite easily or quite inexpensively.鈥�
Ron Etzyon, president of Eli鈥檚 Heating and Air Conditioning in Montgomery County, Maryland, agrees that there鈥檚 often a simple issue involved with furnace or heat pump failures.
鈥淎nd, many a time, it鈥檚 caused by a dirty or clogged filter,鈥� Etzyon said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you how many times I鈥檝e gotten to a job site and, lo and behold, the homeowner hasn鈥檛 changed the filter and it鈥檚 clogged and that causes a lot of problems.”
Another issue is when snowfall blocks or clogs the outdoor heat pump. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always a good idea to turn the system off and clear the snow off the top and sides of the unit so it can breathe easy,鈥� Etzyon said.
Etzyon emphasizes that homeowners should first turn their heat pump off before brushing off ice and snow. 鈥淵ou stick your broom or something or bristles or whatever鈥� into the heat pump鈥檚 moving blades and you can end up dodging flying objects.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want any ice flinging off and smacking you in the head or anything like that,鈥� said Etzyon, and you don鈥檛 want to damage the moving parts of the heat pump.
Etzyon said some furnace failures occur in gas units when something called the “hot surface igniter” gives out. 鈥淭hese are like a delicate light bulb. You look at them wrong or whatever, they鈥檒l crack and they鈥檒l blow out like a bulb and that鈥檒l cause a no-heat situation for you in your home.”
One of the best ways to avoid having to make an emergency call in freezing cold or blazing temperatures is to keep up with the basic maintenance on your unit.
And, as both Brasler and Etzyon say, make sure your filters are replaced as needed.
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