Protect Your Investment: Furnace
In this new weekly feature, we'll help you protect your investment by keeping your home—and all its many systems and components—in good condition. Stay tuned for future installments.
Should your gas furnace falters or fails this winter, you might be able to fix it yourself without the cost and hassle of hiring a pro:
• If your forced-air heating system is delivering a low airflow, check the air filter on the furnace. A clogged filter could cut airflow to a trickle. Change the filter with the proper size and type.
• If the furnace has stopped working altogether, ensure that a circuit breaker or fuse has not cut power to the heating system. Also verify that any emergency-power switches, which often have a red-colored wall plate, are switched on.
• Determine whether the thermostat is malfunctioning. If you have an electronic thermostat that runs on batteries, try changing them. Learn more about thermostats and how they can cut your heating bills by up to 20 percent.
• If those steps don't work, call a heating contractor. Even with the higher efficiency of most new furnaces, it's generally more cost-effective to repair a furnace than to replace it. However, if a key component, such as the heat exchanger or control module, fails, you're probably better off replacing the furnace, especially if the unit is more than about 15 years old—furnaces typically last an average of 15 to 18 years.
Essential information: Read “Heating: Stay Warm Without Getting Fleeced” for expert advice on lowering your heating bills this winter, and keep your heating system in tiptop shape. Finally, be sure your carbon-monoxide and smoke alarms are working properly.
Posted by: Steve Schuman | Apr 17, 2008 9:28:42 PM
Another good preventative measure to protect the control modules is to install a hardwired appliance surge protector. They cost about $35-$40 plus installation and can save hundreds, not to mention being without heat for a while.
Posted by: Consumer Reports Reader | May 14, 2008 9:09:06 PM
Has anyone had any experiences good, bad or indifferent in taking up ConEd here in NYC on their offer to provide a free Dunkirk boiler on converting from oil to gas furnace? The model that seems to 'fit' this single family home with two occupants, based upon one plumber's assessment of the amount of steam collectively put out by the 8 radiators in the 60 year old house is a Dunkir PVSB-5D which according to Dunkirk's tech people puts out 379 sq feet of steam (150K BTU) against the 240 sq ft of steam the plumber thinks the radiators generate (@ approx 30 sq ft of steam per radiator)