3 Reasons Your Furnace Fan Isn't Blowing Hot Air And The Furnace Repairs That Might Help
It's worse than frustrating when your furnace won't keep you warm. It could be hazardous to your health for it to get cold in your house. Your plumbing might even be affected if the temperature gets cold enough. Several things can cause problems with a gas or electric furnace.
One problem is when the blower can't push air through the duct system so little or no warm air comes out and circulates through your home. Here are three reasons this can happen and the furnace repairs that can help.
1. The Blower Fan Is Coated With Grime
If you've ever had a box fan in a window long enough, you know how the fan collects dust and dirt over time that coats the fan with grime. Once the fan is dirty enough, it won't put out nearly as much air even though the blades are spinning. When the fan is cleaned, the output increases.
The same principle applies to the blower fan. If it gets dusty and grimy, the warm air output from your registers decreases and your house won't be as warm. The solution for this problem is to have the blower cage cleaned off.
The furnace repair technician can take the cage out and clean the blades with a brush if necessary to get rid of the grime. As long as there are no other problems with the blower system, a simple cleaning might get your furnace working again.
2. The Fan Belt Is Broken
If your furnace has a belt-driven fan system, the belt will probably wear out at some point. When it starts to get loose, you'll probably hear squealing noises that alert you to the need for a new belt. You might even detect a burning odor when the belt is having problems.
Once the belt breaks, the motor won't be able to turn the fan and your furnace stops warming up your house. The furnace repair technician can replace the belt when needed. The belt itself is an inexpensive furnace part, but it might be difficult to reach and remove, so you'll have to consider the cost of labor too.
3. The Motor Is Malfunctioning
The motor has to work properly to spin the furnace fan. The motor might have worn-out bearings, and in that case, you may hear unusual noises that are a sign of motor trouble. The capacitor that boosts power to the motor might be bad and need to be replaced. The motor has wiring and electronics hooked up to it, and any of those could become loose or go bad.
The fan motor also has a limit switch that allows the fan to switch on or off. If the switch is broken, the fan may not turn on. The fan motor itself could even be bad and have to be replaced. The furnace repair technician has to test various components of the fan motor system to figure out the exact problem so the right repairs can be done.