Enjoying the chilled winter atmosphere is no fun when you come home to a cold and unwelcoming environment. To avoid that, people invest in electric heaters to keep them warm. But what happens when that electric heater starts blowing cold air instead of blowing hot air? Is a heater that's incapable of generating heat practically useless? Here's how to access good furnace repair:
Why is my electric heater blowing cold air?
That may be
true in some cases, but that does not mean you should throw it out and spend
more money on a new one, but if you are visit Lifestyle Reviews and check out the best on offer. While there are multiple reasons
why your electric heater is serving the opposite of its purpose, it can be
fixed - quite easily. However, if any of the terms in this post scare you, please call a professional!
In fact, you might not even need to hire a
professional to do the job. In most cases, your heating system might require a
little tweaking so it can go back to functioning efficiently. So, make sure to
do a quick check of your furnace blowing cold air before you jump to other alternates. Here’s how.
1.
Dirty Air Filters
People usually
do not think about cleaning their heaters of all things.
More often than
not, electric heaters blow cold air when their filters are clogged, and that's
why it's the first thing you should check.
Start by
turning your heater off and inspecting the filters. If the filters are caked
with dust, then it's likely the culprit behind your heater's malfunction.
Clogged vents limit ventilation and freeze the coils, which in turn inhibits
airflow even further. As a result, your electric heater starts emitting cold air.
Try changing your filters, and if that does not work, try out some of the other
alternatives noted below.
2.
Thermostat settings
Most electric
heaters have dual settings, and if your heater blows both cold and warm air at
different times, you should check your thermostat.
Naturally, all
heaters use a fan to blow air, but if your fan setting is set to ‘on’
throughout the day, it explains why the heater seems like it has malfunctioned.
Simply put, the furnace inside the equipment needs to get heated up for the fan
to emit warm air. If the furnace is cold, it cannot heat the air being
propelled outside.
You can fix
this by setting your blower to ‘auto’ so that your fan only works when the
furnace is hot. Needless to say, the easiest way to tackle this problem is by
reading the instruction manual. The manual will contain details about how you
can change the fan speed without affecting other settings. In any case, make
sure to wait a few minutes after turning the heater on to check if it is still
emitting cold air as the electric furnace takes time to heat up.
3.
Furnace problems
An electric
heater works on the same principles as any other type of machinery. Just like
your smartphone’s battery can heat up and lead to phone problems, an overheated
furnace can produce similar results.
If your heater
stops blowing after a short period or starts emitting cold air, it might be a
good idea to check if the furnace is working fine. To protect the heater from
malfunctioning altogether, engineers embed automatic limit switches that are
responsible for turning the heat-generating furnace off.
If it feels
like your heater isn't generating any warmth whatsoever, it is best to get your
heater serviced by professionals, especially if replacing the filters doesn’t
do any good.
4.
Ductwork
This problem
doesn’t involve any disassembling of your heater or its electric panel. If the
ducts in your house are experiencing leakage, your indoor space may suffer from
compromised heating. Ductwork can be tricky but looking for the right combination of open/closed ducts can make all the difference in the world.
When cold air
inside the vents flows out, it will naturally make the room colder despite the
heater being turned on. The only way to solve this is by ensuring there are
zero openings in the vents throughout your house.
The Verdict
If your heater
is turning winter nights into a shiver fest, you should proceed with checking
it for the above-mentioned problems. In most cases, heaters emitting cold air
do not need to undergo costly repairs. Hiring a technician can be expensive
which is why many keep it as the last resort. However, if you have tried
everything from your end, you need to call a professional. Electrical equipment
can be dangerous to work with, especially when it comes to hardware issues. Be sure to take all the proper cautions when working with electricity, especially turning off the current at the fusebox.
My filter was severely clogged and my electric furnace was blowing cold air about 20-30% of the time. I m lazy buying new one although those filters are pretty cheap to begin with. Instead I just vacuumed all the nasty dust on the filter carefully and voila, the furnace started working perfectly again. So if you encountered the same issue the first thing to check is the filter. Thank you for your article, it really does help.
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