Furnace Constantly Running And The House Is Still Cold? Understand Why It's Happening

24 August 2016
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A furnace is designed to heat your home to a specific temperature, and then shut off temporarily. Do you notice that your home's furnace seems to constantly be running, yet it is unable to reach that temperature set on your thermostat? There are several reasons why this could be happening. Learn about the possible problems and how you can fix them.

Leaking Air Ducts

It's possible for the ductwork in your house to develop a leak somewhere in the system. It can cause much of that warm air to leak out of the ductwork before it even reaches the vents in your home.

Try diagnosing the problem yourself by running the furnace and inspecting the exposed ductwork in your home. It may mean going into a crawlspace, attic, or an unfinished basement. Place your hands near seams of the ductwork and feel for warm air that is leaking through. You can cover these seals using some metal HVAC tape sold by your local home improvement store.

Keep in mind that the leak may be coming from ductwork behind the walls. An HVAC specialist can scan your walls using a thermal camera to discover if there is a big problem with hot air leaking out where you cannot see it.

Dirty Filters

Your furnace has a filter that cleans the air before it reaches the ductwork, with the intention to filter out dust, allergens, dirt, and other debris. If this filter is ignored, it could be causing a blockage in your home's HVAC system. The warm air cannot easily pass through it, and you will be getting decreased airflow throughout your home.

Make sure you follow the manufacturer's instructions for how often to change the air filter, and see if that improves the airflow.

Blocked Ducts

It's crucial to make sure that both the output and return air vents in your home are not blocked by furniture. If they are, it can result in heating that is uneven in your home. Rooms will feel cooler than they should because hot air cannot get into them, or air cannot circulate through your home because it is not going back through the return vent.

Try moving furniture away from the vents in every room of your home, and see if that improves the problem. You can even buy vent extenders to help get the warm air past a large piece of furniture.

If your home still has a constantly running furnace, contact a local HVAC repair specialist at a company like Comfort Pros to look into what could be causing the problem.