Why Won’t My Furnace Stop Running?
Your furnace’s job is to heat your home until it reaches the temperature you’ve set on your thermostat—but sometimes it doesn’t stop there.
If your furnace keeps running even though it has already done its job—or if it keeps running without ever reaching your target thermostat temperature—it will cost you in both higher heating bills and equipment wear and tear.
Furnace Troubleshooting Checklists
If your furnace runs but never reaches the right temperature:
- Check Your Settings – Make sure your thermostat is set to a temperature it can actually reach (the U.S. Department of Energy recommends 68°F in winter). Set a temperature that’s too high and your furnace may struggle to reach it, especially on a cold day.
- Check Air Filters Regularly – A blocked furnace air filter will prevent warm air from ever reaching your living space. Check your filter once a month during winter, changing or cleaning it (depending on the model) as needed.
- Check Your Ducts – Seals, joints, and even straight sections of your heating system’s ductwork will develop leaks over time, keeping the air you payed to warm from ever reaching your living space. Seal visible ductwork leaks and consider having your ducts evaluated and sealed by professionals every five years or so.
- Weatherize – One reason why your furnace may be laboring is because your home is working against it: air leaks around windows, doors, and within walls and ceilings can rob your home of 15 percent efficiency or more. Measures like sealing windows with plastic, caulking cracks around window frames, add weatherstripping around door jambs, installing doorsweeps on exterior doors, and adding insulation will go a long way toward keeping cold air out and warm air in your home.
If your furnace runs even after reaching the target temperature:
- Check the Blower Motor – To get air from the furnace to the vents, your heating system uses a blower, which pushes heated air through your ductwork (if you have a boiler and radiators or baseboards, this does not apply). That blower can operate whether or not the furnace is actually producing hot air, which is exactly happens when you set your thermostat’s heat mode to “on” rather than “auto.” If your furnace is constantly running, check the settings on your thermostat; if it is set to “on,” switch to “auto” and see if the problem goes away.
- Check Your Thermostat – If switching from on to auto didn’t fix the problem, check your thermostat for things like frayed wires or worn batteries. If you change the batteries doesn’t fix the problem, you’ll probably have to install a new thermostat.
If none of these solutions fixes your problem heating system, contact a heating professional at Bolkema for service. Our expert heating oil technicians and propane technicians will diagnose the problem and fix it quickly so you can enjoy the cozy warmth of your central northern New Jersey home.
For expert heating oil and propane furnace repairs in northern NJ and surrounding areas, trust the pros at the Bolkema Fuel Company. Contact us today to learn more.